[asia-apec 834] CBC Radio: Horta in Ottawa to urge Canada (26-Oct-98)

[Brian Dawson]

[Note: a similar report was also broadcast on CBC on "Canada at Five".  
These are the two major daily broadcasts for CBC radio news.] 

CBC Radio News
The World at Six

26 October 1998 
(2 minutes 15 seconds)

SM: Susan Murray (reporter)
JRH: José Ramos-Horta
SR: Svend Robinson (Member of Parliament; NDP foreign affairs critic)
LA: Lloyd Axworthy (Minister of Foreign Affairs)

ANNOUNCER: A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is accusing Canada of 
acting in a totally abominable way in pepper-spraying protesters at 
the APEC summit last fall, and José Ramos-Horta says Canada is not 
giving a great human rights lesson to the rest of the world. Ramos-
Horta is in Ottawa to ask the Canadian government to support the 
right of East Timor to seek independence from Indonesia.  Susan 
Murray reports.

SM: Many of the student demonstrators at APEC were protesting 
against Indonesian dictator Suharto and for self-determination for 
East Timor, an island occupied by Indonesia for more than 20 years. 
Today the man leading the East Timor resistance movement was in 
Ottawa, so what does José Ramos-Horta think of the treatment of the 
students?

JRH: It was totally abominable, what they did.

SM: And Ramos-Horta says Canada is not giving a good example to the 
world when it comes to democracy and human rights.  Look, he says, 
Malaysia now appears to be copying Canada by starting to use pepper-
spray against demonstrators.

JRH: I thought, God, did they learn it from the Canadians, or what?  
Because the first time I heard was in connection with Vancouver; 
then the second time was yesterday in Malaysia.  So can you imagine 
some great lessons Canada is giving to the rest of the world?

SM: The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is in Ottawa to try to 
convince Canada  to support self-determination for East Timor. That 
cause is backed by many social groups, and by the New Democratic 
Party. MP Svend Robinson says Canada could help make up for the 
pepper-spraying by supporting independence for East Timor.

SR: This is an opportunity, a chance today, for Jean Chrétien, for 
Lloyd Axworthy,  to atone for some of their APEC sins.

LA: We had a very useful discussion with Ramos-Horta


SM: The minister of Foreign Affairs did meet with Ramos-Horta, and 
Lloyd Axworthy says Canada will provide money, training, and 
technical help for East Timor.  But he isn't publicly backing its 
right to self-determination.  That left the NDP saying the Chrétien 
government continues to care more about not embarrassing Indonesian 
dictators than it does about ensuring the rights of the people of 
East Timor.

Susan Murray, CBC News, Ottawa