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Canucks yank ambassador to Iran
Cheeze. Is that a testicle? Did he always have that?
A visibly angry Jean Chrétien lashed out at Iran yesterday over the death in custody and the burial of a photojournalist from Montreal, describing the behaviour of Iranian authorities as intolerable and recalling Canada's ambassador from Tehran in protest. "I'm very unhappy that they take a journalist and kill a journalist," the prime minister said after a cabinet meeting. "It's unacceptable. I think it's horrible what they've done. We protested the strongest we could."
| Now, if I was prime minister — which I'm not — I'da phrased that "I'm very unhappy that they take a Canadian and kill a Canadian," but I'm probably just picky that way... |
Mr. Chrétien's outburst was prompted by confirmation that Zahra Kazemi, 54, who died in detention from a fractured skull, had been buried in Iran, contrary to the expressed wishes of her son in Montreal and the Canadian government that her remains be returned to Canada. Mr. Chrétien said that although there is nothing he can do to bring Ms. Kazemi, 54, back to life, the government is committed to trying to get her body back.
| Wants the body back, huh? Boy, he's really fired up... |
Foreign Minister Bill Graham, emerging from the same cabinet meeting, reiterated the government's demands for an "open and transparent" inquiry to determine who was responsible for her death on July 10.
| So far the "transparency" consists of glassy-eyed stares from the ayatollahs... |
Mr. Graham said he took some comfort from the decision earlier yesterday to turn the freshly ordered inquiry into Ms. Kazemi's death over to the Tehran military court. The move, which Mr. Graham termed a "positive" sign, takes the inquiry out of the hands of Saeed Mortazavi, a controversial, conservative hardline prosecutor whom some Iranians accuse of being responsible for Ms. Kazemi's death.
| Well, that certainly would have been efficient. I'm sure he'd have saved lotsa taxpayer dollars investigating himself... |
Mr. Graham also said Canada was considering sanctions against Iran that go beyond the indefinite recall of its ambassador "for consultations." He said the federal government won't make a decision until it gets input on what would be most effective from Philip MacKinnon, Canada's ambassador to Iran. Mr. MacKinnon is expected back in Ottawa by the weekend.
"Mr Prime Minister, I think we should mock them severely!"
"Oh, I dunno. That's pretty drastic."
"We could criticize their table manners!"
"Won't they find that... ummm... offensive?" |
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-07-24 |
