Raymond Baaklini, the Lebanese ambassador, shown in a file photo, said yesterday: "90% of the mass media in Canada is controlled by Jews or Zionists."

Lebanon's ambassador to Ottawa is under fire for comments he made about Canada in an Arabic-language newspaper in response to the government's decision to ban Hezbollah.

In an interview with the newspaper Sada al Machric, Raymond Baaklini said Canada outlawed the terrorist group last month because of pressure from a "Zionist party" that he said "controls 90% of the Canadian media."

He also advised that Canadians travelling in the Arab world should not wear Canada T-shirts anymore, and said he had been told that "Canadian police always suspect every man with a beard and every woman with a veil."

Lebanese-Canadian and Canadian Jewish organizations said yesterday they were contacting Bill Graham, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to protest the remarks and seek a reprimand for the ambassador.

Foreign Affairs said last night it was looking into the matter. "The translation that we received is indeed cause for concern," said Rodney Moore, a department spokesman. "We're going to be reviewing the original text."

Yesterday, the ambassador confirmed to the National Post he made the comments. He said the remarks were meant for an Arabic audience and he might have phrased them differently if he were addressing English readers.

The Dec. 31 edition of the Arabic-language newspaper asked the ambassador for his response to Canada's "unfair" policy on Hezbollah and published his reply verbatim over two pages.

"The most stubborn party benefiting from this subject is the Zionist party that exists in Canada," he was quoted as saying. "As you know this party controls 90% of the Canadian media. It takes instructions and help from many Zionist organizations either in Canada or abroad. Therefore if we don't say the Zionist movement had the number two role, it had the number one role and America comes second."

Asked what he meant by these remarks, the ambassador told the Post: "I wanted to say exactly that 90% of the mass media in Canada is controlled by Jews or Zionists, and those Jews and Zionists, they are also supported by other organizations in the States."

Canadian Jewish leaders are outraged.

"Not only are such comments insulting to Canada and to Canadian values, they are also actionable under Canadian human rights legislation and the Criminal Code, but for diplomatic immunity," said Keith Landy, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress.

"I would call upon the Canadian government and specifically Foreign Minister Graham to call in the Ambassador and to admonish him that in Canada, we take a dim view of such comments and that they are completely unacceptable."

Frank Dimant of B'nai Brith Canada called the remarks "crude" and said they were "just not acceptable public discourse in this country. His reference to Zionists controlling the media -- standard fare for the propagandists of the Middle East -- is just a rehash of age-old anti-Semitic canards."

Later in the Sada al Machric interview, the ambassador noted that Americans often wear Canada T-shirts when they travel overseas, but as a result of Ottawa's Hezbollah policy a Maple Leaf flag is no longer a welcome sign in the Middle East. "I am afraid the Canadian would have the urgency to wear a non-Canadian T-shirt in Lebanon and the Arabic world."

Mr. Dimant said the remark about T-shirts was an "implied threat" and called it intolerable.

"As such, we question whether his credentials for an ambassadorship in Ottawa should be acceptable to our government."

A spokesman for the Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation, which opposes the current Lebanese government, said the group would be writing to Mr. Graham to ask that the ambassador be reprimanded.

The Canadian government froze the assets of Hezbollah's military wing last year, but did not ban the group outright until December, following protests led by the Canadian Alliance and Canadian Jewish groups. B'nai Brith launched a court challenge against the government over the issue.

"We felt it was our responsibility to challenge the government's initial reluctance to ban Hezbollah in this country not just in our capacity as a Jewish human rights organization, but because like many Canadians, we do not want to see this country become a haven for terrorist groups that use murder and mayhem as political tools," Mr. Dimant said.

Canadian officials said the decision was based on Hezbollah's longstanding involvement in international terrorism. A background report prepared by Canada said Hezbollah was responsible for car bombings, hijackings and kidnapping Western, Israeli and Jewish targets.

Hezbollah, which is based in southern Lebanon, has operated in Canada for at least a decade.

Ottawa's decision angered Lebanon, where Hezbollah is viewed an Islamic resistance movement against Israel with elected members of parliament. Lebanese officials have protested the decision, but Canada is not expected to back down.

sbell@nationalpost.com

Lebanese envoy makes no apologies

OTTAWA - Lebanon's ambassador yesterday did not retract controversial comments about the power of the "Zionist movement" in Canada, despite being summoned to a meeting with Foreign Affairs officials who told him they were "unacceptable and without foundation."

Bill Graham, the Foreign Affairs Minister, ordered Raymond Baaklini to appear before Canadian officials to explain remarks he made to an Arabic-language newspaper saying Canada was pressured by a "Zionist party" and Jewish-controlled media to designate Hezbollah as an outlawed terrorist organization.

Amid calls for Ottawa to expel Mr. Baaklini, the ambassador met yesterday afternoon with John McNee, the assistant deputy minister for Africa and the Middle East.

"Canada's concerns about the ambassador's interview were clearly expressed to, and understood by, the ambassador," said Rodney Moore, a department spokesman.

"The assistant deputy minister reminded the ambassador that his remarks were unacceptable and without foundation."

But Mr. Baaklini "has not retracted," Mr. Moore said.

Ottawa will register further complaints with the Lebanese government in Beirut, but there are no immediate plans to revoke his diplomatic credentials.

Mr. Baaklini could not be reached for comment.

The diplomatic dispute erupted after publication of an interview Mr. Baaklini gave to the Montreal-based Arabic-language newspaper Sada al Machric, in which he said the "Zionist movement" in Canada had the "number one role" in forcing Ottawa to outlaw Hezbollah.

The Dec. 31 edition of the newspaper asked the ambassador for his response to the "unfair" policy on Hezbollah.

"The most stubborn party benefiting from this subject is the Zionist party that exists in Canada," he was quoted as saying.

"As you know this party controls 90% of the Canadian media. It takes instructions and help from many Zionist organizations either in Canada or abroad. Therefore, if we don't say the Zionist movement had the number two role, it had the number one role and America comes second."

Mr. Graham indicated he may also personally speak with Mr. Baaklini to "set him straight" about the behaviour expected of foreign diplomats posted to Canada.

"I will make it clear to the ambassador, and anyone else, that in Canada, that we will not tolerate that type of activity in this country," Mr. Graham said in a telephone interview from Toronto.

"We are a country that is based on openness, tolerance, respect for one another, and we will continue to do that, and we certainly will not tolerate anti-Semitism in this country."

Jason Kenney, the Canadian Alliance foreign affairs critic, called for an immediate retraction and apology from Mr. Baaklini.

"They read like run-of-the-mill, anti-Israeli propaganda that almost always has some sort of Jewish conspiracy theory at the heart of it," Mr. Kenney said. "It is unfortunately a commonplace belief in parts of the Arab world that there is an international Jewish cabal which is responsible for American and Western support for Israel, and this is all tied up with very nasty, hoary old anti-Semitic conspiracy theories."

Israel Asper, the chairman of CanWest Global Communications Corp., which operates the Global Television Network and is Canada's largest daily newspaper publisher, called Mr. Baaklini's remarks "sickening." Mr. Asper said Ottawa should revoke his diplomatic credentials.

"Who is this 'Zionist party' that, according to Baaklini, owns 90% of the Canadian mass media and takes instructions from abroad? It is certainly not CanWest," Mr. Asper said in a statement. "It would be news to all the other media organizations in Canada, including our competitors in the private and public sector, that this so-called 'Zionist party' controls them also."

Mr. Asper, whose company owns the National Post, said the Lebanese ambassador "has defamed both Canada and the Canadian media but is not accountable by virtue of his diplomatic immunity and it is only appropriate that he be stripped of same and asked to leave the country."

Ottawa is also alarmed over Mr. Baaklini's statement that Canadians travelling in the Middle East should avoid wearing Canada T-shirts that advertise their nationality, because of the government's decision to ban Hezbollah.

"I am afraid the Canadian would have the urgency to wear a non-Canadian T-shirt in Lebanon and the Arabic world," the ambassador told the newspaper.

Mr. Graham said the statement would "certainly be factored into our thinking" in determining whether Ottawa should issue a travel advisory warning Canadians that it may be unsafe to visit Lebanon.

Canada froze the assets of Hezbollah's military wing following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in Washington and New York. But the federal government argued for months that the social and political wings of the group, which is based in Lebanon, were legitimate organizations that provided humanitarian assistance to Lebanon's poor. Hezbollah has elected several MPs to Lebanon's Parliament.

Ottawa reversed its position last month and outlawed the entire Hezbollah apparatus under Canada's Criminal Code.

Mr. Graham said the Lebanese ambassador was "completely wrong" to suggest Ottawa succumbed to political pressure from any group, although Jewish groups and the Canadian Alliance mounted a campaign over several months to have Hezbollah banned.

"It was a decision made based upon security for Canadians," Mr. Graham said.

Mr. Baaklini was also "wrong to suggest that press in Canada is controlled by any one group," Mr. Graham said. "It is not true. We have an extremely diverse press in this country."

Mr. Baaklini has been the focus of diplomatic controversy before. He assumed his current position in 2000 after being transferred from his post in France under a cloud for undiplomatic comments on Franco-Lebanese relations.

The Lebanese government said at the time that his removal as ambassador to France after less than a year in Paris was to allow for a strengthening of relations with France.

French authorities took three months to agree on his nomination as Lebanon's ambassador, usually a purely routine process, because they were unhappy about remarks Mr. Baaklini made before his accreditation on "the poor state of Franco-Lebanese relations."

salberts@nationalpost.com

Ambassador's remarks unacceptable

The Lebanese ambassador to Canada owes us an explanation and an apology. Raymond Baaklini's comments about the ownership of Canada's mass-media outlets and his veiled threat to Canadians contemplating a trip to Lebanon went well beyond the limits of polite diplomatic discourse and entered the realm of the downright distasteful.

Baaklini told Sada al Machric, an Arabic newspaper based in Montreal, that a ''Zionist party'' was primarily responsible for pushing the Canadian government into labeling Hezbollah, which rules much of southern Lebanon and is represented in the Lebanese legislature, a terrorist organization. ''As you know,'' he added, ''this party controls 90 per cent of the Canadian media. It takes instructions and help from many Zionist organizations either in Canada or abroad.'' That's not quite as crude as labeling the whole thing an international Jewish conspiracy, but it's getting there.

It's also ironic that these egregiously offensive remarks about foreign intrusion in the workings of the Canadian media should come from a man who represents a regime in Beirut that takes its marching orders from Damascus and whose country is routinely patrolled by Syrian soldiers. Baaklini's government certainly knows a lot about taking instructions from abroad.

And there was the ambassador's warning to Canadians travelling in the Middle East not to wear a maple-leaf T-shirt or pin if they wanted to stay out of trouble. It's hard not to interpret that as anything but a veiled threat.

If Baaklini truly feared for the lives and safety of Canadian travellers in Lebanon and the rest of the Middle East, there are legitimate ways for him to express those concerns. He could, for example, quite properly have urged the Department of Foreign Affairs to issue a travel advisory to Canadians, warning them that the banning of Hezbollah was less than popular in Lebanon and that it would perhaps be prudent to avoid displaying any signs of Canadian pride while wandering around the streets of Beirut and Byblos (dodging Syrian army patrols).

But Baaklini didn't speak to his colleagues in the Canadian government. Instead, he gave an interview to an Arabic-language newspaper in Montreal. It's hard to see his warning as simply a travel tip for Canadian travellers, most of whom have never heard of Sada al Machric and can't read Arabic, anyway.

... but Baaklini should go

If there is one thing to be said for Raymond Baaklini, the Lebanese ambassador to Canada, it is that he does not mince words. Unlike some Arab leaders, who spew anti-Semitic hate at home but retreat to multicultural bromides in the West, Mr. Baaklini is apparently a straight-shooting bigot.

Of course, it would be rather difficult for the ambassador to explain away his recent comments to an Arab-language newspaper. Asked to comment on Canada's sensible decision to outlaw Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terrorist group, Mr. Baaklini said: "The most stubborn party benefiting from this subject is the Zionist party" -- i.e., the Jews. "As you know this party controls 90% of the Canadian media. It takes instructions and help from many Zionist organizations either in Canada or abroad. Therefore if we don't say the Zionist movement had the number two role [in prompting the government to outlaw Hezbollah], it had the number one role and America comes second."

Mr. Baaklini then went on to smear all Canadians by claiming that our police are suspicious of men with beards and women with veils. He also appeared to imply that Canadian tourists in the Arab world could be in danger if they wore clothing identifying their country of origin. How "diplomatic."

To its credit, the Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation -- which opposes the current Lebanese government -- has joined Canadian Jewish groups in calling on Lebanon to recall its ambassador. But other Arab-Canadian representatives have attempted to blame the translator rather than the ambassador, in some cases perpetuating the same conspiracy theories espoused by Mr. Baaklini. Most notably, Mazen Chouaib, executive director of the National Council on Canadian-Arab Relations, claimed "the translation was made to create a problem" by a National Post translator with a "political agenda," and warned that I. H. Asper -- the Post's proprietor, who is evidently part of the vast Zionist conspiracy -- "should not be dictating Canadian policy."

We have all heard these accusations of Zionist media control before, of course. Anyone who has listened to late night AM radio, or studied white supremacist literature, knows that such claims as Mr. Chouaib's are a staple of paranoid constituencies everywhere. But what makes them especially preposterous in this context is the fact that Mr. Baaklini himself verified the accuracy of the translated text, and stood by his earlier comments, in a subsequent National Post interview. "I wanted to say exactly that 90% of the mass media in Canada is controlled by Jews or Zionists," he reiterated this week, "and those Jews or Zionists are also supported by other organizations in the [United] States."

Bill Graham, the Foreign Affairs Minister, responded to Mr. Baaklini's statement by saying that Canada "will not tolerate anti-Semitism." But presumably, the policy applies to anti-Semites too. And since Mr. Baaklini has not apologized for his hateful comments, but has proudly reiterated them instead, he should be expelled. Sadly, there are plenty of countries where Mr. Baaklini's views on Jews are acceptable fare for public consumption. Mr. Graham should make it clear to Lebanon that Canada isn't one of them.

Lebanese envoy blames outcry on 'Zionist' media

Lebanon's embattled ambassador to Canada is blaming Christian fanatics and newspapers "under the control of Zionist groups" for making a scandal out of his recent undiplomatic remarks about his host country.

Despite being warned by Canadian Foreign Affairs officials last week that his remarks about Jewish influence in Canada were unacceptable, Raymond Baaklini was quoted yesterday in the Arab press repeating similar claims.

Saudi Arabian and Lebanese newspapers reported the ambassador had said that only Christian immigrants from Lebanon and the "Zionist" press were making an issue of his remarks about Canada.

Mr. Baaklini has been under fire since he told an Arabic newspaper in Montreal that in Canada the press was under Zionist control and police treated all bearded men and veiled women as suspects. He also said he feared that Canadian T-shirts were no longer welcome attire in the Arab world.

Department of Foreign Affairs officials in Ottawa summoned the ambassador to a meeting on Friday after a translation of the comments that Mr. Baaklini confirmed appeared in the National Post.

The ambassador has not spoken to the Canadian press since the diplomatic row erupted, but in Arab press accounts this week he did not back down from his remarks, and portrayed himself as a victim of a Zionist press.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is reviewing the ambassador's latest statement.

Mr. Baaklini originally lashed out at Canada after the federal government placed the violent Lebanese group Hezbollah on its list of banned terrorist groups. He claimed the government outlawed Hezbollah because of pressure from a "Zionist party" that he said "controls 90% of the Canadian media."

B'nai Brith Canada urged Bill Graham, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to ask for the ambassador's removal. "The dignity of Canada is at stake," said Frank Dimant, the vice-president. "Baaklini must be persona non grata in our country."

In articles published yesterday in the Arab newspapers Al Anwar and Asharq al-Awsat, Mr. Baaklini was quoted as saying he had met John McNee, assistant deputy minister for Africa and the Middle East, and that the Canadian official was satisfied with his explanation of the remarks.

"I explained my real viewpoint and made clear that my statement to the Arabic press was directed against Zionist groups. I had not said that those groups were Jewish, but Zionist, and that leaves no scope for any doubts that my statement might have been anti-Semitic, as the officers in the Foreign Ministry had feared," he said.

(In fact, the ambassador did claim that Jews controlled the Canadian media. Last week, he told the National Post that "90% of the mass media in Canada is controlled by Jews or Zionists.")

"I noticed that [Mr. McNee] did not care at all about what the press wrote. He regarded the explanations I gave regarding my press statement in the Montreal paper Sada al-Machric as sufficient.

"But the problem resurfaced in the last two days on the pages of papers under the control of Zionist groups and institutions in Canada who wrote that the authorities in the Foreign Ministry were dismayed by the statement and were thinking of demanding from Beirut that I be withdrawn as ambassador, which is totally incorrect."

Amid calls for Mr. Baaklini to be sent home, Mr. Graham called the comments "unacceptable and without foundation." Senior diplomats in Beirut raised the matter on Monday with the Lebanese government, which has said it would review the matter.

Yesterday, Jason Kenney, a Canadian Alliance MP, called for the expulsion of the ambassador, saying the government needs to send a message that his "conspiracy-theory propaganda" is unacceptable in this country."

Keith Landy, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said the ambassador was out of line. "In light of these statements, the Canadian government should seriously consider his continued accreditation as an ambassador."

sbell@nationalpost.com

L'ambassadeur du Liban à Ottawa convoqué pour des «propos inacceptables»

L'ambassadeur du Liban au Canada a été convoqué jeudi au ministère des Affaires étrangères à Ottawa pour s'expliquer sur les «propos inacceptables» qu'il a tenus récemment après l'interdiction du mouvement chiite libanais Hezbollah par les autorités canadiennes, a annoncé le ministère.

Après l'annonce de cette décision le mois dernier, l'ambassadeur Raymond Baaklini avait déclaré à un petit journal en langue arabe de Montréal qu'elle était attribuable aux pressions d'«un groupe sioniste au Canada».

«Comme vous le savez, ce groupe contrôle 90% des médias canadiens, et il reçoit des instructions et de l'assistance de sociétés sionistes, du Canada et de l'étranger», avait-t-il affirmé au journal Sada al-Machrek.

Le ministre canadien des Affaires étrangères, Bill Graham, avait alors qualifié d'inacceptables ces déclarations, mais sans réussir pour autant à convaincre l'ambassadeur.

Celui-ci avait en effet répété ses propos cette semaine à l'antenne de Radio-Canada International, mais en ramenant à «40%» le pourcentage des médias canadiens contrôlé par ce groupe.

L'ambassadeur avait accusé nommément la famille Asper, propriétaire de CanWest Global Communications, le plus grand groupe de presse canadien, qui possède notamment une douzaine de grands quotidiens dont le National Post, lui reprochant ses éditoriaux inconditionnellement favorables, selon lui, à l'État d'Israël.

C'était trop pour M. Graham qui a convoqué le diplomate à son bureau.

«L'ambassadeur et moi avons eu une discussion approfondie», a déclaré M. Graham, cité dans un communiqué.

«Je lui ai expliqué que certains des propos qu'il avait tenus était inacceptables au Canada. Il a dit regretter d'avoir choqué certaines personnes et semé la controverse par ses commentaires, et m'a écrit une lettre à cet effet», a affirmé M. Graham, ajoutant qu'il considère maintenant «cette affaire (...) classée».

Lebanese envoy attempts apology

After being called before Bill Graham, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, over his "unacceptable" remarks about Canadians, the Lebanese ambassador said yesterday he regretted he had caused offence and controversy.

But Raymond Baaklini did not apologize or retract his comments concerning the "Jews or Zionists" that he said control "90%" of the media and dictate policy in Ottawa.

Mr. Graham nevertheless said he considered the matter closed.

"The ambassador and I had a full discussion. I explained to him that some of the language he used was not acceptable in Canada," Mr. Graham said. "I am confident that the ambassador fully understands our position."

Mr. Baaklini came under fire last week after a translation of an interview he gave to an Arabic-language Montreal newspaper appeared in the National Post.

In the interview, the ambassador alleged that Canada outlawed the terrorist group Hezbollah only because of a "Zionist party" that he claimed controlled the Canadian media. He also condemned Lebanese-Canadians who support the Hezbollah ban and alleged that Canadian police "always suspect every man with a beard and every woman with a veil."

Canadian Jewish and Lebanese organizations said yesterday they were not satisfied with the statement of regret, and some said they would continue to press the government to revoke his diplomatic credentials.

"This is not acceptable," said Elias Bejjani, spokesman for the Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation. "The letter did not address in any way the unacceptable threats and false accusations that Mr. Baaklini has uttered in his last two interviews against our community's members and organizations that supported the Canadian government decision in putting Hezbollah on the terrorism list."

Keith Landy, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, noted the ambassador had not retracted his "ugly remarks, which are so reflective of the endemic anti-Semitism in the official Arab world."

He added: "We trust that, in private, the Foreign Minister impressed upon the diplomat the totally unacceptable and un-Canadian nature of his comments and that, henceforth, the ambassador at least publicly will refrain from such reprehensible conduct."

Frank Dimant of B'nai Brith said: "The facts of the matter are that the senior diplomatic representative of Lebanon has attempted to import racist propaganda into this country and has employed veiled threats against the people of Canada.

"This is not a question of causing 'controversy,' as Baaklini puts it, as if his views represented one side of a legitimate debate. The Canadian Jewish community does not agree with the Foreign Minister that this matter is closed."

Last week, the ambassador confirmed to the Post he had made the comments and said the newspaper's translation was accurate.

"I wanted to say exactly that 90% of the mass media in Canada is controlled by Jews or Zionists," he said. "I am afraid that Canadians in the future will have to change their T-shirts in Lebanon and the Arab world. That means to be hated in the area."

Mr. Baaklini was promptly summoned to a meeting with John McNee, the Foreign Affairs assistant deputy minister for Africa and the Middle East, and told his comments were "unacceptable and without foundation."

Canadian diplomats in Beirut also raised the matter with the Lebanese government. But rather than apologizing, Mr. Baaklini repeated his comments to other Arabic newspapers and said Canadian officials were not concerned about his behaviour.

He also claimed to be the victim of newspapers "under the control of Zionist groups" and what he termed fanatical Christian immigrants from Lebanon, who he said were trying to tarnish his country's reputation.

On Wednesday, Mr. Graham said he was concerned that Mr. Baaklini did not seem to understand the seriousness of his actions, and summoned the ambassador to a second meeting, held yesterday at Foreign Affairs headquarters in Ottawa.

"Like Canada, Lebanon is a multicultural country of very diverse traditions that respects Judaism, as it does Islam and Christianity, as part of our culture," Mr. Baaklini said in a letter released by Canadian officials following the meeting.

"It was not my intention to criticize the police in Canada because I am convinced that they respect the diversity of Canada's communities," he added. "I regret that my comments caused offence and that they created a controversy."

The Canadian government put Hezbollah on its list of banned terrorist groups last month after the intelligence service found the hardline Islamic group was deeply involved in international terrorism. Lebanon, which hosts Hezbollah, was angered by the decision.

sbell@nationalpost.com

Graham accepts apology from ambassador

Ottawa — Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham says he has accepted an apology from the Lebanese ambassador for controversial comments about Canada's decision to ban Hezbollah.

Raymond Baaklini met with Mr. Graham on Thursday and apologized for some of his remarks to the the Montreal Arab-language newspaper Sada al-Machrek.

Mr. Baaklini told the paper that Canada outlawed Hezbollah — a terrorist group based in Lebanon which also has a charitable arm — under pressure from a "Zionist party" that controls most of the Canadian media.

Mr. Baaklini also said he had been told "Canadian police always suspect every man with a beard and every woman with a veil."

And he suggested Canadians travelling in the Arab world shouldn't wear Canada T-shirts.

Mr. Graham said that after meeting with Mr. Baaklini, he was "confident that the ambassador fully understands our position" and the matter is now closed.

"The ambassador and I had a full discussion," Mr. Graham said in a news release.

"I explained to him that some of the language he used was not acceptable in Canada. He said that he regretted that his comments had caused offence and controversy and has written to me to that effect."

In a letter to Mr. Graham, Mr. Baaklini apologized for criticizing Canadian police and said Lebanon respects Judaism. But he did not withdraw his comment about Zionist influence.

It's not clear if he addressed that issue in his meeting with Mr. Graham.

Mr. Baaklini could not be reached for comment and Mr. Graham's office did not return calls on the matter.

In his letter, the ambassador wrote:

"Like Canada, Lebanon is a multicultural country of very diverse traditions that respects Judaism, as it does Islam and Christianity, as a part of our culture.

"It was not my intention to criticize the police in Canada because I am convinced that they respect the diversity of Canada's communities.

"I regret that my comments caused offence and that they created a controversy."

Canada froze the assets of Hezbollah's military wing last year, but did not ban the group outright until December, following protests led by the Canadian Alliance and Canadian Jewish groups.

The move angered Lebanon, where Hezbollah is viewed as an Islamic resistance movement against Israel and has elected members of Parliament.

Après la déformation d’une déclaration de l’ambassadeur du Liban à Ottawa
Qui veut nuire aux relations libano-canadiennes?

Au début de décembre 2002, le gouvernement fédéral du Canada a décidé d’ajouter le “Hezbollah” à sa liste des “organisations terroristes illégales”. Cette décision a été prise à la suite d’une campagne de plusieurs mois menée par des organisations sionistes, le parti canadien d’extrême-droite (Canadian Alliance) et le journal “National Post“.

Le “National Post” appartient au groupe de communication Can West Global, dont le propriétaire est Israël Asper. Ce journal s’était distingué pour avoir protesté contre la présence du dirigeant du “Hezbollah“, cheikh Hassan Nasrallah, lors du sommet de la francophonie de Beyrouth. Le “National Post” est une feuille à scandale d’extrême droite, très alignée sur les Etats-Unis et connue pour sa haine anti-québécoise et anti-francophone, une haine qui frise le racisme. C‘est, précisément, ce journal qui est à l’origine d’un récent coup monté contre le Liban.

Un coup monté contre le Liban

A l’occasion des vœux de fin d’année, l’ambassadeur du Liban au Canada, M. Raymond Baaklini a accordé un entretien à un magazine paraissant en arabe à Montréal, “Sada el Machrek”. Dans cet entretien, l’ambassadeur libanais souhaitait défendre la position du Liban et expliquer que la communauté arabe au Canada n’était pas menacée et que personne ne devait nourrir de craintes à cet égard.

Cet entretien a été édité en reproduisant, d’une façon inexacte, les propos de l’ambassadeur auquel le texte publié n’a pas été soumis. Ainsi, les propos du diplomate ont été systématiquement déformés sur plusieurs points.

Quelques jours plus tard, le “National Post” reproduisait les propos tronqués de l’ambassadeur Baaklini et l’accusait d’antisémitisme, dans un long article polémique et d’une totale mauvaise foi. On ne peut qu’être surpris que le “National Post”, un journal anglophone paraissant à Ottawa, s’intéresse à une petite publication de Montréal éditée en arabe à quelques centaines d’exemplaires. On ne peut que se demander qui a traduit et transmis le texte du journal arabe au “National Post” et dans quel but?

Certes, on pourrait parler de tempête dans un verre d’eau, si l’article du “National Post” n‘avait été utilisé par le parti extrémiste (Canadian Alliance) pour tenter de provoquer un scandale et, finalement, conduit à une rencontre entre l’ambassadeur du Liban et un haut responsable du ministère canadien des Affaires étrangères.

Cette rencontre a fait l’objet d’une dépêche tendancieuse d’un correspondant de l’AFP qui a prétendu que l’ambassadeur avait été convoqué par le ministre, alors même que ce dernier avait invité le diplomate afin de l’informer de la position canadienne concernant le “Hezbollah”. En réalité, il n‘y a aucun malaise entre le Liban et le Canada, même si Beyrouth regrette la position prise par Ottawa à l’égard d’un parti libanais légal et siégeant au parlement.

Une certaine presse a donc dramatisé les choses. Il est clair que nous sommes en présence d’une affaire montée de toutes pièces par certains groupes qui cherchent à créer, artificiellement, un problème entre le Liban et le Canada. Il s’agit, pour ces groupes, de ternir l’image de marque du Liban au Canada et de nuire au gouvernement libanais. Selon des informations de bonne source, les personnes qui ont déformé les propos de l’ambassadeur pour créer un malaise entre Beyrouth et Ottawa, sont déjà connues des autorités canadiennes qui devraient faire connaître leurs noms.

Prélude à des menaces contre BEYROUTH?

Selon des milieux bien informés, la thèse du complot contre le Liban est d’autant plus crédible, qu’il s’avèrerait que toute l’affaire aurait été montée en liaison avec un groupuscule libanais affilié aux Etats-Unis et à Israël. Le correspondant de l’AFP rapporte, d’ailleurs, que le gouvernement canadien se serait intéressé à la question à la suite de “protestations émises par des organisations juives et libanaises du Canada”. Il faut croire que lesdites organisations libanaises sont liées aux organisations juives, puisqu‘elles auraient effectué les mêmes démarches visant le Liban et son gouvernement.

Certains analystes français estiment qu’il existe un plan américain visant à remodeler le Proche-Orient à la faveur d’une guerre contre l’Irak. L’un des volets de ce plan viserait à profiter de la crise dans la région et des frappes américaines contre l’Irak, pour encourager une attaque israélienne contre le “Hezbollah” et favoriser la partition du Liban sur des bases religieuses. Est-ce un hasard si l’on retrouve des personnes liées à ce plan américain dans l‘affaire du “National Post”? Cette affaire est-elle le prélude à de plus grandes menaces contre le Liban? La question reste posée.

Canwest Global
Izzy Asper démissionnerait de son poste à l'exécutif