By
Bill Curry, Globe and Mail, Sept. 6,
2007. With a report from Stanley Tromp
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MP Wajid Khan heard strong criticism of
Canada's pro-Israel approach to the Middle East under the Conservative
government as he toured key Muslim and Arab states in the region last fall,
documents show.
Mr. Khan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's adviser on the
Middle East, was also warned that a "clash of civilizations" looms
unless the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis is resolved shortly.
Mr. Khan met with a mix of government officials,
professionals and non-governmental organizations, but their names are blacked
out in the documents.
"There was a consensus
view that, diplomatically, Canada is well-placed to play a constructive role,
but also that Canada's credibility in the region has recently been damaged by a
perceived shift in Canadian
rhetoric on the Middle East," Foreign Affairs official Sam Hanson wrote.
The document, which
summarized the views of the "interlocutors" who spoke with Mr. Khan in the Palestinian
territories, also pinpointed Canada's "recent UN votes, as well as what
many cast as an 'uncompromising and unhelpful' no contact policy towards Hamas."
Under the heading
"Egyptian advice to Canada," Mr. Hanson reported a widely held
perception that Canadian policy in the region had shifted. "Freezing out
Hamas means you do not accept the need to move ahead," one Egyptian was
quoted as telling Mr. Khan.
The Conservative government
came to power the same month that Hamas won elections to lead the Palestinian
Authority in January, 2006. The Harper government was one of the first
countries to sever financial and diplomatic ties with the Hamas-led authority.
The release of the documents
is the latest development regarding the Mississauga MP's fall, 2006, trip,
which has been shrouded in mystery and political controversy. Elected as a
Liberal, Mr. Khan was
appointed by the Prime Minister in June, 2006 as an adviser and was sent three months later to tour the
Middle East. Though Mr. Khan
promised to release a public report on his trip, the Conservative government
later said the report would not be released. In January, 2007, Mr. Khan crossed the floor to join the
Tories.
Using the Access to
Information Act, The Globe and Mail requested copies of any report submitted by
Mr. Khan or officials in
relation to the trip. Heavily redacted documented have now been released, but
there is no sign of a report written by Mr. Khan.
Instead, the 48 pages contain
e-mail updates sent during the trip by Mr. Hanson, a regional policy co-ordinator with the Foreign Affairs Department who
accompanied Mr. Khan and
his political aide as the trio visited Syria, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian
territories, Israel, Egypt and Lebanon.
The government's main reasons
for redacting Mr. Hanson's e-mails were that sections contained policy advice,
personal information or statements that could damage international relations.
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