Real History and ••

Posted Friday, December 13, 2002

THIS is why the Canadian government changed its policy and classified the Hezbollah as a terrorist group. Not only was Canada pressured by a lawsuit from the B'nai Brith of Canada, it was also deceived by media reports.
A journalist named Sayed Anwar, reporting from Jerusalem for the Washington Times wrote that the Hezbollah sheik Nasrallah made untoward comments like: "Suicide bombings should be exported outside Palestine", and "I encourage Palestinians to take suicide bombings worldwide -- don't be shy about it."
These ominous quotes were widely reported in the Canadian media.
The Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Bill Graham, quoted them as the reason for the government's declaring the Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

ONE problem is that sheik Nasrallah never made those comments. Another, more serious, is that the reporter "Sayed Anwar" does not exist.
In fact, "Sayed Anwar" is really the zionist Paul Martin, who writes from London, England, not Jerusalem. He has written many anti-Palestine propaganda pieces under the fraudulent name of "Sayed Anwar", never revealing that it was a pseudonym. Sometimes, the Washington Times carried stories by both Anwar and Martin in the same issue.
Paul Martin was exposed several months ago and one can check the exposure on the internet in politically incorrect websites. A pity the Canadian mainstream media and the government bureaucrats never found out in time.
After the announcement on the policy shift was made, Neil Macdonald reported the "Sayed Anwar" fraud on CBC's programme The National. Transcripts are shown on left, while the video clip is available at:
Related file:
Our dossier on some of the origins of anti-Semitism

Original transcript

Host: PETER MANSBRIDGE

December 11, 2002

CBC-TV THE NATIONAL

Stories in this episode:

Introduction
Ottawa put Hezbollah on list of banned organizations
What was said by Hezbollah's Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah [ . . . ]

Introduction

PETER MANSBRIDGE: Tonight. Banned.

BILL GRAHAM (Minister of Foreign Affairs): We will be sending a signal to Hezbollah.

MANSBRIDGE: After months of pressure, Ottawa has put Hezbollah on its list of banned organizations. Why now? Eric Sorensen reports from Ottawa. Neil MacDonald is in Beirut. Intercepted and released. A ship carrying North Korean missiles is straining relations between the US and a Mideast ally. One hundred million dollar scam. Did Enron trick Revenue Canada and walk away with the cash? And order of battle.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What you're seeing is a classic military build-up.

MANSBRIDGE: Twelve years after taking on Iraq, the United States looks poised to strike again. How will it wage war this time?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: In a way, we're trying to use huge military invasion forces to produce a coup d'etat.

MANSBRIDGE: A feature report.

ANNOUNCER: "The National." From the Canadian Broadcasting Centre, here is Peter Mansbridge.

Ottawa put Hezbollah on list of banned organizations

PETER MANSBRIDGE: Good evening. It is a controversial policy decision. Slap a complete ban on the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Today the federal government made the move, outlawing the group in Canada. Ottawa has been under pressure to act for months, so why the change now? What was the catalyst? In essence, the decision was driven by an incendiary quote attributed to the leader of Hezbollah. That quote, however, is questionable, the source suspect. That investigative story from Neil MacDonald in a moment. First, though, here is Eric Sorensen with the ban and the battle to get it imposed.

ERIC SORENSEN (Reporter): The latest in a series of pressure tactics turned out to be overkill. Ori Tannenbaum, his father reportedly held captive by Hezbollah, arrived from Israel to press Ottawa to ban the pro-Palestinian group. The government had already done so two hours earlier.

WAYNE EASTER (Solicitor General): This decision is made on the basis of sound criminal and security intelligence information and in no way is due to political pressure from anywhere.

SORENSEN: But there had been pressure from the Canadian Alliance in the House of Commons to B'nai Brith in the courts. Today the Jewish lobby group dropped its lawsuit to have Hezbollah outlawed.

FRANK DIMANT (B'nai Brith Canada): Canadians as a whole do not want terrorists operating in this country. It was the voice of Canadians that made the difference in this case.

SORENSEN: Three groups - Hezbollah, Aum Shinri Kyo which carried out the serin gas attack in Tokyo, and the Kurdistan Workers Party which launched attacks mainly in Turkey - have been added to a list that now total sixteen organizations. It is illegal to belong to or to aid the groups banned under Canada's new anti-terror law. Until today, Ottawa had only banned Hezbollah's military wing, which had been linked to such acts as the US marine barracks bombing in Lebanon. Hezbollah's social political wing was allowed to operate and raise money in Canada for education and charities. Ottawa re-assessed after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Nasrallah was recently quoted calling on Palestinians to take a terror campaign worldwide.

BILL GRAHAM (Minister of Foreign Affairs): It was clear from the leaders comments the other day that, in fact, it was not distinguishing itself from terrorist activities.

SORENSEN: The Minister of Foreign Affairs says Ottawa's decision sends a message about terrorism and inciting terrorism.

GRAHAM: I think it will be sending a signal to Hezbollah that its affirmation of the use of terrorism as an international instrument is not acceptable.

SORENSEN: But others say Nasrallah's rhetoric is nothing new and accused Ottawa of looking for an excuse to take action. This Arab community spokesperson says Ottawa simply caved in to political pressure.

RAJA KHOURI (Canadian Arab Federation): It's unfortunate to see a major policy such as this one shift based on political considerations as opposed to real security concerns.

SORENSEN: As for the impact of the ban, one Arab group says it will block the charitable work done by Hezbollah, but the Canadian Jewish Congress says what will be blocked is fundraising for military activities. They may both be right. Eric Sorensen, CBC News, Ottawa.

What was said by Hezbollah's Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah

PETER MANSBRIDGE: Well now to that crucial quote, the one that helped kickstart the change in Canadian policy and attributed to Hezbollah's Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. The CBC's Middle East correspondent Neil MacDonald went to Beirut to investigate what was said and what was not. Here's his revealing report.

NEIL MACDONALD (Reporter): This unremarkable cleric enjoys legendary status in the Arab world. The man whose fighters drove Israel out of Lebanon. Israel and its supporters, though, regard Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah as a cold-blooded terrorist and say his own words have now provided the proof. Certainly the quotes attributed to him last week and reported widely in most Canadian media were ominous. "Suicide bombings should be exported outside Palestine", he was reported to have said. "I encourage Palestinians to take suicide bombings worldwide, don't be shy about it." Canadian Jewish groups and their allies immediately pressed their demand that Canada classify Hezbollah as a terrorist group. Ottawa resisted doing that, given that Hezbollah also runs a social network with projects like this one which retrains and offers work to disabled Lebanese. Hassan Nasrallah's heavily reported new quotes merely had an impact. The only problem is there is simply no evidence Hassan Nasrallah ever made a speech promoting global suicide attacks. There is no record of such a speech here, and there would be. It was not broadcast on Hezbollah's television station, as was reported. Hezbollah, which vigorously publicizes Nasrallah's every word, says the remarks were never uttered and the Canadian embassy in Beirut has tried and failed to document the quotes. The story originated not in the Middle East but in London, with this man. Paul Martin freelances for "The Washington Times," a right wing newspaper owned by the Unification Church. He cannot back up the quotes his story attributes to Nasrallah. Nevertheless, he believes he understands Nasrallah's true agenda.

PAUL MARTIN (The Washington Times): Nasrallah said we look at America as the enemy of this nation. He then adds, we will fight the enemy or them anywhere and everywhere and says that we need to work on the culture of suicide missions.

MACDONALD: There is nothing new in Nasrallah's support for Palestinian tactics in the occupied territories and in Israel. Just recently, Nasrallah praised Palestinians he says are, quote, "willing to sacrifice themselves fighting Israel with whatever weapon", suicide bombs included. But, says Hezbollah legislator Mohammed Raad, Nasrallah has specifically instructed that Hezbollah's fight with Israel is military in nature and not to be taken outside the region. Raad says "The Washington Times" story about exporting attacks as part of a propaganda orchestrated by America's pro-Israel right wing. Indeed, there does seem to be a theme to "Washington Times" stories. Earlier this year, the paper ran a report by a reporter named Sayed Anwar accusing Palestinian Muslims of raping, executing and extorting Christians in Bethlehem. When the story was questioned, Sayed Anwar turned out to be a fictitious name. A composite for Paul Martin and two of his researchers. Martin refused to discuss that incident on camera. Ottawa now knows that the Nasrallah quotes in the "Washington Times" about exporting suicide attacks were almost certainly never uttered. Of course what this all really boils down to is the old question of what constitutes terrorism. Is Hezbollah a national liberation movement or, as Israel and its supporters maintain, a murderous global menace? To a great many people in this part of the world, to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization is to choose sides in the defining conflict of the Middle East, an intensely political decision for any government. Neil MacDonald, CBC News, Beirut.