Who issued a Canadian visa to the Armenian separatist: tracking a visit

The so-called "Foreign Minister" of the illegal regime in Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgy Petrossyan visited Canada between 17-24 February, 2011. Although no officials received Petrossyan, the fact that he was issued a Canadian visa has caused uproar amongst the Azerbaijani community in Canada.

Indeed, many community members are well aware how difficult it is to get a Canadian visa. Citizens of Canada cannot be reunited with their loved ones living overseas for years, but in this case a representative of an illegal regime easily receives a visa.Members of the Azerbaijani community have sent an open letter to Prime Minister Mr. Harper (the text of the letter can be found at (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/protest-canadian-govt/) with a demand to give a clear answer: Who invited Petrossyan to Canada, by what circumstances was he granted a visa and etc? How can it be that British MP George Galloway was denied entry into Canada and at the same time Petrossyan was allowed into its territory?

However, it would not be surprising if members of the community do not receive a response from Mr. Harper. The ruling Conservative Government carries out an openly pro-Armenian policy. The Minister of Immigration (department that issues a visa) is headed by Jason Kenney, a well-known advocate of the interests of the Armenian community. One of the key positions in the office of Jason Kenney is held by Agop Evereklian.

In 2006, a scandal developed between Turkey and Canada when the Canadian Government (the only one in the world) officially recognized the so-called "genocide" of Armenians. Relations between the two countries have resumed recently, but it was not possible to "repair" these relations completely.

Domestically, more and more discontent has been expressed with regard to the policy of multiculturalism. Canada has traditionally enjoyed the image of a developed democracy and a neutral player in international relations. However, this image has been tarnished somewhat. On the international scene Canada has sustained a defeat past year.

Canada lost the elections at the Security Council of the United Nations for the first time in its history. A voice of dissatisfaction regarding the policy of multiculturalism is increasing internally. In pursuit of votes and resources of individual ethnic communities, the current Government takes sides of one ethnic community over another.

However, it is not only that Conservatives are pursuing the votes of certain ethnic groups. An MP from the Liberal Party, Jim Karrygiannis of Greek-Armenian descent is involved in tarnishing the image of Turkey and Azerbaijan in Canada. The question arises - was he elected to represent the interests of Greek-Armenian community or all Canadians, regardless of ethnic origin? This issue should concern primarily Canadians. Will Canada be turned into an arena of struggle between different ethnic groups? Maybe vice versa - Canadian elected officials should seek to reconcile the countries and help to ensure that ethnic communities in Canada are helping to achieve such reconciliation. The same question can be addressed to Conservative Harold Albrecht or to a representative of the Bloc Quebecois, Nicole Demers.

Would these elected officials be happy if foreigners had violated the Canadian law and illegally crossed the Canadian border?

Another example - a member of the City Council of Montreal, Harout Chitilyan visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and blatantly violated immigration rules of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the norms of international law. Would elected Canadian officials be happy if foreigners had violated Canadian law and illegally arrived in Canada, where according to unofficial statistics, there are 30 to 120 thousand illegal immigrants already? Perhaps, Jason Kenney knows the answers to all these questions.


/AzerTAc/