Canadians with backbone; Walking out of the UN General Assembly

I have to say that as a Canadian I am very proud when Americans make mention of us. Michelle Malkin has a post up about the Canadian UN delegation walking out of the assembly during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech. This from the National Post article written by Steven Edwards,

Canada will boycott Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at the United Nations on Wednesday, saying his outbursts about the Holocaust and Israel are “shameful.”

Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon will be at the world body to attend the opening of the UN General Assembly’s annual debate, but officials signal he and other members of the Canadian delegation will vacate the Canadian seats when the Islamic republic’s President approaches the podium…

…Walking out of the chamber is seen as a strong diplomatic show of disgust at the UN — and since the chamber is generally packed on the first day of the annual summit, Canada’s empty seats will not go unnoticed…

It isn’t simply this though. When President Barack Obama is ignoring America’s alliance with Israel to open a dialogue with this radical regeme, it is Canada that is not only standing by our ally in the Middle East, but calling out Iran on its evils.

…The Canadian initiative will be welcomed by Israel, which on Tueday urged all delegates in the 192-member chamber to stay away when Mr. Ahmadinejad speaks.

“A few days ago he gave a new speech of hate,” Gabriela Shalev, Israeli ambassador to the UN, told Israeli army radio. “The simple fact of leaving the room during his speech, or not to be present during it, is a symbolic act”…

…Canada annually leads a multi-nation effort in the UN General Assembly to highlight in successive resolutions Iran’s poor human rights record. The effort infuriates Iran, which pulls out all the diplomatic stops to try to block it.

Among the issues to be highlighted is the fate of hundreds of people arrested in the violent crackdown Mr. Ahmadinejad and his supporters ordered as opposition rose to his disputed re-election as President in June.

Among those jailed was Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, an internationally recognized documentary filmmaker, who was in the Islamic republic for Newsweek magazine to cover the election and ensuing protests.

“We remain deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Iran, and the crackdown on legitimate democratic protests and the arrests of Iranians and foreign nationals are unacceptable,” added the Canadian official…

What else can I say? I am proud to see that once again Canada is taking its place as an important player in international affairs, setting an example for our allies. It is a rare occasion when Canadians can stand up and say that our friends, not just the Americans but the spineless Europeans who have failed to even speak out against Iranian barbarism, should follow our example…

Be proud my fellow Canucks, while a small gesture, we have shown that we won’t even ignore, let alone condone, what these lunatics are doing. They want to abuse their own people as well as their neighbours, WE WILL CALL THEM OUT ON IT… Fantastic!

UPDATE: I forgot to include a video of Prime Minister Stephen Harper explaining why the Canadian delegation will walk. Give it a watch, it is very blunt and to the point; Canada will not put up with Iranian nonsense… Amazing!

UPDATE: Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey is discussing this, linking to the Ottawa Citizen’s article on the Canadian boycott of the Iranian President’s speech. Amazing!

I have to say I am proud to hear that Morrissey is congratulating Canada on “setting the standard”. While it doesn’t happen very often, we are the ones leading the charge on calling out these radicals on their hatred of Israel, let alone their abuse of their own people… With or without the Americans’ support, we will take a stand… FANTASTIC!

P.S. While Americans might feel upset that their own delegates aren’t join us in the walkout, take comfort in that this will be seen as another failure in Obama’s foreign policy… Pathetic…

UPDATE: Shepard Smith at Fox News is reporting on the walk out by UN delegates. It seems a few other countries are following the Canadians’ lead… Amazing!

UPDATE: According to Allahpundit, eleven more delegations, including the United States, walked out when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave his speech. One has to wonder whether or not this was in response to Canada’s boycott of the Iranian tyrant’s speech. While some may debate this, let’s not forget that it was the “Great White North” that got the boycott started this morning when its delegation announced this morning that it wouldn’t tolerate this barbarian’s lunacy.

As Michelle Malkin blogged earlier, it would have been nice if this boycott included the speech by demented terrorist Moammar Gadhafi. John F. Kennedy was assassinated by the Israelis? Looks like Jimmy Carter has found another “kindred spirit”… Pathetic…

UPDATE: Ed Morrissey has put up a post regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speech to the UN General Assembly. One does have to question the integrity of this international body when they do give a platform for radicals like Gadhafi and Ahmadinejad to preach their hatred. Is this the United Nations’ only transgression of late? There are quite a few more, inlcuding the Clarence Dias child pornography arrest which I myself wrote about earlier this year. Why do we continue to support an organizing which hasn’t been working for the last while? I just don’t know…

Maybe it is time to simply stand up and walk out of the UN General Assembly and not return, at least not until the United Nations can understand that governments preaching hatred should be denied the right to sit with and speak to the civilized nations… Pathetic…

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