![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonaldThis National Post article reports on a clutch of issues, all relating to the criticisms of Nazanin Afshin-Jam--an Iranian-Canadian human rights activist, most recently famous because of her marriage to Defense Minister Peter MacKay--of the politically contentious case of Guantamano-imprisoned Omar Khadr in Prince Edward Island's Guardian, criticisms that she made that seem to focus on journalist Jim Day highlighting her status as wife of the Defense Minister, not as a factor in her own right.
The two articles by Day in the Guardian are here, this the first one which does introduce her as the defense minister's wife on the 25th, followed by this one the next day that added Afshin-Jam's marriage to Peter Mackay to the end of a long list of achievements.
I'm inclined to agree with Day that Afshin-Jam's more mainstream fame of late is a consequence of her marriage to MacKay, a man who has had other high-profile relationships, including one with departed MP and auto parts heir Belinda Stronach. Without her marriage, I doubt very much Afshin-Jam would ever have addressed a Conservative party function on Prince Edward Island.
A more interesting thing is the criticism she made of the Canadian government's complicity in Omar Khadr's continued detention. What might this trigger?
The two articles by Day in the Guardian are here, this the first one which does introduce her as the defense minister's wife on the 25th, followed by this one the next day that added Afshin-Jam's marriage to Peter Mackay to the end of a long list of achievements.
I'm inclined to agree with Day that Afshin-Jam's more mainstream fame of late is a consequence of her marriage to MacKay, a man who has had other high-profile relationships, including one with departed MP and auto parts heir Belinda Stronach. Without her marriage, I doubt very much Afshin-Jam would ever have addressed a Conservative party function on Prince Edward Island.
A more interesting thing is the criticism she made of the Canadian government's complicity in Omar Khadr's continued detention. What might this trigger?
Nazanin Afshin-Jam, the human rights activist and author married to Defence Minister Peter MacKay, lashed out on Facebook Wednesday night after the P.E.I. Guardian published an article that quoted her calling for the immediate return of the lone Canadian imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, Omar Khadr.
Afshin-Jam said she agreed to an interview with the Guardian for her new book The Tale of Two Nazanins, but instead “journalist Jim Day did not ask me a single question about the book and made an obvious effort to draw me into a discussion criticising the government.”
However, in an email to the National Post, Day said “Afshin-Jam was free to refuse comment on Khadr but she freely chose to answer my questions.”
In the article Afshin-Jam is quoted as calling for the immediate return of Khadr, who has been at the controversial military prison for 10 years.
“Omar Khadr was a child when he was involved in combat under the UN (United Nations) definition and so we should abide by the international laws and rules that we expect of other countries as well,” she said in the Guardian article.
“So I’m not saying that he shouldn’t be kept in prison but definitely I think it’s time to bring him back to Canada. He was a Canadian citizen and he can be tried here or looked after here in terms of how long his sentence is going to be or what is going to be his fate.”
Afshin-Jam also said she told Day she was bothered by seeing her name left out of print and often being referred to as “The Defence Minister’s wife” yet “this is exactly what he chose to do.”
The article, as it appears online, refers to her as the “defence minister’s wife” without naming her in both the headline and the story’s opening paragraph.
Her full name is referred to in the second paragraph.
[. . .] Day notes Afshin-Jam was in Prince Edward Island to speak at a dinner for the District 17 Progressive Conservative Association.
“I doubt this came about as a result of her title as former Miss World Canada or due to her admirable activism work. Most logically, the attraction of having Mrs. Afshin-Jam speak to the Tory faithful was due to her being the wife of one of the most powerful Conservative politicians in the country along with the fact that she has a book to promote,” Day said.
He also said the Guardian ran a second article on Afshin-Jam that focused on her activism but also voiced her concerns about being known as “the defence minister’s wife.”
The Conservative government has been heavily criticized for its failure to repatriate Khadr, 25, the last Western citizen left at the military facility.
One former Canadian diplomat called Ottawa’s inaction “unprecedented.”
“I don’t think there’s any enthusiasm by any of the people in the Canadian government to see him come back to Canada — they’re trying to drag it out in every way possible,” Gar Pardy told The Canadian Press last week.
