Canadian Leaders Express Mixed Reactions to Israel-PLO Accord

By John Dirlik

Ottawa joined the international community in supporting the recent Israel-PLO deal signed in Washington, while Jewish and Arab organizations in Canada expressed mixed reactions.

Saying the agreement "reflects statesmanship of the highest order," Prime Minister Kim Campbell welcomed the event as "enormously encouraging.'' External Affairs Minister Perrin Beatty took the initiative of phoning the local Jewish press to praise Israel for its "enormous courage" in recognizing the PLO. Beatty told the Canadian Jewish News that Canada hopes the agreement means Israel "is not going to be subjected to terrorism," and that the ''territorial integrity of Israel . . . is going to be respected and acknowledged by all its neighbors."

The reaction of mainstream Jewish organizations to the historic agreement was predictably confused and lukewarm. After spending years fiercely lobbying the Canadian government against recognition of the PLO, Jewish groups were caught off-guard by Israel's unexpected decision. Visibly discomfited by Israel's sudden change of course, they said they welcomed the deal, but expressed a very cautious optimism.

The Canadian Jewish Congress said it supported whatever decisions were made by the "democratically elected" government of Israel. "If this agreement will lead to the end of violence and a resolution of the Palestinian question, then all parties will win," declared chairman Moshe Ronen of the Congress' national Israel affairs committee. "However, we must emphasize the fact that actions speak louder than words . . . The Palestinians will have to demonstrate their commitment to peaceful co-existence. "

A spokesman for the Canada-Israel Committee, Thomas Hecht, was less diplomatic, comparing Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's decision to sign an accord with the PLO to the 1938 decision by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to sign a treaty with Adolf Hitler. Recalling that Chamberlain relied on "just a piece of paper" as a guarantee of peace with the Nazis, Hecht warned that "the euphoria over peace" was premature and questioned whether the PLO was "indeed the representative of the Arabs in the territory referred to as Palestine."

Individual members of the Jewish community also expressed skepticism and anger. Fred Krantz, founder of the rightwing Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, said he received "scores" of calls from people who were "very anxious and upset" that Israel recognized the PLO.

In some cases, anger over the Israel-PLO deal turned to blatant racism, with one letter writer to the Tororlto Star stating peace was unlikely when Arabs are in the habit of "killing each other off like flies. "

Although there were serious reservations voiced within the Canadian Arab community to the Israel-PLO agreement, the general consensus was far more enthusiastic. The National Council on Canada-Arab Relations issued a press release describing the deal as "a major turning point for all the peoples in the Middle East.'' Expressing the views of many Arab-Canadians, the Council stressed the event was a ''first step" toward a comprehensive peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

Canadian Peacekeepers in Somalia Charged With Murder

Canada's international reputation as a respected peacekeeper has been seriously tarnished after charges of murder and racism were leveled against members of the elite Canadian Airborne Regiment stationed in Somalia. In what a commentator described as "one of the most inglorious moments in Canadian military history," a Somali civilian was beaten to death while in Canadian custody, and in a separate incident two fleeing Somalis were shot in the back by Canadian soldiers.

The revelations surfaced when a military surgeon stationed in Somalia wrote a letter to his wife describing how a pair of unarmed Somali civilians who had tried to sneak into the Canadian compound were shot by Canadian soldiers as they fled. According to Maj. Barry Armstrong, one of the Somali men fell to the ground and was then shot in the head in an "execution-style killing." The letter, which became public after the major's wife passed on the information to Canadian authorities, prompted the appointment of a special military inquiry into the conduct of the Canadian Airborne Regiment.

In a separate incident, four Canadian soldiers were charged with murder, torture and criminal negligence in the beating death of another Somali man caught trying to sneak into the Canadian compound. Military authorities at first said only that the Somali died after "contact" with Canadian soldiers, but later admitted he was taken into custody and then beaten to death. The murder charges are the first ever to be laid against Canadians in a United Nations operation.

Transcripts of the investigation—made public in censored form—suggested that racism was widespread and that it may have been present even in the upper echelons of the Airborne Regiment. A witness whose identity is blacked out said at least a dozen Canadian soldiers wore racist tattoos.

Responding to the inquiry, Chief of Defense Staff Admiral John Anderson said he was "disturbed by some of the findings," and promised that Canada's Armed Forces policy on racism will be reviewed. Meanwhile, all promotions for personnel who served in Somalia have been frozen pending the outcome of the inquiry.