B
bizorky
Guest
U.S. envoy slams Arar efforts
JIM MACDONALD
Canadian Press
Edmonton — American Ambassador David Wilkins is slamming Canada's efforts to have Maher Arar removed from a U.S. security watch list.
Mr. Wilkins says Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day is off side with his efforts and should back off because a U.S. review determined Mr. Arar should remain on the watch list.
“It's a little presumptuous of him to say who the United States can and cannot allow into our country,†the ambassador told a news conference Wednesday after a brief meeting with Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach.
“Canadian officials would rightly never tolerate any American official dictating to them who they may or may not allow into their country.â€
A Canadian inquiry exonerated Mr. Arar last fall and concluded RCMP gave U.S. authorities misleading information before he was deported, held and tortured for more than a year in a Syrian jail.
But Mr. Wilkins says three U.S. agencies did a full review of the Arar file and found their own reasons to keep the Canadian on the American watch list.
“The information that resulted in this conclusion was independent of any information that had been supplied to us by the Canadians,†he said.
“We respect Canadian officials and their decisions on who should be on their watch list, we would ask them to show us the same respect.â€
Mr. Day said Tuesday that he's seen the information supplied by the Americans and found nothing new to suggest Mr. Arar is a safety risk.
“It simply does not alter our opinion that Mr. Arar is not a threat, nor is his family,†Mr. Day said in Halifax. “We are continuing to let our position be known on that.â€
Mr. Arar has launched a lawsuit against U.S. officials.
Also Wednesday, Mr. Wilkins addressed the issue of new border security measures that took effect this week requiring all Canadians, including young children, to have passports in order to enter the U.S. by air.
There were several reports of American border officials giving entry to Canadians without passports, but Mr. Wilkins says this does not signal an official grace period.
“The border security folks obviously use their discretion and use common sense on the first day of implementation,†Mr. Wilkins told reporters. “But this is a law. It will be enforced.â€
He says for now, border security staff will handle each incident of Canadians showing up at the border without a passport on a “case-by-case basis.â€
------------------------------------
Arar's not a threat, but gets shipped off to Syria anyway. He comes back, is found to not be threat after all, but the Americans still think he's a threat (probably because he was shipped off). And still, no one bothers to mention how the guy could be a threat. I wonder if Arar knows what the Americans think is threatening of him? Maybe it's the last name. Someone is threatened by that.
JIM MACDONALD
Canadian Press
Edmonton — American Ambassador David Wilkins is slamming Canada's efforts to have Maher Arar removed from a U.S. security watch list.
Mr. Wilkins says Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day is off side with his efforts and should back off because a U.S. review determined Mr. Arar should remain on the watch list.
“It's a little presumptuous of him to say who the United States can and cannot allow into our country,†the ambassador told a news conference Wednesday after a brief meeting with Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach.
“Canadian officials would rightly never tolerate any American official dictating to them who they may or may not allow into their country.â€
A Canadian inquiry exonerated Mr. Arar last fall and concluded RCMP gave U.S. authorities misleading information before he was deported, held and tortured for more than a year in a Syrian jail.
But Mr. Wilkins says three U.S. agencies did a full review of the Arar file and found their own reasons to keep the Canadian on the American watch list.
“The information that resulted in this conclusion was independent of any information that had been supplied to us by the Canadians,†he said.
“We respect Canadian officials and their decisions on who should be on their watch list, we would ask them to show us the same respect.â€
Mr. Day said Tuesday that he's seen the information supplied by the Americans and found nothing new to suggest Mr. Arar is a safety risk.
“It simply does not alter our opinion that Mr. Arar is not a threat, nor is his family,†Mr. Day said in Halifax. “We are continuing to let our position be known on that.â€
Mr. Arar has launched a lawsuit against U.S. officials.
Also Wednesday, Mr. Wilkins addressed the issue of new border security measures that took effect this week requiring all Canadians, including young children, to have passports in order to enter the U.S. by air.
There were several reports of American border officials giving entry to Canadians without passports, but Mr. Wilkins says this does not signal an official grace period.
“The border security folks obviously use their discretion and use common sense on the first day of implementation,†Mr. Wilkins told reporters. “But this is a law. It will be enforced.â€
He says for now, border security staff will handle each incident of Canadians showing up at the border without a passport on a “case-by-case basis.â€
------------------------------------
Arar's not a threat, but gets shipped off to Syria anyway. He comes back, is found to not be threat after all, but the Americans still think he's a threat (probably because he was shipped off). And still, no one bothers to mention how the guy could be a threat. I wonder if Arar knows what the Americans think is threatening of him? Maybe it's the last name. Someone is threatened by that.