(Ottawa) Canada and its allies believe that Tehran, by refusing to negotiate compensation, is slapping the families of those killed when the Iranian military downed an airliner two years ago.
The joint condemnation of Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Ukraine on Thursday comes after Iran ignored Wednesday’s deadline set by the coalition to negotiate a settlement following the tragedy of the January 8, 2020, which saw the Revolutionary Guards shoot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 near Tehran.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly and her counterparts from three other affected countries call Iran’s refusal an “affront” to the memory of the 176 people on board who were killed in the crash, including 55 citizens. Canadians and 30 permanent residents, as well as British, Ukrainian, Afghan and Swedish nationals.
The coalition maintains that it has tried, on several occasions, to negotiate with Iran, to no avail. “We will now focus on the measures to be taken to resolve this issue within the framework of international law,” said in a joint statement the International Coordination and Intervention Group for the victims of flight PS752.
The coalition of four countries set Wednesday, January 5, the deadline for Iran to come to the negotiating table and try to agree on compensation to be paid to relatives of the victims.
“After initially agreeing to engage in dialogue with the Group during the first round of negotiations, which took place on July 30, 2020, Iran now categorically rejects any new negotiations regarding our collective demand for reparations,” says the joint statement. . Since reparations are owed to affected states, this issue must be discussed collectively so that all victims are treated fairly and equitably. ”
According to the group, it is now clear that Iran “continues to shirk its international legal responsibilities” and refuses “to make full reparations for the damage caused by its actions”.
“We will not tolerate this affront to the memory of the 176 innocent victims”, warn the four countries of the Group. “Despite all the efforts made over the past two years and the many attempts to resolve this issue through negotiation, the Coordination Group determined that it would be futile to attempt to negotiate with Iran on the issue of reparations for the destruction of flight PS752. ”
“Not surprisingly”
Hamed Esmaeilion, whose wife and 9-year-old daughter died in the crash, is not too surprised by Tehran’s behavior. He is now urging Canada and its allies to seize the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for stronger action.
“This case should have been brought before ICAO a long time ago,” Esmaeilion said on Wednesday. We had told all these governments from the start that Iran would not comply: they decided to learn it the hard way. ”
Mr. Esmaeilion, who is a spokesperson for the Association of Families of Victims of Flight PS752, has in the past criticized ICAO for failing to hold Iran accountable and for failing to uphold the rules of the international civil aviation.
The tragedy of January 8, 2020 took place against a backdrop of escalating violence in the Middle East. Days earlier, Iran’s top military commander in Iraq was killed by a US drone strike.
Iran then retaliated by launching missile attacks on military bases in Iraq, where US troops were stationed. Canadian troops were also stationed at certain bases as part of an international mission. No soldiers were injured.
Then came the crash of flight PS752. Iran initially denied responsibility, but admitted three days later that its Revolutionary Guards, paramilitaries, mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian airliner with two surface-to-air missiles.
Iran has cited human error, but Canada and its allies have rejected that explanation and demanded a full account from Iran – demands that have been ignored by Tehran.
Mr. Esmaeilion will join families and politicians in Toronto on Saturday for a special ceremony commemorating the second anniversary of the disaster. They will participate in an outdoor vigil and there will be a live video broadcast which will include Mme Joly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier of Ontario Doug Ford and Mayor of Toronto John Tory.