When it comes to Egypt, the
hypocrisy of the Canadian government
By: Mohamed Kamel*
March 3, 2018
It is not the first time that the
Canadian government’s position from foreign affairs shows a high level of
inconstancy that is a clear hypocrisy and violation of the Canadian values.
In general, when it comes to
Egypt, the hypocrisy of the Canadian government is at a maximum, especially in
regards to the silence on the documented violations of human rights, denying
the right to freedom of speech and killing any hope of democracy.
On Human Rights:
The United Nation’s Human Rights
Council, several United Nation organizations, and all Human Rights NGOs,
including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Amnesty Canada condemned
the daily violations of human rights.
The EU parliament twice had a
hearing on the situation and condemned it; especially in regards with the level
of atrocities taking place in Egyptians daily life, including but not limited
to mass arrests, execution without juridical due process, torture of detainees,
forced disappearances and targeted killings.
Yet the Canadian government’s
relation with the Egyptian authorities remains business as usual, in spite
being among the first to condemn such violations taking place in the Crimean
peninsula.
On media censoring;
Egypt is the third country with
the highest number of journalist imprisoned, among the top ten in the number of
media outlets closed and banned, and the top in the number of journalist murdered
not in a war zone.
Yet the Canadian government’s relation
with the Egyptian authorities remains business as usual, in spite being among
the first to condemn such act when a Turkish journalist was arrested.
On democracy;
In March 2018, Egyptian
authorities, for the second time, will mock the democratic process by electing
the self-proclaimed president ‘General Sisi’ while the legitimate president of
Egypt is still imprisoned. That regime
arrested all who considered running against the Sisi but one, a Sisi puppet, chosen
by him, and nominated by his entourage.
Yet the Canadian government’s
relation with the Egyptian authorities remains business as usual, in spite
being among the first to condemn such democratic violations in Venezuela.
This silence is in violation of
all Canadian values, especially when we know that the current Egyptian
authorities, committed all these
violations. They came to power in July
2013, through a bloody military coup, against the Arab Spring and the first democratically
elected president of Egypt.
The question will remain, will
the Canadian government hold to the Canadian values and moral standards?
* Mohamed S. Kamel: is a Freelance writer, the editor of http://forafreeegypt.blogspot.com/, he is a professional
engineer, a LEED Green Associate and a recognized project manager professional
(PMP), he is Member of several civil society organizations, a co-founder,
Secretary General of The Egyptian Revolutionary Council (ERC), a co-founder of
the Egyptian Canadian Coalition for Democracy (ECCD-CECD), Egyptian Worldwide
for Democracy and Justice (EW4DJ), Canadian Egyptian for Democracy (CEFD),
National Association for Change in Egypt (Taghyeer – Canada), Alternative
Perspective Media (APM-RAM), , Quebec Antiwar movement “Échec à la Guerre”,
Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine “CJPP”, ex-president and
co-founder of the Canadian Muslim Forum (CMF-FCM), member of the board of
trustee in the Canadian Muslim for Palestine (CMP) and Community Center for
Montreal Muslims (CCMM). He could be reached at Tel: 1-514-863-9202, and by email: public@mohamedkamel.com and followed at @mskamel