Friday, November 30, 2012

An Apology from Canada to Palestine and the Rest of the World: The 10 Most Shameful Minutes in Canadian History

On 29 November 2012, John Baird, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the Question of Palestine. Below you will find the video in which he accuses UN of abandoning its principles by recognizing Palestine.

Canada, Question of Palestine, General Assembly, 44th plenary meeting



Most Canadians are embarrassed and utterly disgusted with what our Conservative government has done. Unfortunately, because of our ’First Past the Post’ electoral system and the bitter reality that a majority government can do anything they want, we can’t do much about it, at least not until the next elections. When that time comes, we promise to do our best to remove from power these fanatics who have shamed Canada and put us on the wrong side of history.

Palestine, of course, was welcomed as a Non-Member Observer State. “Voting by an overwhelming majority - 138 in favour to 9 against (Canada, Czech Republic, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Panama, Palau, United States), with 41 abstentions — the General Assembly today accorded Palestine non-Member Observer State status in the United Nations.“

Voting, Question of Palestine, General Assembly, 44th plenary meeting



For those Canadians who have not been in the loop and would like to put into context what the Harper Government has just done, ask yourself this; was it to the best interest of Canada to vote and lobby against this resolution? If the answer is that you don't know, then Canada should have abstained.

In Canada, however, three times as many Canadians supported the Palestinian bid as those who opposed it. The most likely reason, we understand that when two parties are negotiating for peace they must be allowed to come to the table as equals, which was not the case when one party was recognized as a State and the other not.

For now, please accept our humble apologies for what our government has done. I can assure you that many of us are elated and celebrating much like the rest of the world. Congratulations, Palestine.




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3 comments:

  1. Examining the 3 Palestinian-Punishment Focused Efforts in the Senate - "As of this writing, three initiatives have been introduced in the Senate over the past 18 hours or so aimed at punishing the Palestinians (and others) for the current Palestinian initiative at the UN. All have been in the form of amendments to S. 3245, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) -- a piece of must-pass legislation that happens to be under consideration in the Senate right now (making it a prime target for opportunistic legislative riders)."

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  2. Israel hits back with new settler homes after UN vote - " Israel revealed plans on Friday to build 3,000 settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank in response to a historic UN vote recognising Palestine as a non-member state. A senior PLO official decried the move as an act of aggression 'against a state' and called on the international community to act."

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