Harper's veto
Jerusalem Post 6/10/06
At a summit of 53 Francophone countries last week, Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper showed what it means to be a great power.
Standing alone on principle, Canada forced the conference to introduce a modicum
of balance into a lopsidedly anti-Israel statement on the recent war in Lebanon.
At the end of the summit on Friday, Egypt proposed an amendment, as a Lebanese
minister put it, to "condemn the war because it was deplorable … Everyone agreed
accept Canada."
In a press conference scheduled just before the last-minute crisis had been
resolved, Harper explained Canada's veto: "The [Egyptian] amendment wants to
recognize and deplore the war and recognize the victims of Lebanon. We are able
to deplore the war, we are able to recognize the victims, but on both sides. …
The Francophonie cannot recognize victims according to their nationality.
Recognize the victims of Lebanon and the victims of Israel.'"
Harper added that his goal in opposing the Egyptian amendment was to shape the
resolution so as to "avoid a similar attack on Israel in the future, a similar
response and a similar result."
About an hour later, a compromise proposed by France was accepted unanimously.
The adopted resolution stated: "In deploring the tragedy in Lebanon and its
dramatic consequences for all of the civilian populations, we call for a total
cessation of hostilities and a return to calm in Lebanon."
Note that the improved resolution is far from a fair reflection of reality, let
alone "pro-Israel." It did not blame Hizbullah for starting the war on July 12
with its initial cross-border bombardment, kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers
and killing of eight other soldiers, nor did it call for the soldiers'
unconditional release, as did UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
But the rejected Egyptian amendment had nothing to do with being fair,
constructive, or promoting peace; it was a pure, old-fashioned power play led by
Arab states. These states expected the attending democracies to meekly go along
with yet another rewriting of history, largely unnoticed among the heaps of
other such resolutions that are routinely passed.
France's reaction to Canada's principled stance reflected exactly such cynical
complacency. French President Jacques Chirac said that Harper's position flew in
the face of "the great majority" of countries at the summit. Chirac did not say
that Harper was wrong and - by proposing a compromise that did grudgingly imply
recognition of Israeli civilian suffering - admitted that Harper was right.
Harper's veto was the latest reflection of a positive shift in Canadian foreign
policy toward Israel. An ambassador, Yvon Charbonneau, who had been appointed by
a previous government despite a long history of animus toward Israel, was
removed from his post at UNESCO. In July, Canada voted against a resolution
condemning Israeli actions against Palestinians, arguing that it was biased.
This is a refreshing change in Canadian policy that seems to have accelerated
under the new conservative government, formed in February. In 2003, for example,
out of 18 UN General Assembly resolutions that were unbalanced against Israel,
Canada voted for 13 and abstained on 5 resolutions. In 2005, Canada voted for
"only" 11 anti-Israel resolutions, voted with Israel four times, and abstained
twice.
We hope this tally, kept by the Canadian Coalition for Democracies, will improve
dramatically in the UN session that has just begun. Though some critics of
Canada's emerging stance warn that Ottawa is losing its moral voice and stance
as an "honest broker," the opposite is the case.
As the voting records show, Canada is still voting against more often than it
votes with Israel. If such a record is deemed "pro-Israel," it is clearly so
only in relation to the extremely unfair treatment Israel receives in
international bodies. But even if Canada voted with Israel on every biased UN
resolution, this would not make Canada blindly pro-Israel; it would only mean
that Canada had decided to courageously support basic principles of fairness and
constructiveness that every democracy should proudly uphold.
In the meantime, Canadians should be proud of their government's leadership,
which put France, the titular head of the Francophone summit, to shame. France
revealed that it could not stand up to the "great majority" when that majority
was clearly in the wrong. Canada has proved that it could, giving hope not only
for Canada, but for free nations the world over.
The New Face of Canada
By Stephen Brown
FrontPageMagazine.com | October 3, 2006
He headed them off at the pass. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a
western Canadian from Alberta where cowboy hats and boots are still proudly
worn, played the sheriff well at the 53-nation Francophone summit in Bucharest
last week when he stopped a last-minute publication of an anti-Israel amendment
on the conference’s last day. Harper, the leader of Canada’s ruling Conservative
party, shot down the amendment, sponsored by Egypt, because it “deplored” the
effects of the recent war in Lebanon without recognizing Israeli suffering.
“The amendment wants to recognize and deplore the war and recognize the victims
of Lebanon. We are able to deplore the war, we are able to recognize the
victims, but on both sides,” said the Prime Minister at a news conference. “The
Francophonie cannot recognize victims according to their nationality. Recognize
the victims of Lebanon and the victims of Israel.”
Harper’s tough stance, according to the report in Canada’s National Post, set
off a lively argument in the Romanian parliament where the summit was being
held. The leaders left the final news conference to hold another closed-door
meeting to try and reach a compromise on the amendment. As it turned out,
Harper’s riding herd on the delegates, the majority of whom supported the
amendment, paid off. The final version of the amendment was evenhanded, saying
the Francophonie “deplores the tragedy in Lebanon and the dramatic consequences
for all civilian populations.”
Harper, a staunch supporter of the War on Terror whose response to anti-war
criticism at home was to send more troops and a squadron of tanks to bolster
Canada’s 2,200 man contingent in Afghanistan, prevented the Francophone
conference from being used to promote anti-Israeli bias, as other international
conferences have been used in the past. Switzerland and France also deserve
credit for supporting Canada in her effort to change the amendment. But it was
America’s northern neighbor who came in for special criticism from Lebanon’s
culture minister who, according to the Post, complained that everyone originally
agreed on the amendment except Canada.
But this is beside the point. The Francophone summit, held to promote French
language and culture, should stick to its traditional, non-political agenda.
However, in the Post report, the Lebanese culture minister said there are plans
for the summit to take political positions on international conflicts, a
forewarning if there ever was one. The Lebanese president, Emile Lahoud, was not
invited by Romania to attend the event because of his pro-Syria and Hezbollah
stance, which indicates the dismal direction these plans are probably going to
take.
But as long as Harper is around, they won’t have much success. His hard-nosed
stance to change the amendment’s wording, he said, was “to avoid a similar
attack on Israel in the future, a similar response and a similar result.” And
while Canada’s prime minister was putting things in order abroad, there were
also a couple of minor victories scored against the anti-American Left at home.
While on a visit to Canada, the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, put the
anti-war Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in its place. In an interview, he
told the CBC that Canada should stop complaining about its casualties in
Afghanistan, saying his country had lost 600 dead in combat compared to Canada’s
less than 40, putting the issue in perspective. The CBC and other media outlets
have been playing the casualty card to get Canada to withdraw its troops from
Afghanistan, crying crocodile tears over Canadian losses to advance its agenda.
The leader of Canada’s anti-American, socialist New Democratic Party, Jack
Layton, besides calling for a Canadian withdrawal, actually wants to negotiate
with the Taliban. As a result of his cowardly behavior, the President of
Afghanistan refused to meet with him when he visited Canada recently despite
several requests from Layton.
Moreover, a non-political “Support Our Troops” in Afghanistan rally on Toronto’s
downtown Dundas Square I attended last Friday went ahead despite initial
difficulties. Citing bylaw and rigid regulations and codes, officials from the
NDP-dominated city administration actually kicked a military vehicle off the
Square that had a banner on its side for people to sign to be sent to the troops
in Afghanistan. Ironically, while Canadian troops are dying in Afghanistan for
their country, one of their vehicles can’t even get a parking spot at a support
rally at home.
Showing their solidarity and more humanity, however, the Toronto police, whose
association paid the city’s fee for the event, refused to ticket the vehicle
when it parked in a no-parking area on Yonge Street, a main Toronto
thoroughfare, in front of the Square and continued with the signing.
The bad optics continued when, at one point, a threat was made to tow the
satellite vehicles of the different media outlets covering the event off the
Square. It was also said the fountains would not be turned off, which would have
limited space. But despite these officious shenanigans, several thousand people,
including internationally renowned singer Gordon Lightfoot, turned up for the
highly successful, pro-troop event, showing their support for their soldiers by
wearing red, the color of the Canadian flag.
All of which shows Prime Minister Harper has a bigger posse behind him than he
may realize.
Francophone Summit calls for return to calm in Lebanon
Declaration stresses effects of war on all civilian populations
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Mihaela Rodina
Agence France Presse
BUCHAREST: Heads of state or government from more than 30 French-speaking
nations wrapped up Friday a two-day summit with a compromise on a declaration
calling for a return to calm in war-torn Lebanon. Canada and Switzerland had
refused an amendment proposed by Egypt that would have mentioned only Lebanese
victims of Israeli attacks and not referred to Israeli victims of Hizbullah
rocket attacks.
The final declaration spoke of "the dramatic consequences for all civilian
populations [involved]" and called for "a complete end to hostilities and a
return to calm in Lebanon." French President "Jacques Chirac resolved the
problem" by suggesting the text be submitted to a vote, which made Canada accept
a more general wording, Hugo Sada, spokesman for the International Francophone
Organization (OIF) told AFP.
The final wording is close to UN Resolution 1701, which allowed for the
reinforcement of UN peacekeepers in South Lebanon and for Israeli troops to
withdraw, which they have not yet completely done.
The OIF summit had opened Thursday amid a dispute over whether the Lebanese
president should have been invited.
Chirac and Romanian President Traian Basescu had on Wednesday defended the
decision not to invite Emile Lahoud.
Chirac said the decision was made in the light of a UN report on the
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri - a personal friend
of his.
The UN report implicated senior officials from neighboring Syria in the killing.
The pro-Syrian Lahoud is boycotted by Western nations, who do not consider him a
legitimate president. His mandate was controversially extended after changes to
the Lebanese Constitution pushed through Parliament by pro-Syrian MPs in
September 2004. Basescu said the decision not to invite Lahoud to the Bucharest
summit had been a "personal choice" and had been the right one, given the
"suspicions" raised by the UN report on the death of Hariri.
But Lahoud on Thursday told French radio France-Inter that Chirac was
"interfering in domestic Lebanese affairs."
"The president of Romania does what Chirac tells him to do," Lahoud complained.
"President Chirac told him a few months ago not to invite me. Now he [Basescu]
is looking for excuses but this is not the truth." Lebanon was represented at
the summit by Culture Minister Tarek Mitri, who said he did not think the row
would affect Beirut's relations with Paris, its former colonial master.
"Of course, there is the view held by President Lahoud [and] there are comments
that have been made about President Lahoud. But I don't think all this will
affect relations between our two countries," Mitri told a news conference in
Bucharest.
"Whatever our differences ... these ties strong and our government wants it that
way."
In a sideswipe at Hizbullah, Chirac said Thursday the Lebanese government should
be allowed to exercise its authority "over the entire country," but added the
situation in Lebanon seemed to have stabilized and he was "not at all
pessimistic."
Francophonie Summit Wraps up
with Wording Similar to Resolution 1701
Heads of state or government from more than 30 French-speaking nations wrapped
up a two-day summit with a compromise on a declaration calling for a return to
calm in war-torn Lebanon.
Canada and Switzerland had refused an amendment proposed by Egypt that would
have mentioned only Lebanese victims of Israeli attacks and not referred to
Israeli victims of Hizbullah rocket attacks.
The final declaration spoke of "the dramatic consequences for all civilian
populations (involved)" and called for "a complete end to hostilities and a
return to calm in Lebanon."
French President "Jacques Chirac resolved the problem" by suggesting the text be
submitted to a vote, which made Canada accept a more general wording, Hugo Sada,
spokesman for the International Francophone Organization (OIF) told AFP.
The final wording is close to U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which
allowed for the reinforcement of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon and for
Israeli troops to withdraw, which they have not yet completely done.
The OIF summit had opened Thursday amid a dispute over whether the Lebanese
president should have been invited.
Chirac and Romanian President Traian Basescu had on Wednesday defended the
decision not to invite Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.
The French leader said the decision was made in the light of a United Nations
report on the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri -- a personal
friend of his.
The U.N. report implicated senior officials from neighboring Syria in the
killing.
The pro-Syrian Lahoud is boycotted by Western nations, who do not consider him a
legitimate president. His mandate was controversially extended after changes to
the Lebanese constitution pushed through parliament by pro-Syrian MPs in
September 2004.
Basescu said the decision not to invite Lahoud to the Bucharest summit had been
a "personal choice" and had been the right one, given the "suspicions" raised by
the U.N. report on the death of Hariri.
But Lahoud on Thursday told French radio France-Inter that Chirac was
"interfering in domestic Lebanese affairs".
"The president of Romania does what Chirac tells him to do," Lahoud complained.
"President Chirac told him a few months ago not to invite me. Now he (Basescu)
is looking for excuses but this is not the truth."
Lebanon was represented at the summit by Culture Minister Tareq Mitri, who said
he did not think the row would affect Beirut's relations with Paris, its former
colonial master.
"Of course, there is the view held by President Lahoud (and) there are comments
that have been made about President Lahoud. But I don't think all this will
affect relations between our two countries," Mitri told a news conference in
Bucharest. "Whatever our differences ... these ties strong and our government
wants it that way." France is contributing around 2,000 soldiers to the enlarged
U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, where around 1,200 people died in
the 34-day war this summer between Israeli troops and Hizbullah.
In a sideswipe at Hizbullah, Chirac said on Thursday the Lebanese government
should be allowed to exercise its authority "over the whole of the country".
But he said the situation in Lebanon appeared to have stabilized and he was "not
at all pessimistic".(AFP photo shows French President Jacques Chirac giving a
speech in Bucharest, during the opening of 11th summit of the International
Francophone Organization)
Beirut, 29 Sep 06, 10:50
French-speaking countries express solidarity with Lebanon war victims
The Associated Press
Published: September 29, 2006
BUCHAREST, Romania Leaders of countries with cultural ties to France pledged
Friday during a summit in the Romanian capital to promote the use of new
technologies in education and promote the French language at international
gatherings.
Participants, including 22 heads of state, 11 prime ministers and 36 foreign
ministers, also adopted a statement recognizing the civilian victims of the
Hezbollah-Israeli conflict in Lebanon, Romanian Deputy Foreign Minister Cristian
Preda said.
The leaders, including French President Jacques Chirac and Canadian Premier
Stephen Harper, also wrangled over wording, with Canada objecting to initial
language proposed by Egypt, which specified that the victims were Lebanese.
"We can't recognize victims only on one side, of Lebanon, and not mention the
victims from Israel," Harper said at a news conference.
The final declaration, proposed by France, expressed solidarity with all
civilian victims of the conflict.
Lebanon was represented by its Culture Minister Tarek Mitri. Romania did not
invite the Lebanese President Emil Lahoud, who is seen as having been imposed on
Lebanon by Syrian influence. Romania instead extended an invitation to Prime
Minister Fuad Saniora.
The leaders also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ivory Coast, the
Darfur crisis, and problems in the Western Balkans and the Moldovan breakaway
republic of Trans-Dniester.
Also Friday, Senegal's former President Abdou Diouf was unanimously re-elected
Friday as secretary-general of the 63-member Organization of Francophone
Countries, or Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.
Diouf, 71, has headed the organization since 2002. After serving as a politician
in his native country for more than 40 years, he replaced the retiring Boutros
Boutros-Ghali of Egypt. A former chairman of the Organization of African States,
Diouf lives in France.
He said member countries were not seeking to defend French against English, but
that "anyone should be able to speak his native tongue and at least one language
of world circulation such as French or English."
The francophone organization also backed a UNESCO convention aiming to promote
cultural diversity, but opposed by the United States for fear it could be used
to enact trade barriers against its cultural exports, such as movies or music.
Chirac said France would begin proceedings to ratify the convention before the
end of the year, at the same time with the European Union. He also welcomed an
EU report calling for Romania and Bulgaria, two members of the Francophone
Organization, to join the EU in 2007. "It's an emotional moment. ... France
always supported Romania's EU bid," he said, noting that with Romania and
Bulgaria, more EU members would be using French.
Leaders also decided that the next summit will be held in Quebec, Canada in
2008.
Most of the organization's members are former French colonies in Africa and the
Caribbean, though the organization has expanded in recent years to countries in
Eastern Europe that have traditional or cultural ties to France.
Romania, where 88 percent of children study French in school, has pledged to set
up a Francophone University for Central and Eastern Europe. BUCHAREST, Romania
Leaders of countries with cultural ties to France pledged Friday during a summit
in the Romanian capital to promote the use of new technologies in education and
promote the French language at international gatherings.
Participants, including 22 heads of state, 11 prime ministers and 36 foreign
ministers, also adopted a statement recognizing the civilian victims of the
Hezbollah-Israeli conflict in Lebanon, Romanian Deputy Foreign Minister Cristian
Preda said.
The leaders, including French President Jacques Chirac and Canadian Premier
Stephen Harper, also wrangled over wording, with Canada objecting to initial
language proposed by Egypt, which specified that the victims were Lebanese.
"We can't recognize victims only on one side, of Lebanon, and not mention the
victims from Israel," Harper said at a news conference.
The final declaration, proposed by France, expressed solidarity with all
civilian victims of the conflict.
Lebanon was represented by its Culture Minister Tarek Mitri. Romania did not
invite the Lebanese President Emil Lahoud, who is seen as having been imposed on
Lebanon by Syrian influence. Romania instead extended an invitation to Prime
Minister Fuad Saniora.
The leaders also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ivory Coast, the
Darfur crisis, and problems in the Western Balkans and the Moldovan breakaway
republic of Trans-Dniester.
Also Friday, Senegal's former President Abdou Diouf was unanimously re-elected
Friday as secretary-general of the 63-member Organization of Francophone
Countries, or Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.
Diouf, 71, has headed the organization since 2002. After serving as a politician
in his native country for more than 40 years, he replaced the retiring Boutros
Boutros-Ghali of Egypt. A former chairman of the Organization of African States,
Diouf lives in France.
He said member countries were not seeking to defend French against English, but
that "anyone should be able to speak his native tongue and at least one language
of world circulation such as French or English."
The francophone organization also backed a UNESCO convention aiming to promote
cultural diversity, but opposed by the United States for fear it could be used
to enact trade barriers against its cultural exports, such as movies or music.
Chirac said France would begin proceedings to ratify the convention before the
end of the year, at the same time with the European Union.He also welcomed an EU
report calling for Romania and Bulgaria, two members of the Francophone
Organization, to join the EU in 2007. "It's an emotional moment. ... France
always supported Romania's EU bid," he said, noting that with Romania and
Bulgaria, more EU members would be using French.
Leaders also decided that the next summit will be held in Quebec, Canada in
2008.
Most of the organization's members are former French colonies in Africa and the
Caribbean, though the organization has expanded in recent years to countries in
Eastern Europe that have traditional or cultural ties to France.
Romania, where 88 percent of children study French in school, has pledged to set
up a Francophone University for Central and Eastern Europe.
Harper stance on Lebanese declaration forces debate at la Francophonie
BUCHAREST, Romania (CP) - Members of la Francophonie reached a compromise Friday
on a contentious resolution that would have acknowledged only the suffering in
Lebanon following the summer conflict in the Middle East.
The consensus was finally reached after Prime Minister Stephen Harper had
opposed the resolution, proposed by Egypt.
"I hope we can all recognize the suffering of humans - men and women - and not
just suffering based on people's nationality," Harper said.
"Obviously, Canada believes. . . we should recognize the victims in both Lebanon
and Israel."
"I don't think an international organization with the breadth and scope of la
Francophonie would want to do anything other than make sure that victims are
recognized regardless of their nationality."
In the end, the 72 members of la Francophonie unanimously supported a compromise
proposed by the French delegation.
The majority of countries supported the Egyptian resolution but "Canada was
opposed and we had to try to find a solution that wouldn't force anyone to lose
face," said French President Jacques Chirac.
The text of the final resolution "calls for a cessation of hostilities and a
return to calm in Lebanon."
Lebanese Culture Minister Tarek Mitri said he would have liked a resolution more
supportive of his country.
"We wanted to condemn the war because it was deplorable," Mitri said. "Everyone
agrees, except Canada."
Mitri said the organization of French-speaking countries must call on all
parties to cease hostilities.
Abdou Diouf, secretary-general of the organization and former president of
Senegal, stressed that a consensus was finally reached.
"There were some semantic objections on the part of one party to the declaration
but we have found an agreement," Diouf told reporters.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest said such disagreements are part of the political
nature of la Francophonie, which gets involved in conflicts among member states.
"We found the right words in the end," Charest said.
Harper did not make himself available to journalists for comment after the
resolution was passed Friday.
Earlier, he said discussions at this week's meeting of the French-speaking
countries were fruitful in several areas, including education, information and
technology.
The next summit will be held in Quebec City in October 2008.
© The Canadian Press 2006
Harper reiterates Canada's commitment to help countries around the world
Canadian Press
Published: Friday, September 29, 2006 Article tools
BUCHAREST, Romania (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is reiterating Canada's
commitment to help countries like Afghanistan, Sudan and Haiti.
Speaking at the closing news conference of the summit of la Francophonie, Harper
said Canada is already promoting values such as freedom, democracy and human
rights in these countries and elsewhere.
Harper says discussions at this week's meeting of the French-speaking countries
was fruitful in several areas, including education, information and technology.
The prime minister says la Francophonie has done a lot to promote and strengthen
French all over the world.
Harper says French culture and the French language have been at the heart of
Canada's identity since the country was founded.
The next summit will be held in Quebec City in October 2008.
© The Canadian Press 2006
Harper forces debate on Mideast declaration
Updated Fri. Sep. 29 2006
CTV.ca News Staff
Members of the Francophonie summit have agreed to a compromise on a contentious
resolution after Prime Minister Stephen Harper blocked the original proposal.
The original wording of the resolution recognized Lebanon's suffering in this
summer's 34-day conflict, but not Israel's.
Harper took a strong stance against the Egyptian-proposed resolution which most
of the 72 members supported. He urged the organization to recognize the
suffering of both nations.
After returning to the conference table to hammer out the wording of the
resolution, the French-speaking states eventually agreed unanimously to support
a compromise that called for the end of hostilities and a return to calm.
"They spent much of the afternoon at the conference table re-drafting a
resolution with the wording Harper wanted," said CTV's Rosemary Thompson
reporting from the summit.
French President Jacques Chirac urged members to consider Harper's proposal.
Lebanon had reservations, however. Culture Minister Tarek Mitri said he wanted a
resolution that favoured his country and condemned the war as deplorable.
He also said Canada was the only country that opposed the original resolution.
Harper said Canada deplored the war but couldn't accept a resolution that didn't
acknowledge that Israelis had also suffered.
"I hope we can all recognize the suffering of humans -- men and women -- and not
just suffering based on people's nationality,'' Harper said.
"Yes, we can deplore the war and we can recognize the victims, but la
Francophonie can't recognize victims according to their nationality."
The 34-day conflict which began on July 12 killed 855 Lebanese and 159 Israelis.
Israel bombarded Lebanon with air and artillery attacks, while Hezbollah
launched nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel, forcing about 300,000
residents to evacuate and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to
buildings and the economy.
Earlier in the summit, Harper touted Canada's work promoting human rights,
democracy and freedom in countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Haiti, and
called on French-speaking nations to do more to help Sudan. Harper said
discussions at this week's summit were productive in a number of areas, such as
education, information and technology.
The next summit, scheduled for October 2008, will be held in Quebec City.
Harper stands firm at Francophonie
DANIEL LEBLANC
Globe and Mail Update
Prime Minister Stephen Harper blocked a last-minute resolution at the
Francophonie summit on Friday that would have recognized only Lebanon's
suffering during this summer's conflict in the Middle East.Mr. Harper said an institution like la Francophonie could not recognize
suffering based on the nationality of its victims, and he called for recognition
of the conflict's effect on Israeli residents.
The resolution was proposed by Egypt at the last minute of the annual meeting of
French-speaking nations.
”Obviously Canada believes that the resolution has to be balanced and that we
should recognize the victims in both Lebanon and Israel. I don't think an
international organization with the breadth and scope of the Francophonie would
want to do anything than to make sure that victims are recognized regardless of
their nationality,” Mr. Harper said.
The resolution had gained the acceptance of a majority of members of the
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, but it faced the ”hostility” of
the Canadians, who managed, with the support of Mr. Chirac, to prevent its
adoption.
Mr. Harper said he hoped the dispute was more over ”language than substance.”
Mr. Chirac that negotiations are continuing on the resolution and said a
solution is needed to ”allow everybody to save face.”About an hour later, the French delegation presented a short resolution that was
deemed acceptable to all.
"In deploring the tragedy in Lebanon and its dramatic consequences for all of
the civilian populations," the final resolution stated, "we call for a total
cessation of hostilities and a return to calm in Lebanon."
Harper's response to Israeli raids 'clumsy': Lebanese minister Norman Delisle,
Canadian Press
Published: Friday, September 29, 2006 Article tools
* BUCHAREST, Romania (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper's reaction to the
Israeli attacks on Lebanon was clumsy and ill-informed, a Lebanese government
minister said Thursday at an international summit of francophone countries.
Harper called the Israeli air raids into southern Lebanon over the summer a
"measured" response to the kidnapping of soldiers by Hezbollah. But Lebanese
Culture Minister Tarek Mitri said Harper was wrong.
"The Israeli response, whatever the pretext and the relative justification of
the rights of Israel to defend itself, was disproportionate," Mitri told
reporters gathered for the summit of la Francophonie.
Mitri said the Israeli invasion cost hundreds of lives, including the deaths of
nine members of a Montreal family with four young children.
Mitri said Israel's response was a violation of international and human rights.
"Many countries have recognized that," he told journalists at a news conference
held off the summit site.
Mitri said he hopes Harper has taken the time to think about his stance.
"I hope that the prime minister of Canada has seen the possibility of reflecting
a bit on what he said at the beginning and which could have been said
differently.
"It was a bit clumsy on his part but I don't want to get into a political
conflict over what a prime minister said a month and a half ago."
Harper did not make himself available to journalists at the conference Thursday
and did not issue any statement in reaction to the Lebanese minister's comments.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest was asked about the comments in his stead. "I have
no intention of commenting on the statements of the minister," Charest said.
Charest would say only that Quebec has a strong link with Lebanon and the
Lebanese.
Lebanese Official Calls Harper's Reaction to War 'ill-Informed'
Josh Pringle
Thursday, September 28, 2006
A Lebanese government minister suggests Prime Minister Stephen Harper's reaction
to the Israeli attacks in Lebanon was clumsy and ill-informed.
Lebanese Culture Minister Tarek Mitri says it was wrong of Harper to call the
Israeli raids a "measured" response to the kidnapping of soldiers by Hezbollah.
Mitri said the Israeli invasion cost hundreds of lives, including the deaths of
nine members of a Montreal family with four young children.