Ms. Sally Gardner salamander_newt@hotmail.com
c.c. pm@pm.gc.ca
Dear Ms. Gardner: The Office of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, has forwarded to me on June 23, 2009, your email concerning the situation in Iran following the Presidential election of June 12, 2009. The Government of Canada is deeply troubled by the current situation in Iran. On June 15, 2009, I made a statement in which I outlined Canada's concerns regarding allegations of irregularities in the voting process and reports of violent crackdowns by Iranian security forces on their own citizens. Furthermore, on June 21, 2009, I made another statement condemning the use of violence against protestors. You may read my statements at http://w01.international.gc.ca/minpub/index.aspx.
Officials of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada have also relayed these concerns directly to the Iranian Chargé d'Affaires in Ottawa, on a number of occasions, as Iran is not represented by an ambassador in Canada.
As well, on June 22, 2009, Prime Minister Harper made a statement on the situation in Iran, which you may view at www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=3&id=2647. On June 17, 2009, in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Harper clearly articulated Canada's position on Iran: There is no secret to the Government of Canada's position. We have been outspoken for a very long time in the councils of the United Nations and elsewhere about the unacceptable ideology, democratic practices and human rights record of the Government of Iran. We are obviously strongly displeased by the reaction that has taken place by authorities to events this week. We encourage those authorities to respect people's basic human rights and to move forward on democratic progress in this country.
We find the behaviour of that regime unacceptable in so many ways that I cannot even begin to name them. On the same day, I stated in the House of Commons that: Everyone knows that this government has been very active on the Iran file, particularly in terms of condemnation and the commitment we made at the United Nations to condemn human rights abuses. We have also very strongly condemned the latest elections. We demanded that the elections be transparent and that every vote be counted. In addition, Mr. John Weston, Member of Parliament and Government Liaison to the Persian and Iranian Community, introduced the following motion, which was unanimously adopted by the House of Commons: That the House express: its solidarity with, and support for, the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people; its concern with ongoing violations of civil and human rights in Iran, and calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners; and its support for a transparent electoral process that respects the genuine will of the Iranian people.
On June 19, 2009, Mr. Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, made the following statement in the House of Commons: The situation in Iran remains extremely alarming. Hundreds of thousands of people have been demonstrating on the streets of Tehran and throughout the country, questioning the results of the presidential election and demanding justice.
Today, Ayatollah Khamenei warned that street protests must stop or opposition leaders would be held responsible for the ensuing violence. Our government continues to express its deep concern over the allegations of fraud and we continue to call for a full and transparent investigation. The votes of all Iranians must count and innocent Iranians must be able to freely express their views without fear of intimidation or violence.
Iranian authorities have asked Canada to abstain from commenting on the situation.
We will do no such thing.
Our government will continue to promote democracy and we will continue to challenge Iran on human rights. On July 8, 2009, Canada joined with other G8 countries in expressing serious concerns about recent events in Iran. G8 Leaders deplored the post-electoral violence, which led to the loss of lives of civilians, calling interference with media, unjustified detentions of journalists and recent arrests of foreign nationals unacceptable. They called upon Iran to solve the situation through democratic dialogue and the rule of law. You may read the statement at www.canadainternational.gc.ca/g8/summit-sommet/2009/political_declaration-declaration_politique.aspx. The Government of Canada will continue to insist that the votes of all Iranians must count, and that ordinary Iranians must be able to freely express their views without fear of intimidation or violence. The Canadian government's concerns about human rights in Iran are long-standing. As part of its ongoing efforts to focus the international community's attention on the human rights situation in Iran, Canada successfully led a resolution on this situation at the fall 2008 session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The resolution was adopted by UNGA on December 18, 2008. The resolution calls on the Government of Iran to fully respect its human rights obligations and implement previous resolutions. The adoption of the Canada-led resolution sends a strong signal that the international community remains deeply concerned about Iran's unacceptable human rights violations.
Please be assured that Canada will continue to use all means available to raise its concerns about human rights and the post-election situation in Iran. Thank you for taking the time to write and share your concerns.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, P.C., M.P.Minister of Foreign Affairs
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