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| September 5, 2007 Perfidious Lover
By: Saleh Alathamena (Original Arabic article was published by Al-Bilad Newspaper, August I do not know what struck me eight years ago when I first came to Canada as an immigrant. This was not an individual case that requires "isolation", but rather a contagion rampant spread among many compatriots. It is the unjustified adoration we, as a community, have towards a lover that does care about our cause. We mistakenly thought this lover is the closest to us in terms of "platform" and brilliant ideas.... I used to stroll proudly with other fans with the slogan the pins of this lover affixed at the left top side of our jackets. We had sore feet from knocking on hundreds of doors during all seasons for its sake. I swear I never knocked on doors in my life as much as I did for this lover over the past few years. This perfidious lover used to stick its tongue out to us from time to time. We thought this was just a coquettish behavior until recently when we also got the "finger"! I have never publicly questioned the reason behind this "blind love" even though I was not personally convinced. Had it not been for the fear that someone might accuse me of deviating from the overall direction of the community, I could have abandoned this beloved a long time ago! This beloved is a political party that we supported but we were let down; we stood next to it while it deserted us. Did you know this lover? It is the Liberal Party of Canada. I was very much impressed by the party for the stances of its historic leaders such as Trudeau and Chrétien. Also, I was proud of the stances of some of its members like Pat O'Brien and Ed Corrigan. Over time, however, this "liberal illusion" started to crumble when Paul Martin and then Stéphane Dion took over, followed by the resignation of Pat O'Brien and Joe Fontana (of whom I have some reservations over his opportunistic nature). The last straw was the undemocratic rejection of Ed Corrigan's nomination as London-Fanshawe Liberal candidate. The Liberal's divergence from the party's principles that are based on justice, equality, respect for fundamental human rights, the rule of law and the renouncing of violence as a means to resolve conflicts, started when Paul Martin formed a feeble minority government that did not last long. The Liberals lost the elections and they are trying to regain power not by maintaining the principles and values of the pioneer leaders but by surrendering to the pressure dictated by well-known groups. Thus the party went astray and forgot that its popularity was based on the immigrants' votes. These votes facilitated the formation of its successive governments. Canada was at one time an indisputable supporter of human rights. However, during the Martin-Dion era, it became a supporter of the policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing. This is obvious through the uninterrupted support of Israel's practices against the Palestinians. The pro-Israeli groups within the Liberal Party recently became so dominant that even if its historic leaders returned to power, it would be difficult for them to do anything about it. Moreover, if the remainders of the honest Liberals dare to speak the truth, their fate would be similar to that of Ed Corrigan who was denied the right to seek nomination as a candidate under the pretext that he writes articles in an offensive and provocative manner! The truth that everyone knows is that the Party has deliberately rejected him for his pro-justice stances with regards to the Palestinian issue. The support of the Liberal Party and its pro-Israeli groups for the practices of the Israeli occupying forces is an encouragement to Israel to keep the occupied territories. This is at the time when the former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan addressed the Israelis on March 12, 2002 requesting them to "end the illegal occupation of the occupied territories." Also, the Liberals pretend to have forgotten UN Security Council Resolution 242 requesting that Israel withdraw to the pre-4th of June 1967 boarders including East Jerusalem. Every day, Israeli armed forces violate the Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war; the Convention of which Canada is a signatory country. The Israelis attack and demolish Palestinian houses and systematically destroy their crops. They build more and more illegal settlements. They set up checkpoints everywhere thus preventing Palestinians from reaching their destinations. This is in addition to the long periods of detention without trial. Amnesty International in this context pointed out how the Israeli security forces attack the Palestinians, torture them and leave them in solitary confinement for extended periods of time. The Liberal Party, that is fully aware of all these inhuman practices through their visiting parliamentary missions to the occupied territories, includes among its members influential groups that work hard to support and strengthen relations with a State of racial discrimination. Israeli practices prompted the South African Archbishop, Desmond Tito to put the two racists regimes in Israel and South Africa on equal footing, when he said, "I am black from South Africa, and say that what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank is exactly what was happening in South Africa." In a nutshell, after the resignation/expulsion of those who were real supporters to justice and human rights, the Liberals have nothing to say to the Arab and Muslim communities. Therefore, I say loudly, that it is a crime for any Arab or Muslim to vote for Liberal candidates. Ed Corrigan, as a man of principles could elucidate the ugly face of this party. As for the very small group of quacks and hoboes in our community who claim to be a majority, I would like to tell them "you could make use of the current situation on a personal basis, but sooner than later, the party will reject you after you have been rejected by your community. |