| January 21, 2007
Dion's decision insults all Arab Canadians
Liberal leader Stéphane Dion's decision to appoint MP Irwin Cotler as
Liberal Party human rights critic is an insult to all Arab Canadians. In
fact by appointing Cotler, Dion has made a mockery of the Liberal Party's
position on human rights and also insulted human rights workers and
activists around the world.
This past summer, Cotler gained notoriety all over the world for his
viscious verbal attack on Louise Arbour, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights. Prior to becoming the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour served as a Justice of the
Supreme Court of Canada. Prior to that, in 1996 Louise Arbour was appointed
by the Security Council of the United Nations as Chief Prosecutor for the
International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, a
position she held for three years. Here is a excerpt of Cotler's 2006
viscious verbal attack on United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Louise Arbour:
"Louise Arbour's comments on international law as it applies to Israel's
military actions in Lebanon are as superficial as they are simplistic as a
matter of law, and uninformed and misleading in their appreciation of and
application to the facts." [Source]
Irwin Cotler is also listed as an Associate of the The Jerusalem Center for
Public Affairs ("JCPA"), an Israeli think tank.
According to JCPA's website, one of it's main activities is:
"Providing a Voice for Israel's Experts
Some of the leading experts who have been featured in Jerusalem Center
publications and briefings in recent years include:
. Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, former IDF Chief of Staff
. Maj.-Gen. Aharon Zeevi Farkash, former head of IDF Intelligence
. Maj.-Gen. Benny Gantz, head of IDF Northern Command
. Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh, head of IDF Central Command
. Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Giora Eiland, head of Israel's National Security Council
and responsible for designing the disengagement
. Brig.-Gen. (res.) Shalom Harari, a senior advisor on Palestinian affairs
for Israel's Defense Ministry
. Col. (Res.) Danny Tirza, the IDF's chief architect for the security fence"
[Source]
In its September 16, 2005 article titled "Israeli ex-military chief cancels
trip to UK over threat of war crimes arrest", the UK's Guardian newspaper
reported as follows:
"A former Israeli military chief, Moshe Yaalon, has cancelled a trip to
London for fear of arrest on war crimes charges relating to attacks on
Palestinian civilians and property."
It is also well known all over the world that the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) ruled unanimously that it had jurisdiction to give an advisory
opinion on the question of the legality of Israel's so called "security
fence". In 2004 by a vote of fourteen to one (the American judge
dissenting), the Court decided the construction of the wall is contrary to
international law and that it must be dismantled. The ruling also called for
Israel to make reparation for all damage caused by the construction of the
wall. The Court said the UN should consider further action against Israel to
end the illegal situation of the wall.
In 2005, the JCPA produced a report titled "What is the True Demographic
Picture in the West Bank and Gaza?- A Presentation and a Critique"
Here is an excerpt:
"Jews Total 51 Percent in the Land of Israel; Arabs Have Demographic
Momentum
Between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River the estimated population
includes about 5.2 million Jews and another 300,000 non-Jews who are
immigrants under the Law of Return and sociologically quite integrated
within the mainstream of Israeli society. There are also more than 1,300,000
Arabs who are a part of the State of Israel within the "green line." I
estimate there are another 3.4 million Palestinians in Judea, Samaria, and
Gaza, bringing the Arab total to 4.7 million, out of a total population
between the sea and the river of 10,263,000. Of this number, 51 percent are
Jews and 3 percent are non-Jewish members of Jewish households, for a total
of 54 percent. Eastern Jerusalem residents are not double counted in these
estimates. Were we to include the temporary foreign workers, the share of
Jews would be reduced by 2 percent. Furthermore, the high level of fertility
and young age-composition of the Arabs gives them demographic momentum."
A JCPA related organization, the NGO Monitor, is run from the Institute of
Contemporary Affairs based in the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs,
Jerusalem. Led by Executive Director Gerald Steinberg, the NGO Monitor has
been highly critical of many of the leading human rights organizations in
the world.
In 2005, NGO Monitor produced a report which was highly critical of the work
of the Canadian Government's Canadian International Development Agency
("CIDA"). In the report, the NGO Monitor accused CIDA of funding groups
which NGO Monitor alleges "contribute to the conflict" in the Middle East.
The targets of these NGO Monitor attacks included Doctors without Borders,
Medical Aid For Palestinians, Medicins du Monde, Oxfam and Save the
Children!
By appointing MP Irwin Cotler as Liberal Party human rights critic, Liberal
leader Stéphane Dion has insulted all Arab Canadians. In fact by appointing
Cotler, Dion has made a mockery of the Liberal Party's position on human
rights and also insulted human rights workers and activists around the
world.
As an Arab Canadian who grew up in Ville St. Laurent, it is now my goal to
do all I can to inform the voters of Ville St. Laurent, particularly those
who like me evidently have a "high level of fertility", of the arrogant,
condescending and insulting position which Stéphane Dion and the Liberal
Party has taken on human rights.
Ron Saba, Editor
Montreal Planet Magazine
Write to Stephane Dion at Dion.S@parl.gc.ca
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