July 16, 2003
By Fax: (613) 996‑9607
The Honourable
Bill Graham
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Room 418-N, Centre Block
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Re.:
Death, Under Torture, of Canadian Journalist In Iran
Dear Minister
Graham:
I write to you on
behalf of the Officers and the Leadership of the Canadian Labour
Congress to express our concern over the urgent matter related
to the death of Canadian Journalist, Ms. Zahra Kazemi, in Iran.
It is extremely
disturbing to Canadian trade unionists representing working
women and men across this country, to hear that Canadian
families, friends and neighbours — who have chosen this country
to live in and contribute to — face this type of tragic
situation in their country of origin.
The horrendous
violations of the most fundamental human and trade union rights
in Iran, have been repeatedly exposed, including recently at the
International Labour Conference. The Canadian Labour Congress
has sent numerous letters of complaint to the Iranian
authorities.
We know that many
Iranian‑Canadians and refugees in Canada have already relayed
their concerns through various organizations and we join them
today in calling for swift and decisive action on the part of
the Canadian government.
We therefore call
on you, given the rapidly developing situation, to urgently take
the following steps.
1. Request the
return of the body of Ms. Zahra Kazemi to Canada, where an
autopsy can be done. Anything short of this will be tantamount
to complicity in her death and as her son Stephan Kazemi was
reportedly quoted “will make Canada judicially responsible in
her death.”
2. Do not
accept efforts by the Iranian regime and their embassy in Canada
to whitewash this matter and put ridiculous statements such as
the one quoted in the media that Ms. Kazemi’s mother requested
her daughter to be buried in Iran.
3. Do not
trade human rights, and the rights of Canadians, for economic
and other relations with the
Iranian
regime. There are limits to ‘constructive engagement’ and we
would urge the government
to
consider
what measures — including at the level of diplomatic relations —
are appropriate at
this
time given these tragic circumstances.
4. Insist with
the Iranian authorities that perpetrators and agents of the
regime involved in the death of
Ms. Zahra Kazemi
must face criminal charges, in an open and transparent fashion,
in the eye of the international community. President Khatami’s
order for an official investigation by the Ministries involved
in this tragic occurrence is at best flawed and certainly
completely unsatisfactory. Similar investigations such as the
one against student dormitories in the past resulted in all the
perpetrators being set free.
Minister, we will
continue to work with Canadian and international groups such as
the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to achieve the
return of the body of slain Canadian Journalist, Ms. Kazemi, to
Canada so that a proper autopsy can be performed to determine
the causes of her death.
We look forward
to your response and prompt action.
Sincerely,
Kennth V.
Georgetti
President
cc: CLC
Executive Committee
CLC Officers
ICFTU
IFJ
Embassy of Iran
