Posted on 06/22/2012 5:57:44 AM PDT by nuconvert
The Iranian government, through its embassy in Ottawa and various friendly or affiliated organizations, is aggressively reaching out to the Iranian diaspora in Canada, as well as to other potentially sympathetic Muslims in the country.
This July it is funding an “Iranian Students Convention” at the large and well-appointed NAV Centre in Cornwall, Ontario. According to the conference website, guests must be students and members of a “cultural community” or they will not be permitted to attend. Attendees will have their accommodation and meals paid for, as well as a portion of transportation costs.
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According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Canada forbids Iran from opening consulates or cultural centres outside of Ottawa. But this directive is not well enforced. Maclean’s exposed an Iranian embassy front in Toronto in 2010. And Hamid Mohammadi, cultural counselor at the Iranian embassy, said in an interview on an Iranian government website that the embassy’s work in Canada has included “establishing and strengthening new centres for Iranian studies and Farsi language” — as well as sending students and professor to Iran for courses; organizing art exhibitions and conferences; and equipping public universities in Iranian-populated areas with Farsi books.
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The embassy is particularly active at Carleton University in Ottawa.
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These ties upset some Iranian Canadians in Ottawa who fear that if they openly oppose the Iranian government, their anti-regime activities will be reported back to Tehran — endangering their families, and themselves should they return. “They’ve created a sense of fear,” one Iranian student at Carleton told Maclean’s.
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Last fall the Iranian Cultural Association of Carleton University sponsored a panel discussion titled: “Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq: New Systems of Governance; Opportunities and Challenges.” Iranian Chargé d’Affaires Kambiz Sheikh-Hassani was on the panel. The Iranian embassy was not listed as an official sponsor, though the logo of its cultural centre appeared on promotional material for the event.
Four protesters disrupted the panel, holding up posters with the photos of Iranians they said had been beaten, jailed, tortured, and killed by Iranian authorities.
Among those protesting was Ali Tabatabaie, who is married to the daughter of prominent Iranian reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh. Iranian security officials later showed up at his wife’s family’s house in Tehran to summon Tabatabaie to court.
you can pretty much spit into the United States from Cornwall...
Canada Ping.
Clive’s last post was May 11th.
Prayers up.
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