Panic Mode

Library and Archives Canada was to have shown a controversial film, "Iranium" Tuesday evening. Following is their announcement of the event:

Iranium
January 18, 2011
Library and Archives Canada
7:00 PM

Since the inception of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has displayed an absolute hatred for the West. Coupled with an extremist ideology, this regime has terrorized the world at large for over 30 years. This 70-minute film will explore the principles of the revolution, and visually demonstrate the hatred and violence exhibited by Iran’s brutal leadership. The film will document the regime’s abusive treatment of their once proud citizenry, and will chronicle the regime’s use of terror proxies abroad to inflict deadly messages on their self-described enemies. Please join us for this film, and a speaker..and reception to follow at about 9:00 PM

Admission: $15 (includes HST), $8.00 for students

The event, however, did not take place. Initially, there was indication trouble was brewing when the Embassy of Iran expressed their unhappiness at the screening, objecting strenuously. That hurdle was overcome when Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore stepped into the fray, informing the national library it should plan to proceed, despite the cancellation that had followed Iran's protest.

This was then followed by library officials receiving threatening protests which compelled them to revisit their original decision to cancel, mere hours before the start of the event. Police were called to the scene, and the Archives and Library Canada building shut tight when hand-delivered letters were received; employees were dismissed for the day.

So, for reasons 'beyond our control', a government department that regularly showcases offbeat or controversial or notable films for the purpose of educating Canadians to the realities of the great wide world out there, and how those realities impact on Canada, felt forced to close its public face and send its employees home a little earlier than usual, bowing to the demands of mysterious threats which the police are investigating.

This tells us that a foreign country has exerted its diplomatic presence and its immunity from internal investigation to launch a forcible protest, supporting it by threats issued by those associated with that country's investment in uncivil, anti-human-rights activities that impact globally through that very same country's proxy militias and its oil-derived treasury supporting, training and arming of those same militias.

Canada's perennially-strained relations with a country it has outspokenly criticized as a human-rights offender (under which regime Canadian citizens have suffered arrest and death) argues diplomatic caution with the presence of an embassy in our capital city. Which obliges Canada to be a civil host, but not a subservient one, acquiescing to another country's assault on our civil liberties, freedom of search and expression, and in fact, sovereignty.

The producers of the film, the Free Thinking Film Society paid to rent a theatre in the Library so the film could be screened for the public. They are, obviously, disappointed at this turn of events. "It's like the Iranians have set something in motion and they're able to shut down a film in the capital of Canada", argued Fred Litwin, the film's producer. "They obviously thought they could push around some people and they were right."

They have had ample practise, and have gained much perfection through that practise; the Iranian Republican Guard, the Basiji militia, in ordering people around, shutting down their premises, shuttering news media freedoms of reportage, mounting attacks on protesters, silencing internal critics of the theocratic government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. They are not averse to extending their threats of intimidation outside the country.

The Iranian embassy confirmed they had complained to the Heritage Minister as well as to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon. Minister Moore's spokesperson described the contents of the film as quite in keeping with Canada's position on human rights in Iran, let alone that country's nuclear program. Moore himself tweeted a protest at the shutdown, iterating his position that it is not up to the Iranian embassy to dictate films shown in Canada.

Coincidentally, the Minister of National Defence is in the Middle East for the purpose of meeting with Israeli, West Bank and Jordanian leaders as well as with members of the Canadian Armed Forces situated in the Middle East. While in Israel he met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, his Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Israel's Opposition leader. Mr. McKay spoke of Canada's concerns respecting Iran's nuclear aspirations.

The best way of stopping Iran's plans, he declared, is "through the demonstration of international resolve", though he expressed some uncertainty about the effectiveness of economic sanctions. "Beyond the nuclear threat, Iranian actions in the form of a proxy relationship with Syria [Hezbollah] and Hamas is just as much a concern for us [as Israel], given our involvement in Afghanistan", he said.

Through the signing of a memorandum of understanding an agreement was formalized to share intelligence resources focusing primarily on the scientific and technological, although MacKay also expressed his opinion that the memorandum could be seen "as a foundation of other opportunities" relating to counter terrorism and joint military training..

Ironically, in light of what has just occurred in a government building in a country where freedom of expression is a given, but nonetheless that freedom has been tampered with by agents of a foreign power whose program is inimical to freedom and to peace, MacKay mentioned that counter terrorism has a very high priority in Canada.

To counter the terrorism that civil society is experiencing in Canada, not only through our participation in the war against the Islamist jihadists in Afghanistan, but through the sinister truncation of our freedoms at home through an incident such as this, it will become incumbent on Mr. MacKay and the Cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ponder how it will respond on home soil to Iranian threats.

Support the Iranian people in their struggle to bring democracy and freedom to Iran, and watch the new trailer for Iranium to learn more about Iran’s brutal human rights abuses, as well as the regime’s state-sponsorship of terror and illegal nuclear weapons program. RadicalIslam.org