Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Canada will not remain silent on the political situation in Iran after Tehran added Canada to a list of countries that it says is meddling in its internal affairs.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Canada’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to a meeting on Thursday, reportedly complaining that Canada has been spouting meddlesome comments and decrying media coverage of the outcome of Friday’s presidential election that showed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winning by a 2-to-1 margin.
“He was told the same thing that every other chargé has been told: ‘Stay out of our politics,’” Cannon told CBC News. “And we will not. We will continue to promote democracy. We will continue to challenge Iran on human rights.”
“These are things that are extremely important and it’s incumbent upon us to continue to do that.”
All three of Ahmadinejad’s challengers have alleged the results came out of vote rigging and supporters from both sides have mounted massive daily rallies since Monday.
Diplomatic officials from several European countries — including the Swiss envoy who represents U.S. interests in Iran — have also been summoned by authorities this week to discuss diplomatic concerns.
Iran has accused the United States of “intolerable” meddling in its internal affairs — an allegation the White House has dismissed.
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I wonder what the Liberals would do if they were in power?
They would insist that UN “knuckle draggers” interfere and put a stop to the demonstrations I suppose.
The very best thing the rest of the world can do is to stay out of it. Let Iranians deal with their own problems. Interference would only give the mad mullahs someone to focus on…