In the statement, while outlining the duties of the new ambassador to Tehran, the Canadian Foreign Ministry also named Werner the representative of the Canadian government to attend the court sessions in the case of the death of Iranian national Zahra Kazemi, a photojournalist who was based Canada, and also said that he was to closely cooperate with her family and attorney in their efforts to receive damages according to the regulations of the Iranian judicial system.
In light of the fact that Canada will soon assume the rotating presidency of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, the Canadian government has appointed Werner to reflect Canada’s attitude toward the nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran and has also asked him to seriously defend Canada’s position on human rights in Iran.
The Canadian Foreign Ministry statement hardly mentioned the fact that the former Canadian ambassador to Tehran was summoned to Canada last July for his negligence in the Kazemi case.
Despite the fact that issuing such a statement on the eve of the dispatch of an ambassador to a new country is quite odd, a closer glance at the matter seems to indicate that Canadian leaders are gradually coming to a better understanding of the political and judicial realities in the Islamic Republic.
In their recent announcement, they have made it clear that the new ambassador should learn a lesson from past events and pursue the Kazemi case according to the regulations of the Iranian judicial system.
In its decision to recall the former ambassador and appoint a new ambassador, Canada proved that it has accepted the fact that Iran has an independent judicial system and will not allow foreigners and their agents to influence it or interfere in its proceedings.
Canada seems to have learned a lesson from the experiences of other Western countries which had recalled their ambassadors from Iran and then begged to send new ambassadors to Tehran, because, just like the Europeans, the Canadians also intended to test Iran by recalling their ambassador to Tehran.
By reflecting on the nature of the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Canadians came to the same conclusion as the Europeans, realizing that Iran is an important country and that they should dispatch an ambassador to Tehran as soon as possible.
It seems that Canadian officials also concluded that they should follow a policy similar to the one adopted by the Europeans on Iran’s nuclear program, that is, they should put aside all colonialist threats and negotiate with the Islamic government in Iran.
This is the reason why the Canadian statement underlined the necessity of resuming political relations with Iran, and, while referring to the fact that Canada would soon be assuming the presidency of the IAEA Board of Governors, the Canadian government asked its ambassador to directly negotiate with Iranian officials on the country’s nuclear activities.
SA/HG
End
MNA