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May 30, 2007

See Stephane Dion's statement below.

NCCAR Expresses Disappointment in Stéphane Dion's Statement


Ottawa - May 28, 2007 – The National Council on Canada-Arab Relations' President, Bahija Réghaï issued the following statement today in response to Stephane Dion's May 25th statement on the violence in Gaza:


"The Opposition Leader's statement last Friday displayed a complete lack of sensitivity to the complexity of the crisis in Gaza and an unbalanced perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general.


Mr. Dion chose to focus mainly on the right of Israelis to live in safety and security at a time when thousands of Gazans are suffering as a result of twelve consecutive days of Israeli military strikes.


We are saddened by the death of two innocent Israeli citizens and the countless innocent Palestinians caught in the crossfire.


We are particularly concerned by Israel's illegal arrest and detention of over fourty members of the Palestinian Government and democratically-elected legislature.


Mr. Dion's statement is unbalanced and regrettably quite consistent with his predecessor's who declared that Israel's values are Canada's values.


The “independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state” Mr. Dion refers to will not emerge under military occupation and violence. The Liberal Leader's statement is representative of a double standard used against Palestinians.


NCCAR is deeply dismayed by the lack of responsiveness on the part of the Liberal Party. This will not go unnoticed by Canadians who expect fairness and balance from their elected representatives.”


Contact: NCCAR Executive Director: Samah Sabawi, (613) 238-3795, Samah@nccar.ca

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The National Council on Canada-Arab Relations is a non-partisan, non-governmental organisation dedicated to improving ties between Canada and the Arab world. For more information:  www.nccar.ca

Reaction from Syrian Arab Association of Canada to Stephane Dion's statement in regards to occupied Palestine

From: Syrian Arab Association of Canada < info@syraac.com >
Date: 29-May-2007 19:29
Subject: Your Statement with regard to Gaza and occupied Palestine
To: Dion.s@parl.gc.ca
Cc: info@liberal.ca

Dear leader Dion,

As a part of the larger Liberal constituency, and as the representative of the Syrian Canadian community, I take issue with your statements on the Israeli-Arab problem.

Although I cannot agree more with the part of your statement that calls for an independent Palestinian State and I quote: "Israel must be allowed to live in peace and security, and we must continue to work toward an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel.", I must remind you that such work has continued for 60 years to no avail.

Our work toward an independent Palestinian State must be predicated on ending the illegal occupation of Syrian and Palestinian land. Our work cannot succeed while Palestine, or the Syrian Golan is under occupation and illegal annexation.

Israel's occupation seeks the total subjugation of the people it occupies. Israel attempts to militarily beat the indigenous states of the region into submission to assure its benefactors of the strategic role it can play as the watchdog of U.S interests in the region. Israel has since its creation, demonstrated its contempt for numerous U.N. resolutions demanding it to withdraw from all land it occupied by force, notably UNSCRs 242 and 338 as well as UNGAR 194.

Unfortunately, no one, you and I included, can work for the objective of peace in the Middle East (and beyond) if we do not call for an immediate end to this Israeli occupation.  This is the crux of my concern with your statement; the absence of a call on Israel to end its occupation and withdraw its troops from Arab Lands.

It will take fortitude and forthrightness in order for you as my leader, to make a statement to that effect, however. Such will establish once and for all, the objective of a balanced foreign policy position on the Middle East crisis that is expected from the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

I implore you to make such a statement for the sake of world peace and to uphold the principles of Human Rights everywhere. It is the right and moral thing to do. Canada and the Liberal Party in particular should not succumb to militarism and accept the illegal Israeli occupation as a de facto fact on the ground; or accept the daily Human Rights violations of Syrians and Palestinians that the Israeli occupation utterly represents. Said occupation is the pinnacle of terror, and it continues without you even making a reference to it or mention of it as the root cause of most of the troubles in that region.

In closing, you should be aware that there are more than one and a half million Canadians of the Muslim faith, the majority of whom are of Arab origin. All of these Canadians cannot demand less, whether there is an election campaign underway or not.

Yours in Liberalism,

Christopher A. Assad
President
Syrian Arab Association of Canada
Ottawa ( 613)878-1716


Statement by the Honourable Stephane Dion, Leader of the Opposition, on the Violence in the Gaza Strip

May 25, 2007

On behalf of the Liberal caucus, I would like to express my dismay at the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip. Too often we have seen that it is innocent victims in Israel and Gaza who have paid the price in the power struggle between rival Palestinian factions. I join with all Canadians in expressing my hope that an immediate and ultimately lasting ceasefire can be achieved between the parties.

I condemn those who are responsible for the Qassam rocket attacks on Southern Israel and I call on an immediate and unconditional end to the hostilities. I call on all parties in the region to respect international humanitarian law and avoid at all costs the targeting of innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure. Civilians must have unfettered access to humanitarian aid and I call on the parties to ensure that NGOs and relief organizations in the region have the ability to deliver needed aid those in need to avoid a looming humanitarian disaster.

Israel must be allowed to live in peace and security, and we must continue to work toward an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel.