Canada hardening on Iran

Posted on 5/17/2005 by Younghusband

“*From The Globe & Mail*”:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050517.wkazem0517/BNStory/National/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20050517.wkazem0517
Ottawa took a hard line on relations with Iran Tuesday, dramatically limiting diplomatic contact between the two countries until a “credible and independent”Â? investigation into the beating death of a Montreal photojournalist is staged.

Zahra Kazemi was an Iranian-Canadian journo who died mysteriously in 2003 while in Iranian custody after being accused of photographing Tehran’s “Evin Prison”:http://www.cominganarchy.com/2005/04/02/zahra-kazemi-and-evin-prison/. The Iranians said she died of a stroke, but “evidence suggested otherwise”:http://www.cominganarchy.com/2005/04/11/striking-out-at-the-mullahs/.

“The bilateral relationship with Iran cannot proceed as normal,”Â? Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said.
…
[Foreign Minister] Mr. Pettigrew did not withdraw Canada’s ambassador to Iran ““ as demanded by Opposition critics ““ or shutter the embassy in Tehran. He said, however, that “we are further tightening our policy of controlled engagement.”Â?

So, what will they do?

* limit encounters with Iranian officials to the Kazemi case, Iran’s human-rights record and Iran’s nuclear non-proliferation performance

* no visits or exchanges by Iranian officials to Canada will be permitted, nor will Canadian officials engage with Iran, except relating to the above issues

* the Iranian embassy in Ottawa will need to have any meetings with Canadian officials, in advance, by the federal Foreign Affairs department

* any existing “programs of co-operation”Â? between Canadian governmental agencies and their Iranian counterparts will be halted

We’ll see how far this gets them.

About Younghusband

Sir Francis Edward Younghusband (1863-1942) was a British explorer, army officer, military-political officer, and foreign correspondent born in India who led expeditions into Manchuria, Kashgar, and Tibet. He three times tried and failed to scale Mt. Everest and journeyed from China to India, crossing the Gobi desert and the Mustagh Pass (alt. c.19,000 ft/5,791 m) of the Karakoram mountain range in modern day Pakistan. Convinced of Russian designs on British interests in India, Younghusband proactively engaged in the nineteenth century spying and conflict over Central Asia between the British and the Russians known as the Great Game. "Younghusband" is a Canadian who has spent a number of years bouncing back and forth between his home country and Japan. Fluent in Japanese and English with experience in numerous other languages from Spanish to Georgian, Younghusband has travelled throughout Asia. He graduated with an MA from the War Studies Department at the Royal Military College of Canada, where he focussed on the Japanese oil industry and energy security issues. He has recently returned to Canada from Japan, and is working in the technology sector.
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4 Responses to Canada hardening on Iran

  1. Improbulus Maximus says:
    5/17/2005 at 7:29 pm

    They could always try a strongly worded letter.

  2. Chirol says:
    5/17/2005 at 7:37 pm

    Or desecrating the Koran…

  3. IJ says:
    5/17/2005 at 8:21 pm

    The politics are complex. Iran seems to be a pal of China, who Canada wants to invest in its “oil production”:http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Focus/GE18Dh02.html.

    The global rules suggest that a nation’s economy is the priority.

  4. Younghusband says:
    5/17/2005 at 9:33 pm

    I don’t think the Canadians view the Iranians as an “in” with the Chinese. Besides, China is in Iran to fill a gap that only the French have taken advantage of.

    Also from the above article:

    bq. “Canada will not block the initiatives of private Canadian companies to trade with their Iranian counterparts,”Â? Mr. Pettigrew said.

    Iran doesn’t need Canada in any economic way that I can discern. Thus Canada should be rallying more _international_ attention to the Kazemi case. This one-on-one diplomatic dance is too weak, and the Iranians will just ignore us like they have been for the past 2 years. We need a down home rootin’ tootin’ line dance going on before the mullahs will budge.