...: April 2008

Friday, April 4, 2008

Canada to attend Olympics opening

Harper says he's not planning on going, urges Beijing to respect rights, peaceful protests
Link

Apr 04, 2008 04:30 AM

Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau

BUCHAREST–Canada still plans to send a "high-level" government official to the opening ceremonies of this summer's Beijing Olympics, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says.

Harper said yesterday his cabinet has not discussed whether Canada should deliver an official rebuke over China's violent crackdown on protesters in Tibet. He said he never planned to go to Beijing himself for the ceremonies "but we are still planning to have high-level government representation."

Polish and German leaders and Britain's Prince Charles have said they will not attend the opening ceremonies while Hollywood director Steven Spielberg pulled out of the organization of the ceremony some time ago. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has also mused about missing the event.

"My advice – and I know the government of China is not typically taking my advice – my strong advice would be to take these concerns seriously because I think they are likely to grow rather than diminish if we see a repetition of the current pattern," Harper said.

According to Tibetan exiles, more than 100 people have been killed in the military crackdown in Lhasa, the capital, including Buddhist monks and activists who want an end to the Chinese annexation of Tibet. Chinese officials have put the death toll at 22.

Protesters have disrupted the Olympic torch runs in Greece and other countries as it makes its way to Beijing for the summer games. A number of socially conscious athletes are also considering how to express their disagreement with China's Tibet policy while still participating in the contest.

"I would urge China ... to respect human rights and peaceful protests, not just in Tibet but everywhere," Harper said. "I would also encourage the government of China to understand that its growing wealth, its growing importance in the world, and of course the profile of the Olympics will put a greater and greater spotlight on its record in this regard."

Harper made headlines in 2006 for taking a firm line on China's human rights record, saying he would not "sell out" basic democratic principles for fear of hampering trade ties with the economic giant.

Canada's highest profile beef with Beijing is the detention of Huseyin Celil, an ethnic Uighur with Canadian citizenship, on charges of terrorism. He was arrested in Uzbekistan in 2006 and deported to China, where the government refuses to recognize his dual citizenship.

Ottawa presses China for location of jailed Canadian

OMAR EL AKKAD

March 29, 2008

OTTAWA -- Canadian officials called the Chinese ambassador yesterday to ask that Beijing tell Huseyin Celil's family where the imprisoned Canadian is being held, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.

According to a prepared statement read to The Globe and Mail by a Foreign Affairs spokesman, Chinese Ambassador Lu Shumin was called into the department yesterday to discuss Mr. Celil's situation, which has turned even bleaker in the past few months.

The ambassador was also asked to allow Mr. Celil's family to visit him wherever he is being held, "if only on humanitarian grounds."

Those may well be the only grounds on which Ottawa can appeal, given that Beijing has always refused to recognize any rights he has as a Canadian citizen.

It was revealed this week that Mr. Celil - who was arrested in Uzbekistan two years ago, transferred to China, accused of being a terrorist and sentenced to life in prison - has been moved from the Northwest China prison where he was serving his sentence.

Chinese authorities, who consider Mr. Celil Chinese, have refused to tell his family or Canadian officials where he is.

According to the Foreign Affairs spokesman, officials with the Canadian embassy will soon make the same plea in Beijing.

However, Chinese officials recently expressed displeasure with Ottawa's position on the uprising and repression of protesters in Tibet. With the Olympics just a few months away, the Tibet protests have put Chinese human rights in the spotlight.

The Conservative government has repeatedly acted on behalf of Mr. Celil, a member of the Muslim Uyghur minority in China, since his arrest. But the results have been minimal: In violation of international agreements, Beijing has denied Canadian officials access to Mr. Celil.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister's office called Chris MacLeod, Mr. Celil's Canadian lawyer, to discuss the case. Mr. MacLeod said officials seemed engaged in the issue, and listened to his thoughts on what should be done next.

Family of Canadian serving life in prison in China say his whereabouts unknown

OTTAWA — The family of a Canadian convicted of terror charges and serving life in prison in China say Beijing has refused to tell Ottawa the prisoner’s whereabouts.
The Globe and Mail reports that the family of Huseyin Celil, along with his Canadian lawyer and Amnesty International, sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday, pleading for the government to intensify efforts on his behalf.
Celil, a member of the Muslim Uyghur minority in China, was travelling on a Canadian passport when he was arrested in Uzbekistan two years ago.
Chinese authorities accused him of terrorism and charged him with engaging in violent separatist activities. Celil has denied the charges.
In April of last year Celil was sentenced to life in prison. According to the letter, Beijing has refused to grant Canadian officials access to him.
The Globe says Celil’s sister visited him just a few months ago in a prison in northwest China. However, Thursday’s letter says the family tried to visit him again on March 7, but were told he was no longer at the prison.

China remains silent on Burlington man's welfare

Officials cut off access to relatives, tell Canada to back off

March 28, 2008

Daniel Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator
(Mar 28, 2008)

China won't tell Canada what has become of a Burlington man in one of its prisons because they say it is none of Canada's business.

The news was communicated to Huseyin Celil's lawyer, Chris MacLeod, yesterday by Ottawa.

It came on the second anniversary of Celil's arrest after family members went to visit him in prison and were told he was not there.

MacLeod believes Celil is collateral in the crackdown in Tibet and China has decided "no one is going to talk to him, including his family."

The news has further upset his family, MacLeod says, including wife Kamila Telendibaeva.

"She's getting really strained and it's starting to take its toll, especially now where we don't know where he is," MacLeod said. "At least before, we knew where he was -- we just couldn't get him out."

Amnesty International sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the anniversary, reiterating a plea to appoint a high-level envoy to secure his release.

Celil became a Canadian in 2005 but China does not recognize his Canadian citizenship and has refused access to him in Bajiahu prison in northwest China. He is serving a life sentence for what family and friends say are trumped-up terrorism-related charges stemming from his work for his native Uyghurs in the 1990s.

MacLeod said Celil's mother and sister, who live in China, went to visit him in prison March 7 and 8. They were told he was not there and to return in three months.

They notified Canada's embassy in Beijing, which sent a note to China asking where he is and when his family can visit. MacLeod said the reply was, "We're not going to tell you anything. He's a Chinese citizen."

Foreign Affairs and Chinese Embassy officials could not be reached for comment.

Amnesty International's letter

dnolan@thespec.com

905-526-3351

Family seeks whereabouts of jailed Chinese-Canadian activist

Human rights activists and family of Huseyin Celil are calling on Ottawa to put more pressure on China to reveal where the 38-year-old Canadian citizen is being imprisoned.

Celil, a Muslim and member of China’s Uighur minority group, was sentenced to life in prison by a Chinese court last April. A year earlier, he had been arrested in Uzbekistan and extradited to his native China to face terrorism charges.

Celil's whereabouts in the Chinese prison system are unknown to his family and Canadian officials. His southern Ontario-based wife and children have sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper urging him to intensify pressure on Beijing to provide more information.

"Prime Minister, we call on you to renew and fortify Canada's efforts to ensure Mr. Celil's human rights are protected," the letter says.

In the message to Harper, the imprisoned man's family expresses concern that "Canda’s attention to Celil's fate appears to have waned."

The prime minister has raised Celil's case with Chinese authorities at the highest level, telling President Hu Jintao in November of 2006 that "when a Canadian citizen is taken from a third country and imprisoned in China, this is a serious concern to this country."

During a visit to Beijing last April, then foreign minister Peter MacKay sought assurances from Chinese officials that Celil wasn't tortured during his interrogation and imprisonment. Chinese officials told MacKay that the Canadian hadn't been tortured, although his family says that he has been brutally maltreated.

'Deeply disappointed' MacKay

MacKay later told journalists that he expressed his "deep disappointment" about the case to his Chinese counterpart.

China has consistently refused Canadian officials consular access to Celil, who has been a citizen of Canada since 2005 after arriving in the country as a refugee in 2001. China contends that Celil has no right to consular access because, as a dual citizen, he is subject to Chinese laws. However, usually China automatically rescinds citizenship for people who take up nationality in foreign countries.

The case against Celil charged that he had been involved in violent separatist activities against the Chinese state. His friends, family and supporters say he was a human rights activist speaking up on behalf of an oppressed minority.

The Chinese Communist Party government takes the view that activism on behalf of ethnic minorities is often akin to separatism, as in the case of Tibet, as well as the Uighurs of Xingiang province.

There have been several violent attacks in China blamed on Uighur separatist groups, some of whom have ties to international Islamist political movements.

With files from the Canadian Press

Family unable to locate Canadian jailed in China

Huseyin Celil is seen in this undated family handout photo.

Family unable to locate Canadian jailed in China

Updated Fri. Mar. 28 2008 7:23 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

The family of Huseyin Celil, a Canadian citizen imprisoned in China, says they have no idea where he's being held.

In a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, sent jointly with Amnesty International, Celil's family is urging the government to do more to ensure his safety.

"Prime minister, we call on you to renew and fortify Canada's efforts to ensure Mr. Celil's human rights are protected," the letter states.

"We appreciated the concern and action demonstrated by the government in the past, including by you personally, but are concerned Canada's attention to Mr. Celil's fate appears to have waned."

CTV's Steve Chao, reporting Friday from Beijing, said the big concern right now surrounds Celil's whereabouts.

"As of last fall, his sister was still being allowed to visit him in a prison but then earlier this month, when she went to the same prison, government authorities told her that he had been moved but they refused to let her know where exactly he had been moved to," said Chao.

Celil, who belongs to the Uighur Muslim minority of far western China, holds Canadian citizenship. The Chinese-born man came to Canada via Uzbekistan and Turkey after escaping from a Chinese jail in 2000.

In late March 2006, Celil visited Uzbekistan and was arrested and returned to China.

Chinese authorities claim that militants among the Uighurs -- Turkic-speaking Muslims -- are backing a violent Islamic separatist movement in an attempt to set up an independent state of "East Turkistan.''

China's line has long been that because Celil was born in China they will not recognize his Canadian citizenship.

"This is against international agreements however the Chinese government says this is their matter... and they do not want Canada involved," said Chao.

In April 2007, a Chinese court found Celil guilty for the two crimes of "separating China and ... organizing, leading and participating in terrorist groups, organizations."

He was given a life sentence for the crimes. In July 2007, a Chinese court rejected Celil's appeal.

Celil's family says he is being held in jail because he is a human rights activist.

Canadian diplomats have never been granted access to Celil, said Chao.

Comments are now closed for this story

James
Another example of China's total disregard for human rights. This person has Canadian citizenship but China does not respect this. He was acting on behalf of a repressed minority group in China… Shame on China! Boycott the Bejing Olympics! Release the Canadian Huseyin Celil!

Mike
To bad we rely so heavily on China for goods.

Ellery
Why was a Chinese citizen who escaped from jail given Canadian citizenship in the first place? I am not in favor of spending any taxpayer money to try to help people like this.

DaveB
We continue to support this communist regime because of our greed for the cheap manufactured goods. Our manufacturing sectors are collapsing and they are gobbling up world resources, polluting the world as they go. Human rights have no place in their philosophy and their population continues to be impoverished, when will the west wake up to what is happening?

James
Ellery, I would venture to say that Mr. Celil was imprisoned in China for speaking up for the human rights of his repressed minority group. Canda has a habit of supporting people who are being persecuted by repressive governments. At least Canada tries to practice basic human rights. Shame on China! Boycott the Bejing Olympices. Free Mr Celil!

Jim
Presumably, he was a political prisoner. Be that as it may, he was granted citizenship so Canada should stand by him.

Alan in Vancouver
How many times do we need to know about China's communist totalitarian government's human rights abuses, before we finally have the fortitude to take reprisals.
The Olympic games boycott and trade sanctions are a good start.
Mr. Harper, where are you?

Chris
Seriously? So is the family of every person who is jailed outside of Canada going to go to the media and the government about it? These ventures are just huge wastes of taxpayer money and need to stop!

Sharp
This is one more story to show that our taxpayers are supporting what kind of business the government is doing. But this is not a news. We all knew he was a Chinese before he became a Canadian.

Bettina
I am sick and tired of having to "rescue" people that freely go to these crazy countries expecting to be treated like in Canada. Stay at home and don't travel, especially when you are a wanted man. It's if we have to spend millions on saving these folks and I say too bad. Stay at home if your want freedom. ANd another thing, stop trying to change the world. Countries are the way they are and let them be. I am sick of trying to save the world from poverty and oppression. It's time we focused on Canada and spend less time with trying to change other countries.

Dean
Why are we trying to "save" convenient Canadians? We shouldn't be jumping in where these criminals are every time they call for help. I agree with those who say to stop trying to change the world. Do we want other nations telling us how to behave or run our country? How about we respect the laws of other nations as we want them to respect ours?

mdm
Wow. Has the day actually come where more people are concerned about their money as 'taxpayers' than about the life and rights of other human beings? I really hope not, but I fear it might be the case. What sad times we are in. I grew up in a Canada that was much more understanding and compassionate that what it seems to be today. Call me a bleeding heart liberal if you must, but I'd like to think at least I have a heart.

Sean
I will never work trying to apply Canada's Law in China. So try Chinese Law in China, it might help.

Anne
Although I agree he showed poor judgement in going back, I don't think we should just leave him there to rot in a chinese prison.

Matt
My understanding of the timeline is.
1. A Chinese citizen is convicted on terrorism charges.
2. He breaks out of jail and flees to Canada.
3. He is granted Canadian citizenship.
4. China does not recognize his Canadian Citizenship and insists he remains a Chinese citizen.
5. China insists he is an escaped prisoner and must complete his sentence.
6. He travels to a China friendly country and gets arrested.
7. He gets deported back to China to finish his sentence.

Seems open and shut that Canada is interfering with a domestic Chinese law enforcement issue. We as a country must not grant Canadian citizenship as some sort of global get out of jail free card to convicted criminals.

Tamouh
It is shame some people believe we shouldn't help others in time of need. It is the right of every Canadian to be looked after by his country just as it is the obligation of every Canadian to serve the best interest of his country even if abroad. You won't appreciate this concept until you've been yourself kidnapped or persecuted when on another country's soil.

Shawn
I am with Bettina on this one. After escaping the region, Celil travelled back to that region, was arrested and turned over to the Chinese. It amazes me that people don't understand that the due process in other countries is different then Canada and that your 'Rights' (for the most part) don't exist outside of Canada.

The Chinese government can run their country how every they see fit and if we don't like it, we should buy or support anything they do make or do.

Also, the other issue might be that if by international law he is considered a Canadian then the world needs a recognized court that has authority to handle such issues as this. Without a court to uphold the law, the law is meaningless.

Catherine
Nothwithstanding the current situation and in view on China's grip on the world economy and their total disregard for human rights and clean earth -we do have the will to boycott the Olympics AND stop buying Made in China. I know it's difficult but I have been doing it for well over a year. And I am very vocal with retailers who sell Chinese made goods.

Fog of Life
Seems that the majority of these, "Canadian jailed abroad", cases relate to naturalized citizens. Maybe during citizenship ceremonies we should have people understand that the Canadian passport is not bullet proof and provides NO immunity in foreign countries. People seem to know that the Canadian media will take up their cause if something happens so they consciously run the risk. Its time this mentality changes.

Jim
Let's hope China can socially and politically enter the 21st Century (ie rule of law, respect for the individual etc) before she self destructs. Business and wealth creation require political stability and if history is any guide, the Chinese economic miracle of the last 2 decades is unlikely to continue in a country where people simply disappear.

Shamaro
Ok, here we have a guy, who escaped a Chinese prison, came to Canada, attained Canadian Citizenship and even though he know's he's a wanted man in that part of the world goes back, gets arrested and finds himself yet again detained in a Chinese prison. People, regardless of his Canadian Citizenship, he is also a Chinese citizen and in China they do not recognize duel citizenship. We all know that China has total disregard for human rights, so why test the Chinese government on human rights when we all know what the outcome will be. Should the Canadian Government get involved? Well, at least should be talking to the Chinese government about him, but there's really not a hole lot that can be done. Another lesson all Canadians should learn about travelling abroad to certain countries such as China.

alberta view
Capitalism and communism have joined hands in a perfect partnership. Some collateral damage is to be expected. Corporations [eg. olympics inc.] and commies have no regard for human rights. Please include our neo-government under "corporations".

Barrett
I have to agree with Matt, Sean and Dean on this one. Why are we trying to "save" a person charged with a crime in their own country just because they recieved a Canadian Citizenship, (after they escaped from prison?) Where did our system breakdown by letting convicted escaped prisoners into our country- legally! If we were as compassionate for orphans and undereducated children as we are convicted criminals we may just get somewhere eventually

Andrew W
This is getting very old. Our politicians have more important matters to concentrate on than these people who continue to travel into countries where everyone knows questionable human rights exist. It is a hard lesson, but damnit, take your medicine!

Gail
It's time some Canadians stop asking what their country will do for them and instead ask what they can do for their country. Going back to any area where Canadian law has no jurisdiction is simply futile at best. Boycotting the Olympics is punishing the athletes who have done nothing wrong. Until the Chinese people can change their communist leadership, fighting for human rights needs to be done at a safe distance, and through diplomatic means.

Angela
The reason he returned to Uzbekistan was to try to get his remaining three children out of China. I pay a huge amount in taxes every year and I am quite happy to have my tax dollars spent helping a man who is willing to risk his life for his children.

RRBSF
Does anyone out there have even the remotest clue what it takes to govern 1.3 billion people. That's 1300 million compared to our 30 million and the 300 million in the US. Think of the problems of our elections and those in the US and then do the math and also recognise that China has a very diverse population. There is no way we can even imagine the problems of a population that size and think our method of democracy is the only solution. We also do not understand the dangers of allowing dissention within a population that large. I think maybe the people of Canada need to stop judging other governments based on their own standards and recognize that there are other cultures out there with problems we do not have a clue about.

Jeth
We have to worry about our TAXPAYER money because we work hard and pay taxes. We are not paying taxes for the mistakes of other people.

Human right is fine but we should not firght for human rights on expense of other people's hard money(taxes) that is again voilation of Human right.

Government should spend money for we Canadians which are working and contributing to Canadian Economy, not on the people involved in criminal activities of any kind.

Mister Ed
Canada has oil. China wants access to it. As a result, we have considerable diplomatic leverage. We should exploit that to its fullest potential to extract whatever human rights concessions we can, at every opportunity.

James
People, he is a human being, deserving of our compassion. We do not know his life story but we know he is a human being. The Chinese government has a long and horrific history of crushing dissent. Now they seem to think that this ability extends outside of their border. They have become like the American governement; "do as I say or watch out." No government is above the laws protecting human rights. Individuals have the absolute right to live in peace and security above all other considerations, all others. If not, the human race will cease to exist, suppressed by faceless governments and corporations. Shane on China! Boycott the Bejing Olympics! Free Huseyin Celil.

Aimee
I think there is an important issue here that people seem to be missing.

Doesn't his family have the right to know where he is? If he is even still alive?

Should be in jail, shouldnt be in jail, that is a question for the government and law to answer.

I feel sorry for the family members. If I had a loved one in jail (be it for any reason), I would like to know where that loved one was, and if he/she was okay.

China activist jailing criticised

China's jailing of a prominent rights activist has drawn criticism from an international media advocacy group and the US.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was "appalled" by Thursday's ruling to jail Hu Jia for three and a half years and called for a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

"The Chinese justice system has, at the behest of the authorities, thrown oil on the flames just four months ahead of the Olympic Games," the group said in a statement.
Hu, 34, a high-profile rights campaigner well known for criticising the government in internet articles and in interviews with the foreign media,
was jailed for "incitement to subvert state power".

Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Romania on Thursday that the decision "is deeply disturbing to the United States".
"It is exactly the kind of decision that we have tried to convince the Chinese is not only not in the interest of human rights, and in the interest of the rule of law, but actually not in China's interest," she said.

RSF also urged the European Union to freeze its rights dialogue with China to protest against the prison sentence.

Calling Hu "a figurehead of the peaceful struggle to improve respect for human rights in China", the RSF said "the list of Olympic Games prisoners is getting longer while the International Olympic Committee remains desperately silent".
"In a sign of protest, we urge the European governments to immediately freeze the constructive dialogue on human rights that has been conducted with China for the past few years," the group said.

Rule of law
A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said the case "has been dealt with in accordance with law".

"We will not stop the implementation of law because of the Olympic Games," Jiang Yu, the spokeswoman, said.

Hu, who has been involved in civil liberties issues ranging from Aids awareness to environmental rights and Tibet, was found guilty less than two weeks ago and has 10 days to appeal Thursday's sentence.

Last year Hu and activist lawyer Teng Biao authored an article accusing Beijing of failing to fulfil a pledge made when bidding for the Olympics that it would improve human rights.
Another government critic, Yang Chunlin, was jailed five years on similar charges last month.

Canada Brings Up Human Rights Issues With China

Well good for Stephen Harper for bringing up human rights with the President of China. While the brief meeting sounds like it might've taken place as the two were standing next to each other in the line-up at the APEC conference buffet table, it seems the Chinese are none too pleased with the new style of diplomacy from the Canadians. After 13 years of sycophantic Liberal Prime Ministers prioritizing trade with China way above demanding action to improve human rights there's finally a government in Ottawa which is serious about highlighting China's brutal record with its own people.