| Submit your comments on this article | ||
| Great White North | ||
| Small-Town Canadian Police Caught in Iran Dispute | ||
| 2003-07-25 | ||
Police in the Vancouver suburb of Port Moody, British Columbia, admitted surprise and some dismay on Thursday at finding themselves in the middle of diplomatic storm between Canada and Iran. Iran accused Canadian police on Thursday of the "criminal" killing of an 18-year-old Iranian immigrant. Iran and Canada are already at odds over Zahra Kazemi, 54, a Canadian photojournalist of Iranian descent who died in Tehran after suffering a severe blow to the head while in police custody.
"It’s way above my pay grade." Port Moody is a rapidly growing community of about 25,000 people about 10 km (6.5 miles) east of Vancouver. Tabesh lived in Burnaby, British Columbia, another Vancouver suburb. According to witnesses interviewed by police, the early morning incident began when two women complained that Tabesh had rammed their vehicle with his car, hit the vehicle repeatedly with a machete and then drove off. Officers spotted Tabesh’s car while interviewing the women. Sounds like he drove back to the scene of the crime, saw the cops and took off. A plainclothes officer followed him and and reported he fired several shots after Tabesh got out of his car and ran at him with the machete, police said. "You’ll never take me alive...Ouch, Ouch!" "Everything we have been able to uncover about this kid and his past character and incidents that had concerned him confirm (the original report)," Boles said. Kid’s got a record, cops ain’t talking about it, yet. He said witnesses include two youths who were in Tabesh’s car, one of whom was wounded in the incident. The incident received widespread coverage in the Vancouver media because police shootings are very rare. Tabesh’s parents, who moved to Canada two years ago, have accused police of illegally shooting their son, who they said carried a weapon because he had been attacked by an unknown individual shortly after arriving in Canada. Uh huh. Boles said Port Moody is committed to a "transparent and satisfactory" investigation of the shooting, echoing the words used by officials in both Tehran and Ottawa in their diplomatic dispute. The officer who shot Tabesh, whose name has not been released, is on paid leave pending the completion of the investigation. He is a 25-year veteran of police work and is described as being "traumatized" by what happened. So far this sounds like a valid shooting. | ||
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 Rafael - I believe it is simple: If you are granted citizenship in a country, by birth or naturalization, then you are a citizen of that country. Period. No other. If you are a naturalized citizen, then your country of origin means nothing, IMHO, as you have pledged yourself to the new country - and they have reciprocated for that pledge by granting you rights - including representation and travel rights as evidenced by the passport. Nobody MADE you emigrate from your previous home - it was your choice. Choice made. Can't make such a pledge? Can't reciprocate the generosity of your new home? Then stay wherever you are. Choice made. End of story. "As for dual citizenship, it has become too conveniant for governments to disallow it. Most countries subscribe to the idea that you can't make a person "stateless", so dual citizenship makes it easier to boot someone out of their country." Aw c'mon. That just doesn't make sense. Too easy? Wha? It's THEIR passport - to give or not. What are you talking about? As for booting someone, the ONE PASSPORT idea makes this idiot-proof: If he's YOURS, then you do whatever the law prescribes. If he's NOT, then you apply your laws, again, as he is subject to them while in your country. If deportation is what the law prescribes, then ship his dumb ass home. It is far too easy to make the case against all of these divide loyalties and the idiotic crap that passes for diplomatic activity on these issues. You can't be a little bit pregnant - either you is - or you isn't, pardon the grammar. How easy - or difficult - it is to get a visa is irrelevant. I've been "on the road" for more than 5 of the last 10 years working abroad. I am an American citizen, End of story. |
| Posted by: PD 2003-7-26 12:38:06 AM |
| #6 I live in Vancouver and the machete incident was all over the news. Here are a couple of important details that weren't included in the story above: The machete-wielding Iranian was a problem wating to happen. He didn't have a long rap sheet, but he was "associated" with local Iranian gangs. Iranian gangs don't cause many problems here (just wannabes, compared to the East Indians, Vietnamese, Hell's Angels, etc.), but they all think they're tough shit straight outta Compton. Anyways, this turd thought it would be fun to intimidate a guy (who turned out to be an undercover cop, stopping them for questioning) by charging at him with a machete raised over his head. Even his buddies in the car admit that he ran at the cop with the machete in striking position. The cop shot him (as anyone would) and he croaked. End of story. It's a perfectly valid shooting. Just an example of a good cop defending himself after cornering some suspects involved in a crime. There is no story here. Sure, police shootings are rare here, but this is about as cut and dry as it gets. Chasing after ANYONE with a machete is a deadly threat, chasing after an armed cop who is investigating a machete-related crime is suicide. The fact the Iranian government has something to say about it is what blows my mind. Their idea of moral equivalence is the aforementioned shooting vs. the beating to death of a Canadian photographer who took pictures of a prison. Sounds equitable, right? |
| Posted by: jason 2003-7-25 8:00:09 PM |
| #5 DUAL CITIZENSHIP PASSPORTS Not sure what you mean by that but if you don't include your place of birth in your passport, some countries will demand an entry visa from you, even if normally you don't require one. As for dual citizenship, it has become too conveniant for governments to disallow it. Most countries subscribe to the idea that you can't make a person "stateless", so dual citizenship makes it easier to boot someone out of their country. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2003-7-25 4:38:51 PM |
| #4 I'm sure its the Canadians strong stance during the War on Iraq that got them into this mess. Right? |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-7-25 4:20:53 PM |
| #3 The Canadian govt will have to confront the idiocy of Iran or the govt will remain idiots. The transition is painful. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-7-25 2:02:04 PM |
| #2 Is the "victim" a Canadian or not? Is this one of asinine dual passport fuckups? If he's a Canadian, then Iran can go shit in their turbans. If he's not, then bury him - sans autopsy or inquiry - as the asshats did with the journalist and STOP ISSUING DUAL CITIZENSHIP PASSPORTS, FOOLS. |
| Posted by: PD 2003-7-25 1:51:03 PM |
| #1 The idea that the two cases are somehow the morally equivalent is foolish. Zahra had her brains bashed in while in Iranian custody, this kid in Canada was brandishing a machette!!!What are the cops supposed to do? Stand around with their dicks in their hands? Crazy! |
| Posted by: debbie 2003-7-25 1:43:55 PM |