[BRIEF NOTE] Now it's Canada's turn

[rfmcdonald]

John Gray writes about Turkey's recent withdrawal of its ambassadors to Canada and France in retaliation for these two countries' recognition of the Armenian genocide.

In Canada's case, the complaint was that Prime Minister Stephen Harper last month recalled that both the Senate and the House of Commons had adopted resolutions recognizing the slaughter as genocide: "I and my party supported those resolutions and continue to recognize them today."

In France, parliamentary recognition of the genocide dates back eight years. One difference between France and Canada on the question is that France has an Armenian population of about 300,000. Canada's Armenian population is just 40,000, although individuals like film director Atom Egoyan have given Canadian Armenians an unmistakable visibility.

The Turkish government said the recall of the ambassadors would be for only a short time, yet there could still be serious economic repercussions. Turkey cancelled a multimillion-dollar arms deal with France in 2001, although economic relations appear to have returned to normal in recent years.

Turkey has withdrawn from an international military air exercise in Alberta in May and June in protest against Canada’s stand. And there is speculation in Turkish newspapers that Canada will be--or perhaps has been--excluded from the bidding to build a nuclear power plant in the Black Sea town of Sinop.

It's probably true that a country is best judged by the criticisms levied against it from the outside. Judging the source and considering this issue, Canadians have good reason to be proud.

UPDATE (12:37 AM) : The Globe and Mail reports that the Turkish government tried to get the Canadian government to back off, but that Harper refused. Good for him.