*** CSIS and the RCMP have a LONG way to go in repairing relations with the communities they need so badly. MS ***
WINNIPEG (CBC) - A Montreal man involved in organizing a humanitarian aid boat to Gaza says he has received unwelcome attention from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
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Ehab Lotayef, an information-technology engineer at McGill University, is a member of Canadian Boat to Gaza, a non-profit group challenging Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory by organizing the delivery of supplies and other aid this fall.
Israel has maintained a blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since 2007, saying it wants to keep weapons out of the hands of the Palestinian militant Islamist movement governing the Middle Eastern territory.
Lotayef has already visited Gaza twice since the blockade started and has been vocal in his support for the Palestinian cause.
But he says he never had any contact with Canadian intelligence officers or CSIS until this month, when two agents dropped by his Montreal apartment.
"I was actually at work, and my wife called me and told me that two CSIS agents came to the door and asked for me," Lotayef told CBC in an exclusive interview.
The agents left a business card with a 514 area-code phone number, but Lotayef said he ignored the visit and didn't call.
"The first thing that comes to mind is that visit, that type of visit, is to intimidate us from going [to Gaza]," he said.
After the agents paid his wife a second visit three days later, Lotayef contacted the agents. He said they told him they were concerned about his safety and wanted to ensure he didn't get involved with people who could jeopardize the legitimacy of his projects.
Lotayef said he told the agents to leave him alone.
"We might be ready to communicate with community [liaisons] police, stuff like that," he said. "But with CSIS as an intelligence agency gathering information and I don't trust their motives, I don't trust their way of action I wouldn't be comfortable under any level communicating with them."
Lotayef is within his right to refuse to co-operate, said constitutional lawyer Julius Grey.
"You can say, 'This conversation is finished. I'm in my house, please leave,'" said the Montreal-based civil rights expert. "They have to leave. They have no right to be trespassers in your house."
When contacted by CBC, CSIS said security concerns prohibit the agency from confirming it tried to meet Lotayef. But the Ottawa-based intelligence service said it has the right to speak with anyone who may have information it deems of interest.
Ships challenging the Israeli Gaza blockade have drawn international attention in recent months.
In May, Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla in international waters after the ships declared they were delivering humanitarian aid. In a violent confrontation, nine activists were killed and hundreds arrested, including several Canadians.
Israel and the UN are conducting separate investigations into the flotilla raid.
Showing posts with label mistrust of CSIS RCMP by Muslims Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mistrust of CSIS RCMP by Muslims Canada. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
FEDERAL COURT FINDS RCMP RACIST AGAINST MUSLIM CADET
*** The good ol boys in the RCMP and the Conservative Tea Party of Canada have single-handedly ruined the good name of this great institution and laid waste to hopes of a meaningful relationship with the Muslim community - especially in areas regarding national security. In doing so, they make us less safe. MS ***
A federal court has ruled racism was the motive behind the 1999 termination of a Muslim trainee, opening the door for the former cadet to rejoin the RCMP.
“I can’t wait to get back into the RCMP,” Ali Tahmourpour said. “I can’t let the acts of one or two instructors become indicative of the behaviour of the organization altogether.”
His lawyer, Paul Champ detailed some of the racist acts his client was subjected to while training in Regina. “Ali signs his name from right to left in the traditional Persian way. One instructor said, ‘What kind of f----g language is that?’ The instructor claimed during the tribunal that he was just curious about languages.”
Champ said his client, a Mississauga resident, was also the subject of racist jokes and taunts routinely made by his instructors in the late 1990s.
Shortly after Tahmourpour wrote a nine-page letter of complaint to a senior officer he was dismissed, 14 weeks into the 22-week training period, and told he could not enrol again.
Tahmourpour took his case to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and a tribunal decided in his favour in 2008. The RCMP challenged the ruling.
The Federal Court of Appeal stated in the decision released Monday: “[A]n instructor named Corporal Boyer discriminated against Mr. Tahmourpour by swearing at him and ridiculing him for signing his name in the Persian style, and by being especially verbally abusive and hostile toward him . . . the fact that racist jokes made during the sensitivity training at the Depot were condoned by the instructors made Mr. Tahmourpour feel vulnerable to racism . . . many of Mr. Tahmourpour’s performance reviews were fabricated and influenced by discriminatory attitudes . . . a memorandum in Mr. Tahmourpour’s file stating that he was not to be considered for re-enrolment due to his alleged unstable mental condition, although he had never seen the staff psychologist, amounted to discrimination.”
The decision included two years compensation for lost wages, but the appeals court is referring the matter back to the tribunal which had ruled Tahmourpour should receive nine years of lost wages. The RCMP has paid him the $33,000 in damages for pain and suffering and expenses that the Tribunal ordered.
An RCMP spokesperson said the force isn’t in a position to comment at this point as it’s still reviewing the case.
Since his dismissal from the RCMP, Tahmourpour has worked as a real estate agent in Mississauga. Chasing after his two-year-old has helped him stay fit, and he said he’s ready to go back to the force immediately. “I come from a multi-generational police family in Iran. This is what I want to be doing. My great-grandfather did it.”
When asked how he could reconcile working for an organization that, despite overwhelming evidence of systemic racism, fought to keep Tahmourpour out, he said: “It’s obviously worrisome. But maybe I can be a part of the solution. I hope the RCMP sees me as an asset to correct some of its mistakes.” (MS: Don't hold your breath sir.)
Champ, who has represented other RCMP staff who have accused the force of racism, said the case is an example of the RCMP’s notorious “Blue Wall.”
“The RCMP leadership is very wedded to its reputation. They would rather bury problems than deal with them. I hope the RCMP learned from this case.” (MS: Don't your hold your breath either sir.)
But when asked if he expects another appeal Champ said, “They could take it to the Supreme Court.”
Tahmourpour said it wouldn’t matter. “I can be a part of the future of the RCMP, to be an institution we can all be proud of.”
Ali Tahmourpour says he “can’t wait to get back into the RCMP” after the Federal Court of Appeal ruled Monday (July 19, 2010) in his favour, opening the door for the former cadet to rejoin the force. (April 16, 2008)
Ali Tahmourpour says he “can’t wait to get back into the RCMP” after the Federal Court of Appeal ruled Monday (July 19, 2010) in his favour, opening the door for the former cadet to rejoin the force. (April 16, 2008)
A federal court has ruled racism was the motive behind the 1999 termination of a Muslim trainee, opening the door for the former cadet to rejoin the RCMP.
“I can’t wait to get back into the RCMP,” Ali Tahmourpour said. “I can’t let the acts of one or two instructors become indicative of the behaviour of the organization altogether.”
His lawyer, Paul Champ detailed some of the racist acts his client was subjected to while training in Regina. “Ali signs his name from right to left in the traditional Persian way. One instructor said, ‘What kind of f----g language is that?’ The instructor claimed during the tribunal that he was just curious about languages.”
Champ said his client, a Mississauga resident, was also the subject of racist jokes and taunts routinely made by his instructors in the late 1990s.
Shortly after Tahmourpour wrote a nine-page letter of complaint to a senior officer he was dismissed, 14 weeks into the 22-week training period, and told he could not enrol again.
Tahmourpour took his case to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and a tribunal decided in his favour in 2008. The RCMP challenged the ruling.
The Federal Court of Appeal stated in the decision released Monday: “[A]n instructor named Corporal Boyer discriminated against Mr. Tahmourpour by swearing at him and ridiculing him for signing his name in the Persian style, and by being especially verbally abusive and hostile toward him . . . the fact that racist jokes made during the sensitivity training at the Depot were condoned by the instructors made Mr. Tahmourpour feel vulnerable to racism . . . many of Mr. Tahmourpour’s performance reviews were fabricated and influenced by discriminatory attitudes . . . a memorandum in Mr. Tahmourpour’s file stating that he was not to be considered for re-enrolment due to his alleged unstable mental condition, although he had never seen the staff psychologist, amounted to discrimination.”
The decision included two years compensation for lost wages, but the appeals court is referring the matter back to the tribunal which had ruled Tahmourpour should receive nine years of lost wages. The RCMP has paid him the $33,000 in damages for pain and suffering and expenses that the Tribunal ordered.
An RCMP spokesperson said the force isn’t in a position to comment at this point as it’s still reviewing the case.
Since his dismissal from the RCMP, Tahmourpour has worked as a real estate agent in Mississauga. Chasing after his two-year-old has helped him stay fit, and he said he’s ready to go back to the force immediately. “I come from a multi-generational police family in Iran. This is what I want to be doing. My great-grandfather did it.”
When asked how he could reconcile working for an organization that, despite overwhelming evidence of systemic racism, fought to keep Tahmourpour out, he said: “It’s obviously worrisome. But maybe I can be a part of the solution. I hope the RCMP sees me as an asset to correct some of its mistakes.” (MS: Don't hold your breath sir.)
Champ, who has represented other RCMP staff who have accused the force of racism, said the case is an example of the RCMP’s notorious “Blue Wall.”
“The RCMP leadership is very wedded to its reputation. They would rather bury problems than deal with them. I hope the RCMP learned from this case.” (MS: Don't your hold your breath either sir.)
But when asked if he expects another appeal Champ said, “They could take it to the Supreme Court.”
Tahmourpour said it wouldn’t matter. “I can be a part of the future of the RCMP, to be an institution we can all be proud of.”
Ali Tahmourpour says he “can’t wait to get back into the RCMP” after the Federal Court of Appeal ruled Monday (July 19, 2010) in his favour, opening the door for the former cadet to rejoin the force. (April 16, 2008)
Ali Tahmourpour says he “can’t wait to get back into the RCMP” after the Federal Court of Appeal ruled Monday (July 19, 2010) in his favour, opening the door for the former cadet to rejoin the force. (April 16, 2008)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
MORE CANADIANS TURN TO VIOLENT JIHAD
*** An article stating the obvious. How about the PLAN - what PLAN is in place to deal with this situation? You cannot arrest the problem away, you MUST deal with underlying causes. MS ***
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20100716/jihad-threats-mountie-100716/
The Mountie in charge of investigating terrorist threats says he's alarmed at the growing number of Canadians adopting violent jihad.
Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud said RCMP are aware of a number of Canadians who are currently training at Islamic terror camps.
"We have some in Pakistan, we see some in Somalia, we see them in Afghanistan," he said.
RCMP believe that two-dozen Canadians have trained at camps in Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan (the same country where the Times Square bomber is believed to have sought instruction in terrorist tactics). They suspect that several Canadians hold leadership roles in al Qaeda-linked groups.
The Mounties are investigating at least six young Somali-Canadian men from the Toronto area who are believed to have left the country to join al Shabaab, the Somalia-based group responsible for last week's suicide bombings in Uganda that killed 76 people.
But Michaud is also concerned about the threat of Islamic extremists unleashing terror on Canadian soil, particularly if those trained at terrorist camps overseas return to Canada.
There are those in Canada who are fundraising for terrorist groups "through charities, drug dealing and credit card fraud," he said.
What's more, threats from "neo-jihadist groups" are no longer limited to major Canadian cities, he said -- they now affect smaller communities across the country.
Many of the suspected terrorists being investigated by RCMP are second or third generation Canadians who have been integrated into Canadian society before becoming radicalised, Michaud said.
RCMP have even set up a national security tip line, at 1-800-420-5805, where concerned citizens can report suspicious behaviour 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
But some Islamic groups say the Mounties are exaggerating the threat.
"I don't get the sense it is a huge problem within the Muslim community," said Khalid Elgazzar with the Council of American-Islamic Relations Canada. "I would say these are isolated incidents."
With a report from CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20100716/jihad-threats-mountie-100716/
The Mountie in charge of investigating terrorist threats says he's alarmed at the growing number of Canadians adopting violent jihad.
Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud said RCMP are aware of a number of Canadians who are currently training at Islamic terror camps.
"We have some in Pakistan, we see some in Somalia, we see them in Afghanistan," he said.
RCMP believe that two-dozen Canadians have trained at camps in Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan (the same country where the Times Square bomber is believed to have sought instruction in terrorist tactics). They suspect that several Canadians hold leadership roles in al Qaeda-linked groups.
The Mounties are investigating at least six young Somali-Canadian men from the Toronto area who are believed to have left the country to join al Shabaab, the Somalia-based group responsible for last week's suicide bombings in Uganda that killed 76 people.
But Michaud is also concerned about the threat of Islamic extremists unleashing terror on Canadian soil, particularly if those trained at terrorist camps overseas return to Canada.
There are those in Canada who are fundraising for terrorist groups "through charities, drug dealing and credit card fraud," he said.
What's more, threats from "neo-jihadist groups" are no longer limited to major Canadian cities, he said -- they now affect smaller communities across the country.
Many of the suspected terrorists being investigated by RCMP are second or third generation Canadians who have been integrated into Canadian society before becoming radicalised, Michaud said.
RCMP have even set up a national security tip line, at 1-800-420-5805, where concerned citizens can report suspicious behaviour 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
But some Islamic groups say the Mounties are exaggerating the threat.
"I don't get the sense it is a huge problem within the Muslim community," said Khalid Elgazzar with the Council of American-Islamic Relations Canada. "I would say these are isolated incidents."
With a report from CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
CSIS TO SEND SPIES OVERSEAS TO LEARN ARABIC?!
*** Concentrate on building bridges with the community FIRST otherwise your Arabic-speaking spooks will have no one to talk to when they get home. CSIS has a serious challenge ahead NOT because they cannot communicate in Arabic - it is because they do not communicate EFFECTIVELY right now. Last point I am surprised that CSIS does not get: these homegrown terrorizers you're chasing around? They speak very little Arabic. ;) MS ***
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100713/national/csis_arabic
OTTAWA - Canadian spies are heading overseas to take Arabic lessons as part of a long-term effort to help secret agents tackle terrorist threats more effectively.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Dick Fadden says the spy agency will send officers to "a country which will remain nameless" to learn the language.
Fadden told a group of military and intelligence officials the effort is "excruciatingly expensive" because of the money and time involved in mastering a new tongue.
"The difficulty, of course, is that those countries in which we're most interested — for people with brains like us — they have the most complicated language which take the longest to learn," Fadden said.
"So in some cases, for our purposes, somebody has to study for two or three years. It is excruciatingly expensive, just in plain cash bucks. And it's expensive in that it takes an experienced officer off-line for two or three years."
But he said CSIS is determined to invest more in language training because otherwise its officers will miss out on useful contacts "on the human front."
Fadden revealed the plans in March to the Royal Canadian Military Institute, but the comments are only coming to light now because of controversy over his remarks — initially made during the same speech — about CSIS suspicions of foreign influence over Canadian politicians.
The most recent CSIS annual report says 44 per cent of the service's intelligence officers can speak a language other than English or French. Collectively, CSIS employees know about 103 languages.
But when asked during the military institute event whether CSIS employees spoke foreign languages effectively, Fadden replied: "Nowhere near as we bloody well should."
"We're trying, at one level, to recruit people who speak more than just English or French," he said, describing the effort as an uphill battle.
"But in fact we've just come to an agreement with a country which will remain nameless where we'll be able to send our officers to learn Arabic, which is a big concern today.
"And we're setting aside some money to enable us to do this in a more systematic way. But we're not doing it anywhere near as much as we can." (MS: There are people right here at home who can do it too for half the price.)
CSIS has tried to build bridges with the Muslim community and other minorities in Canada following a rocky period marked by mistrust after the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States. (MS: I'd like to see proof of this bridge building.)
The language initiative is a positive move because it will help CSIS make better connections and reduce the chance of misunderstandings, said Salma Siddiqui, a member of the federal Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security. (MS: The differences are not based on language but credibility.)
"I think this is money well spent because they need to have the language training," she said.
In his speech to the military institute Fadden noted how CSIS has become much more active abroad in its 26-year history.
"Initially created as a service that was literally bound to Canada, we have now more and more of our operations taking place largely in the Middle East and in other parts of the world, and I suspect this will continue."
CSIS has served alongside Canadian troops in Afghanistan since 2002. It has also worked with the RCMP, military and other government agencies on helping free Canadians kidnapped abroad — a development that worries Fadden.
"It is an extremely profitable way for terrorist groups to collect money. And it doesn't matter how often Foreign Affairs tells people not to go to a certain part of the world. Canadians will insist on going," Fadden said.
"Large ransoms are paid, or worse, terrorists are released from prisons to go out and to continue their work around the world."
He noted that a French secret agent had recently been freed by his captors after Mali agreed to release four terrorists.
"They've now lost track of them entirely, and we now have four very dangerous people who will continue to do damage in that part of the world for years and years to come," Fadden said.
Canada and its allies expect the practice to continue, he added.
"Because aside from anything else it sows discord between countries who have different views on these issues.
"And already the counter-terrorism efforts in that part of the world, in the Mahgreb and the Sahel, are suffering because governments are so annoyed with the decision to release these terrorists that they've stopped talking and stopped sharing intelligence."
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100713/national/csis_arabic
OTTAWA - Canadian spies are heading overseas to take Arabic lessons as part of a long-term effort to help secret agents tackle terrorist threats more effectively.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Dick Fadden says the spy agency will send officers to "a country which will remain nameless" to learn the language.
Fadden told a group of military and intelligence officials the effort is "excruciatingly expensive" because of the money and time involved in mastering a new tongue.
"The difficulty, of course, is that those countries in which we're most interested — for people with brains like us — they have the most complicated language which take the longest to learn," Fadden said.
"So in some cases, for our purposes, somebody has to study for two or three years. It is excruciatingly expensive, just in plain cash bucks. And it's expensive in that it takes an experienced officer off-line for two or three years."
But he said CSIS is determined to invest more in language training because otherwise its officers will miss out on useful contacts "on the human front."
Fadden revealed the plans in March to the Royal Canadian Military Institute, but the comments are only coming to light now because of controversy over his remarks — initially made during the same speech — about CSIS suspicions of foreign influence over Canadian politicians.
The most recent CSIS annual report says 44 per cent of the service's intelligence officers can speak a language other than English or French. Collectively, CSIS employees know about 103 languages.
But when asked during the military institute event whether CSIS employees spoke foreign languages effectively, Fadden replied: "Nowhere near as we bloody well should."
"We're trying, at one level, to recruit people who speak more than just English or French," he said, describing the effort as an uphill battle.
"But in fact we've just come to an agreement with a country which will remain nameless where we'll be able to send our officers to learn Arabic, which is a big concern today.
"And we're setting aside some money to enable us to do this in a more systematic way. But we're not doing it anywhere near as much as we can." (MS: There are people right here at home who can do it too for half the price.)
CSIS has tried to build bridges with the Muslim community and other minorities in Canada following a rocky period marked by mistrust after the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States. (MS: I'd like to see proof of this bridge building.)
The language initiative is a positive move because it will help CSIS make better connections and reduce the chance of misunderstandings, said Salma Siddiqui, a member of the federal Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security. (MS: The differences are not based on language but credibility.)
"I think this is money well spent because they need to have the language training," she said.
In his speech to the military institute Fadden noted how CSIS has become much more active abroad in its 26-year history.
"Initially created as a service that was literally bound to Canada, we have now more and more of our operations taking place largely in the Middle East and in other parts of the world, and I suspect this will continue."
CSIS has served alongside Canadian troops in Afghanistan since 2002. It has also worked with the RCMP, military and other government agencies on helping free Canadians kidnapped abroad — a development that worries Fadden.
"It is an extremely profitable way for terrorist groups to collect money. And it doesn't matter how often Foreign Affairs tells people not to go to a certain part of the world. Canadians will insist on going," Fadden said.
"Large ransoms are paid, or worse, terrorists are released from prisons to go out and to continue their work around the world."
He noted that a French secret agent had recently been freed by his captors after Mali agreed to release four terrorists.
"They've now lost track of them entirely, and we now have four very dangerous people who will continue to do damage in that part of the world for years and years to come," Fadden said.
Canada and its allies expect the practice to continue, he added.
"Because aside from anything else it sows discord between countries who have different views on these issues.
"And already the counter-terrorism efforts in that part of the world, in the Mahgreb and the Sahel, are suffering because governments are so annoyed with the decision to release these terrorists that they've stopped talking and stopped sharing intelligence."
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