Families of those killed when the Iranian military shot down an airliner nearly three years ago say Canada should take a tougher line on Tehran.
Hundreds of Iranian-Canadians gathered on Parliament Hill on Tuesday to mark 1,000 days of mourning since the January 2020 air tragedy. Of the 167 passengers on Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, 138 had ties to Canada .
“I have already lost my whole life, my whole future,” lamented Maral Gorginpour. Her husband, Fareed Arasteh, died in the crash. The couple had married in Iran three days before Mr Arasteh boarded Flight 752.
“I need justice to be done and I want to know the truth. As long as I do not have it, I will not stop” to fight, affirmed Mr.me Gorginpour, who was part of the group of protesters who gathered outside the Supreme Court before moving on to parliament.
Tuesday’s rally took on political overtones, with the crowd heckling Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and cheering Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre for demanding more action from Canada.
Mme Freeland said the government will do more to punish Iran, but did not specify what actions will be taken.
“We will use all the means at our disposal to isolate and punish the brutal dictatorship” in Iran, assured the Deputy Prime Minister.
The speech of M.me Freeland was interrupted several times, however, as protesters shouted at him that Canada should deport all Iranians they believe have ties to the regime.
Poilievre galvanizes the crowd
When Mr. Poilievre appeared in front of the crowd, he was treated to a completely different reception than that given to Mr.me Freeland. The Conservative leader was particularly acclaimed when he recalled that Justin Trudeau’s government refused to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity.
Last month, Poilievre joined the Association of Families of Victims of Flight PS752 in calling for the International Criminal Court to open a war crimes investigation. For now, Canada has helped Ukraine pursue its own investigation, since the airliner was registered in that country.
“It’s been 1,000 days of fine words, now we need action,” Poilievre said, earning further applause.
Sanctions difficult to apply
Experts say it would be difficult for Canada to designate the entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group while excluding the thousands of people who held non-combat positions.
But within the government itself, MP Ali Ehsassi is pressuring his Liberal colleagues for Ottawa to find a way to designate the group a terrorist entity without punishing those who do not deserve to be.
On Monday, the government imposed sanctions on 25 Iranian officials, including the head of the Revolutionary Guards, but Mr Ehsassi wrote on Twitter that it was “not enough”.
At a press briefing in Halifax on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assured that Canada is working with other countries to achieve justice.
“All Canadians, our government and all political parties stand with the Iranian people as we stand up for women’s rights and human rights,” he said.
Iranian police violently suppressed protests across Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in mid-September, two days after she was arrested by Iranian morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab in a fashionable way. too loose.
Mme Gorginpour said Ottawa needed to take a tougher line against the regime or it would continue to beat protesters, shoot down robberies and torture political prisoners.
“As long as they remain silent, the regime kills more people, and they are not held accountable.”