Canada’s Other Official Language: Liberalsleaze

Now this is bizarre. According to this CBC report the Liberal Government of Canada has designated an Iranian opposition group as a terrorist organization. The People’s Mojahedin (as known as MEK) has waged a 20year campaign both politically and militarily to overthrow Rule by Mullah in Iran; and furthermore, two years ago the group publicly announced that they were laying down their arms.

Supporters of the People's Mojahedin, and some Conservative MPs, say the move appears to be intended to reassure Tehran of Canada's friendship, even as the government publicly condemns the Iranian regime over the death of Kazemi.

The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran has waged a 20-year armed campaign to overthrow the ayatollahs. Conservative Foreign Affairs critic Stockwell Day said the group, also known as MEK, has confined its attacks to military and regime targets and that Public Security Minister Anne McLellan has twisted the meaning of the word "terrorism."

"She's using harsher language against the MEK than the government has used against the rape, torture and murder of Zahra Kazemi. It's bizarre and it looks like appeasement of a repressive regime." Day says the timing of the announcement, just 48 hours after Iran told Canada to stop interfering in their investigation of the Kazemi case, will be interpreted by Tehran as a capitulation. He questioned why a group that has existed for 40 years should only become a terrorist now nearly two years after it announced it was laying down its arms.

This is jaw dropping territory and I concur with Stockwell Day. It is outrageous that an opposition group to the Rule by Mullah has been designated as a terrorist organization by the Liberal government when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to do more than say “play nice” to the official government of Iran for sanctioning the torture, rape and bludgeoning-to-death of a Canadian citizen by its agents.

And just when you think this story couldn’t twist anymore; it does.

Conservative MP Paul Forseth says that if the government wants to criminalize support of the People's Mojahedin, it will have to start by arresting several members of Parliament, including Liberals. "In essence, they're calling their own members of Parliament terrorists, because [Liberal MP] Hedy Fry recently sponsored one of their meetings on Parliament Hill, just as I did the year before," Forseth said. A spokesman for Foreign Affairs said the People's Mojahedin had met the threshold for designation, but did not say why the ban is happening now. But he did say it is not related to the Kazemi case.

I am not big fan of MEK, but I would suggest that MEK and the Mullah’s both be put on the proscribed list of terrorist organizations. Then we can raze our embassy to the ground in Tehran. But this story has given me a pause, and I cannot help speculating that perhaps the Mullah's have learned how to push the Liberal envelope and we all know how the Liberals have a fondness for envelopes.

(tipped off by Neale News)