Another stain on Canada's reputation? I think not, Maher Arar
Maher Arar, who, in the immediate wake of 9-11 suffered misidentification by Canada's CSIS and RCMP as a possible terror-suspect resulting in his being apprehended by American authorities while transiting the United States on his way back to Canada from a visit to Tunisia, then spirited away to Syria, the country of his birth; imprisoned and tortured there saw justice served when a Canadian enquiry cleared him of those allegations and the Government of Canada settled a princely sum of $10.5-million in compensation with him.
Errors are made and acknowledged, and the Canadian public was in perfect accord with its government in this unfortunate case. Mr. Arar, having suffered as he did, the purgatory of imprisonment and torture in the country of his birth, might be thought now to be in a position to denounce Syria and its dreadful human-rights abuses. Instead Mr. Arar faults the current government in Canada for not sufficiently troubling itself in the case of Abousfian Abdelrazik a Sudanese-born Canadian citizen.
Who, of his own volition travelled to Sudan on a personal visit, where he was imprisoned and suffered torture. The Sudanese secret service appears since to have cleared Mr. Abdelrazik of suspicions of terror-related offences. Sudan's government and its president are familiar with terror, having imposed it upon their own citizens, murdering hundreds of thousands, pillaging and raping the people of Darfur. It is highly questionable whether al-Qaeda is considered a 'terror' group there.
Mr. Abdelrazik, however, is listed as a terrorist by the United Nations. And Lawrence Cannon, Canada's Foreign Minister has now stated that Canada considers this Sudanese-Canadian to represent a national security threat. And, as such, he will not be welcomed back to Canada; the Government of Canada is not prepared to issue an emergency passport to facilitate his passage back to Canada, citing a relevant section of the Canada Passport Order.
Mr. Arar has decided to champion the cause of Mr. Abdelrazik, claiming that he is a victim just as Mr. Arar had been, of maladept intelligence, incorrectly labelling him as a terror suspect. Mr. Arar avers that "Since the events of 9/11, it has become obvious that Canada and its security agencies have been willing to 'shake hands with the devil' when it comes to national security under the belief that such co-operation would eliminate the threat of terrorism and create stability.
"But, here we are, eight years later, and stability remains elusive." And why, one wonders, might that be? Because we have our own home-grown nascent terrorists, recruited by Islamist jihadists from afar, visiting on 'speaking engagements'; because some imams of various mosques preach the imperatives of jihad against the infidels who defame Islam and the Prophet? Where is Mr. Arar's voice in condemning these malign forces?
Mr. Arar's name is a familiar one, and he and his wife Monia Mazigh could accomplish much in battling nascent terrorism within Canada by, for example, penning articles or a book denouncing radical militant Islam and the damage it has done to the world at large, not to mention Muslims victimized by raging fanatical Islamists. Within Canada, Islamists subvert the democratic ideal, fomenting unrest and un-Canadian values of war-mongering, and racism.
Surely as well-read and well-connected members of the Islamic community they are aware of the work of Islamists working to imbue impressionable young Muslims with the pathology of Islamist jihad? If there is a gap in their knowledge, they might wish to read Tarek Fatah's most informative book, Chasing a Mirage - The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, and seek to make common cause with that righteous Muslim warrior.
Like many Canadians I trust my government to stand on guard for all of us. We are indeed protected, through our judicial system and our laws and our Charter of Rights and Freedoms from "...the erosion of both due process and our rights as citizens..." While Mr. Arar rails against government decision-making under the delusion that he knows all the facts and is more capable than Canada's policing and intelligence agencies, not all may be in agreement with him.
There are instances where government action is considered necessary and vital to protect the safety and security of innocent Canadians abroad. Senior Cabinet Minister John Baird has personally undertaken an initiative to lodge a formal request with the government of Ethiopia to free Canadian citizen Bashir Makhtal, imprisoned there for over two years on charges that he is a member of an Ethiopian-outlawed terror group.
The government of Canada is concerned with representation to Saudi Arabia to attempt assistance to another Canadian, 23-year-old Mohamed Kohail, who with his younger brother Sultan, faces beheading, charged with a schoolyard brawl that resulted in the death of of an 18-year-old Syrian youth. I don't recall hearing Mr. Arar bemoaning these instances of Canadians in dire straits abroad.
Errors are made and acknowledged, and the Canadian public was in perfect accord with its government in this unfortunate case. Mr. Arar, having suffered as he did, the purgatory of imprisonment and torture in the country of his birth, might be thought now to be in a position to denounce Syria and its dreadful human-rights abuses. Instead Mr. Arar faults the current government in Canada for not sufficiently troubling itself in the case of Abousfian Abdelrazik a Sudanese-born Canadian citizen.
Who, of his own volition travelled to Sudan on a personal visit, where he was imprisoned and suffered torture. The Sudanese secret service appears since to have cleared Mr. Abdelrazik of suspicions of terror-related offences. Sudan's government and its president are familiar with terror, having imposed it upon their own citizens, murdering hundreds of thousands, pillaging and raping the people of Darfur. It is highly questionable whether al-Qaeda is considered a 'terror' group there.
Mr. Abdelrazik, however, is listed as a terrorist by the United Nations. And Lawrence Cannon, Canada's Foreign Minister has now stated that Canada considers this Sudanese-Canadian to represent a national security threat. And, as such, he will not be welcomed back to Canada; the Government of Canada is not prepared to issue an emergency passport to facilitate his passage back to Canada, citing a relevant section of the Canada Passport Order.
Mr. Arar has decided to champion the cause of Mr. Abdelrazik, claiming that he is a victim just as Mr. Arar had been, of maladept intelligence, incorrectly labelling him as a terror suspect. Mr. Arar avers that "Since the events of 9/11, it has become obvious that Canada and its security agencies have been willing to 'shake hands with the devil' when it comes to national security under the belief that such co-operation would eliminate the threat of terrorism and create stability.
"But, here we are, eight years later, and stability remains elusive." And why, one wonders, might that be? Because we have our own home-grown nascent terrorists, recruited by Islamist jihadists from afar, visiting on 'speaking engagements'; because some imams of various mosques preach the imperatives of jihad against the infidels who defame Islam and the Prophet? Where is Mr. Arar's voice in condemning these malign forces?
Mr. Arar's name is a familiar one, and he and his wife Monia Mazigh could accomplish much in battling nascent terrorism within Canada by, for example, penning articles or a book denouncing radical militant Islam and the damage it has done to the world at large, not to mention Muslims victimized by raging fanatical Islamists. Within Canada, Islamists subvert the democratic ideal, fomenting unrest and un-Canadian values of war-mongering, and racism.
Surely as well-read and well-connected members of the Islamic community they are aware of the work of Islamists working to imbue impressionable young Muslims with the pathology of Islamist jihad? If there is a gap in their knowledge, they might wish to read Tarek Fatah's most informative book, Chasing a Mirage - The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, and seek to make common cause with that righteous Muslim warrior.
Like many Canadians I trust my government to stand on guard for all of us. We are indeed protected, through our judicial system and our laws and our Charter of Rights and Freedoms from "...the erosion of both due process and our rights as citizens..." While Mr. Arar rails against government decision-making under the delusion that he knows all the facts and is more capable than Canada's policing and intelligence agencies, not all may be in agreement with him.
There are instances where government action is considered necessary and vital to protect the safety and security of innocent Canadians abroad. Senior Cabinet Minister John Baird has personally undertaken an initiative to lodge a formal request with the government of Ethiopia to free Canadian citizen Bashir Makhtal, imprisoned there for over two years on charges that he is a member of an Ethiopian-outlawed terror group.
The government of Canada is concerned with representation to Saudi Arabia to attempt assistance to another Canadian, 23-year-old Mohamed Kohail, who with his younger brother Sultan, faces beheading, charged with a schoolyard brawl that resulted in the death of of an 18-year-old Syrian youth. I don't recall hearing Mr. Arar bemoaning these instances of Canadians in dire straits abroad.
Labels: Crisis Politics, Government of Canada, Justice
posted by Pieface | 6:05 PM
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