A Divided Canada Votes for Using Muscle in the Gulf

By John Dirlik

During a stormy emergency debate in the House of Commons, where opposition members accused the government of being a "lapdog for the superpowers," parliament voted 111 to 82 to back a US-led United Nations resolution authorizing military force against Iraq if it doesn't withdraw from Kuwait by Jan. 15.

"While Iraq is a dangerous enemy, the United States is a dangerous ally" that is thirsting for a confrontation with Iraq "like a kind of football game," the New Democratic Party charged. NDP leader Audrey McLaughlin denounced Ottawa's decision to support UN Resolution 678 at the 15-member Security Council as a "blank check" for war.

But External Affairs Minister Joe Clark insisted that the move "does not mean war, we hope it means peace, " because it may dissuade Saddam Hussain from his view "that the world is bluffing" about its resolve to oust him from Kuwait.

According to recent polls, Canadian public opinion is roughly divided on the idea of unqualified support for offensive action against Iraq. Demonstrations have occurred across the country opposing Canadian involvement in the Gulf, with hundreds of protesters carrying placards that read "We won't die for Texaco" marching to Department of Defense headquarters in Ottawa.

"While Iraq is a dangerous enemy, the United States is a dangerous ally."

"We are angry," said 66-year-old Marion Frank of Veterans Against Nuclear Arms, one of the organizations in the anti-war coalition. "Young people may glamorize war," she said, "but veterans want them to understand the full horror."

—Former Arab League Representative Blasts Status Quo in Arab World

Former Arab League Representative Clovis Maksoud, speaking in Montreal at a fundraiser for Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP), said that while the "oppressive nature of the Arab system" has in the past prevented people from expressing their frustrations, the current crisis in the Gulf has heralded "a questioning process" that is bound to usher in progressive change in the Arab world. "The Arab system, whatever the outcome of the Gulf crisis, won't be the same again," he predicted.

"We must secure from Iraq a commitment to withdraw from Kuwait, and simultaneously a commitment from America to withdraw from the Gulf."

In a speech repeatedly punctuated by applause, Maksoud said that Arabs must question non-representative governments. At the same time, he cautioned his largely-Arab audience not to " fall into the trap "of choosing between Iraq and Kuwait. Alluding to suggestions in some American circles on the need to topple Saddam Hussain's regime, Maksoud insisted that Arabs should be "as committed to the restoration of the rights of Kuwait as we are to the protection of the institution and infrastructure of Iraq."

Maksoud also criticized United Nations Resolution 678, saying it "gives legitimacy to the war option. " He called the UN move "a licensing of war, which is itself illegal, immoral, impractical and unacceptable."

Maksoud, who delighted his multicultural listeners by speaking in French as well as in Arabic and English, stressed that the UN authorization of the use of force brings even greater urgency to the need for an Arab solution. "It is crucial that we mobilize immediately our plans for peace, " he said. "We must secure from Iraq a commitment to withdraw from Kuwait, and simultaneously a commitment from America to withdraw from the Gulf."

Controversy Over Deal that Boycotts Israeli Goods Continues

A revelation that the Ontario Science Centre agreed to provide the government with a children's science exhibit that specifically excluded Israeli goods has sparked a controversy that led to the firing of the centre's director.

Mark Abbott was sacked by Ontario's minister of culture and communications after he signed a $1.2 million contract containing a clause stipulating that none of the material used in the display could be manufactured in Israel or shipped by an Israeli carrier.

Omani officials were subsequently informed by Science Centre lawyers that the Israeli boycott clause may violate Ontario's Discriminatory Business Practices Act. It was agreed that the clause would be replaced by one that said that goods and services had to originate from North America.

This did not satisfy Jewish organizations like B'nai B'rith, which described the modified contract as "a sophisticated cover-up. " Equally displeased was Ontario Premier Bob Rae, who said he was "not entirely happy" with the amended version because it was "a cute way of getting around" the boycott.

Premier Rae promised that the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations would probe the affair. "This isn't over yet, " he said.

Refugee Status to Israeli Arab Angers Jewish Organizations

The granting of refugee status to a Palestinian citizen of Israel has angered Jewish organizations who charged that the ruling only served to "politicize" and "undercut" Canada's refugee policy.

Yossi Schwartz, lawyer for the Palestinian, convinced an immigration panel that his client's fear of persecution in Israel was well founded. According to Schwartz, the two member refugee tribunal "accepted the fact that there is a consistent, general discrimination against Arabs in Israel." A copy of the panel's decision was not available.

Schwartz said that 34-year-old Walid Farrage, who now lives in Kitchener, Ontario, was falsely accused by Israeli authorities of involvement in "terrorist" activities. Farrage, an activist in the nationalist movement, was also a member of the Progressive List for Peace, a party in the Israeli Knesset that advocates the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

B'nai B'rith protested the refugee panel's decision, complaining that "die sweeping statements made (about discrimination in Israel) are far too general."

Canadian Jewish Congress President Les Scheininger likewise expressed puzzlement over the decision, saying that Israeli Arabs "enjoy full political and civil rights with unhindered access to the judicial system."

Scheininger added that "At the time when Canada is refusing refugee status to applicants from a variety of countries, we find it incomprehensible that a decision like this could have been rendered."

John Dirlik, a free-lance writer from Montreal, Quebec, writes on Canadian and Middle East affairs.