Post by ocelot on Aug 29, 2007 17:10:58 GMT -5
Canada expelling Sudanese diplomat
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 | 2:43 PM ET
CBC News
The Canadian government says it is expelling a Sudanese diplomat, a week after Sudan forced out a Canadian official.
The Sudanese diplomat must leave Canada by Saturday, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced Wednesday.
The diplomat has not been named.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said the decision is a direct response to Sudan's decision last week to expel Nuala Lawlor, a Canadian chargé d'affaires, and her European Union counterpart.
"Canada considers the expulsion of our chargé d’affaires to be entirely unjustified," Bernier said in a news release.
"Wherever they are posted, Canada’s diplomats will continue to work to uphold Canadian values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law."
The Sudanese government gave no specific reason for expelling Lawlor on Aug. 22 and giving her 72 hours to get out of the country. However, Sudan's official news agency reported that government officials believed Lawlor had been meddling in Sudan's internal affairs.
The Canadian Embassy in Sudan, along with the European Union, did question the detention of a group of political opposition members detained without charges in July, which may have angered the Sudanese government.
The Canadian government has defended Lawlor's work. She was the sole Canadian diplomat in Sudan, as the Canadian Embassy was going through a personnel shift and a new chargé d'affaires wasn't set to arrive until next month.
"In our view, she was standing up for human rights and the rule of law in Sudan, in the finest tradition of Canadian diplomacy," Rodney Moore, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs, said last week.
Many Western countries have been critical of the government's role in the war-torn Darfur region where at least 200,000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million people have fled their homes in four years.
Violence erupted in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of discrimination. The government, based in the capital city of Khartoum, is accused of retaliating by unleashing militias, which are blamed for atrocities against civilians.
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 | 2:43 PM ET
CBC News
The Canadian government says it is expelling a Sudanese diplomat, a week after Sudan forced out a Canadian official.
The Sudanese diplomat must leave Canada by Saturday, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced Wednesday.
The diplomat has not been named.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said the decision is a direct response to Sudan's decision last week to expel Nuala Lawlor, a Canadian chargé d'affaires, and her European Union counterpart.
"Canada considers the expulsion of our chargé d’affaires to be entirely unjustified," Bernier said in a news release.
"Wherever they are posted, Canada’s diplomats will continue to work to uphold Canadian values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law."
The Sudanese government gave no specific reason for expelling Lawlor on Aug. 22 and giving her 72 hours to get out of the country. However, Sudan's official news agency reported that government officials believed Lawlor had been meddling in Sudan's internal affairs.
The Canadian Embassy in Sudan, along with the European Union, did question the detention of a group of political opposition members detained without charges in July, which may have angered the Sudanese government.
The Canadian government has defended Lawlor's work. She was the sole Canadian diplomat in Sudan, as the Canadian Embassy was going through a personnel shift and a new chargé d'affaires wasn't set to arrive until next month.
"In our view, she was standing up for human rights and the rule of law in Sudan, in the finest tradition of Canadian diplomacy," Rodney Moore, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs, said last week.
Many Western countries have been critical of the government's role in the war-torn Darfur region where at least 200,000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million people have fled their homes in four years.
Violence erupted in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of discrimination. The government, based in the capital city of Khartoum, is accused of retaliating by unleashing militias, which are blamed for atrocities against civilians.