You may have missed it. But, recently, the Harper government pulled funding for the Palestinian organization, MIFTAH, which is headed by Hanan Ashrawi. Paul Adams provides some context:
For more than twenty years, Hanan Ashrawi, an ethnic Christian and a moderate, has been a prominent Palestinian leader. In 2006 she was elected to the Palestinian parliament as a member of the Third Way, an almost laughably small party which has tried to provide a democratic, centrist alternative to the corruption of Fateh and the violent Islamism of Hamas — the two dominant Palestinian political factions.
She founded a non-governmental organization called MIFTAH; its mandate is human rights but it has carved out a role primarily as a promoter of women in Palestinian life.
But Ashrawi ran afoul of John Baird:
On his farewell tour of the Middle East a few weeks ago, Baird said Palestinians were crossing a “red line” — a favourite expression in the region when laying down an ultimatum — by accusing Israel of war crimes before the International Criminal Court.
In a press release, Ashrawi fired back that the red line Baird was trying to draw was a form of impunity for Israel, and she called Baird an apologist (that word again) for those complicit in war crimes.
In a strange little episode, Canadian officials abruptly demanded a letter of thanks from Ashrawi for their $27,000 contribution to MIFTAH. When it was not forthcoming, they cancelled the grant.
Adams points out that MIFTAH receives the bulk of its funding from the Republican Party in the United States. It's not a left wing love child. But when John Baird said something stupid -- as he has done frequently -- Ashrawi called him out.
Our present government is petty and mean spirited. That's because it's led by a cabal of fools.
4 comments:
.. Canadians are left to puzzle this example of the Mainstream Media headline 'Canada withdraws grant'.
As much as Canadians need to demand accountability from the so called Harper Government that promised such, we need to also demand that Media be equally accountable..
Public Servants were not elected to exercise their whim or some far fetched ideology... or appease their short temper and indulge in tantrums.
But that's what we are getting consistantly from what now appears to be a shallow, dim, shrill pack of sellouts unfit to represent Canada and Canadians
The wealthy own the Harperites, salamander. And the Harperites own the main stream media -- with the exception of The Toronto Star.
"Our present government is petty and mean spirited. That's because it's led by a cabal of fools."
Would you not agree that is an understatement?
A cabal of crooked fools is more like it eh?
Cheers Owen,
Mogs
Crooked or self interested. However, you slice it, Mogs, they lack vision and compassion.
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