Iranian legislator blasts violation of human rights in Canada

A prominent Iranian lawmaker lashed out at Canada's hostile policies against the Islamic Republic, and advised the Ottawa government to deal with its own domestic problems instead of meddling with Tehran's internal affairs. "The hostile positions of the Canadian government against Iran have been more evident in the past few years," Mohammad Saleh Jokar said in an interview with the parliament's news website on Tuesday. He condemned Ottawa for its hostile plots against Iran, and said, "The Canadian government had better start resolving its domestic problems and providing its native population with their rights instead of making decisions for the future of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Last week, Toronto hosted a gathering in support of the Iranian opposition. The Global Dialogue on the Future of Iran was hosted by the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, but sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs with $250,000 in public money. And it was kicked off with a speech by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. Baird has launched a social media campaign to incite opposition to the Islamic Republic. Baird's hostile move includes broadcast of debates over the web in Farsi and English under special security settings to encourage dissident communities. Canada has had a very bad track record when it comes to the treatment of natives and most of the native Canadians suffer poor educational, economic and social conditions, and are among the poorest members of the Canadian society. Jokar said that the Canadian government's support for the anti-Iran groups will have no benefits for Ottawa, and advised Ottawa to show a wiser attitude on the international scene. On December 20, 2012, the Canadian government announced that it has removed the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO also known as the MEK, PMOI and NCR) from its official list of terrorist organizations. The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).