MPs one on Iran
Want Kazemi's body back
By Sun Media
OTTAWA -- Federal political parties banded together yesterday and upped the pressure on Iran to exhume and return the body of a Montreal photojournalist yesterday.
MPs of all stripes offered a rare show of unity in the Commons by unanimously supporting Brampton Liberal MP Sarkis Assadourian's call for Zahra Kazemi's body to be returned to her son in Montreal.
Canadian Alliance MP Stockwell Day said his party supported the motion but objects to Canada returning its ambassador to Iran.
"We have been asking the government to be firm on this particular item all along, and it has not," Day said.
BLOW TO THE HEAD
Kazemi died July 10 from a blow to her head while being interrogated for taking pictures of an Iranian prison.
Also yesterday, the head of the Arab League said he would raise with Damascus the case of a Canadian man who is facing trial after being deported to Syria by the U.S. last year.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa spoke after a meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham that focused on the plight of Maher Arar and other Canadians who have fallen foul of the law in Middle Eastern countries.
http://www.canoe.ca/WinnipegNews/ws.ws-10-02-0043.htmlAsefi: Canada approach has no impact on Iran stance
TEHRAN ,Oct 2, IRAN NEWS -- Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi, denouncing the allegations of Canadian Foreign Minister Bill.Graham, said that Canada's approach had no impact on Iran's stance, IRNA reported.
He added that the improper and non-diplomatic approach of Canadian officials has degraded their position in the mutual political dialogue and bilateral cooperation trend which will disrupt the process of mutual understanding and confidence-building. Asefi reiterated that this will leave its negative impact on Canada's future policy towards Iran.
According to a report released by one of the news agencies on Tuesday, Graham had announced on Monday that Canada returned its ambassador to Iran, Phillip MacKinnon, mainly to pressure Iran on its nuclear program.
The Tehran Times yesterday, quoting Canada's Foreign Ministry, said that MacKinnon returned to Tehran after several months of being kept at home in protest over the beating to death of photojournalist Zahra Kazemi.
Thursday, October 02, 2003 - ©2003 IranMania.com
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=18422&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs