STEPHEN HARPER: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION IS THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA POLICY
ArmRadio.am
19.06.2007 11:53
During a roundtable discussion with the National Ethnic Press and
Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen
Harper, reaffirmed that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by
Canada is a government policy and not "the position of the elected
guys" as some insubordinate civil servants tried to represent.
The Prime Minister emphasized that "Canada’s recognition of the
Armenian Genocide" is sometimes not easy "for the foreign service
of Canada" to accept. The Prime Minister made it clear that the
"ultimate position of the elected government is the position of the
Government of Canada."
Furthermore, in a response to NEPMCC President Tom Saras’ query about
the interference in Canadian internal affairs of representatives
of foreign governments and pressuring or coercion of Canadians and
Canadian organizations to follow certain policies, the Prime Minister
condemned such practices and said that he found it "unacceptable"
for these diplomats to pursue such interference. He reminded members
of the media that as head of "the Government of Canada I can not tell
you what write in your newspaper and foreign governments can not tell
what to write."
Mr. Saras query refereed to a recent attempt by the Turkish Embassy
to silence Mr. Saras after his condemnation of the assassination of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. The Turkish Embassy launched a
vicious campaign to discredit Mr. Saras and called for his resignation
as NEPMCC president.
"We are proud to have such an honourable, moral, and visionary
Prime Minister as Mr. Harper," said Jean Mgerditchian, president of
the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC). "After the Prime
Minister’s unambiguous clarification, we call on our civil servant
to comply to the policies of the executive and legislative government
vis-a-vis the Armenian Genocide," concluded Mgerditchian.