Once again my country is embarrassing me. Okay, technically it isn’t my country, it is the Harper government (what else is new?), but on the international news they only report what “Canada” is doing.
It seems that George Galloway, a British MP for 23 years, an anti-war activist who spoke in Canada last year and is currently in the United States, will not be allowed to visit Canada on a scheduled speaking tour because he is a “security risk”.
Galloway has no criminal record, no history of violence, but is considered a threat to Canada because he is a supporter of Hamas – who, I might point out, is a democratically elected government that has never threatened Canada in any way.
The opinions Galloway holds about the Israeli/Palestinian land – that it should form a single state in which Jews, Muslims and Christians would live as equals – is not popular with the Tories. But they say this is not an issue of free speech. It is strictly the danger he poses to the country.
Now, if he were someone who had attacked foreign countries for no reason, committing war crimes and killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people, I could understand some hesitancy in allowing him within our borders. But George W. Bush was just welcomed with open arms.
It makes me uncomfortable when warmongers are welcomed by my government while those who oppose violence are considered a threat. Stephen Harper, it would appear, considers me a danger to my own country. But then, I feel the same about him, so I guess it is only fair.
Probably a bigger concern is the one that the Conservatives say is not an issue: free speech. In a minority position they are keeping out foreigners who say things they don’t like. What they might do if they ever win a majority is truly a scary thought.
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2 comments:
I'm a first-time visitor to your blog, and I like what I see.
Now, about Mr. Galloway ... I did a quick Google search to try to figure out what the Cons mean when they say he "supports Hamas". Here's what I found: Galloway arranged aid (mostly in the form of motor vehicles and money, it seems) for Palestinians in Gaza. You know, those Palestinians who are being punished for voting in a government Israel and the U.S. don't like.
I didn't see anything about Galloway supplying Hamas with grenade launchers. Admittedly, my research was brief. But then, reports I've read in the right-wing news media weren't specific about his "support" for Hamas. The wingers are just supposed to read "supports Hamas" and that's enough for them, I guess.
It's so strange how you have compassion for Palestinians but are so damn racist towards First Nations in Canada.
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