Vancouver-based Samidoun, a charity which raises funds for Palestinian Arab prisoners, has been designated a terrorist entity by the U.S. Treasury and the Trudeau government.
Canada lists pro-Palestinian group Samidoun as terrorist entity | CBC News |
October 15, 2024 - "The government of Canada has designated the pro-Palestinian group Samidoun as a terrorist entity in a joint action with the U.S., both governments announced Tuesday. Samidoun, also known as the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, has close links with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), both governments said in announcing the move. The PFLP is a listed terrorist entity in Canada, the U.S. and the European Union.
"'Violent extremism, acts of terrorism or terrorist financing have no place in Canadian society or abroad,' Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a news release. He added the listing 'sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate this type of activity.' The U.S. Treasury Department ... said it's declaring Samidoun 'a sham charity' that serves as an international fundraiser for the PFLP. In a statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the move is 'part of our joint work with the U.S. to expose terrorist activities and intercept their financing.'
"Last week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre urged the Canadian government to 'ban' Samidoun.... Poilievre's calls came on the heels of a Samidoun-organized protest in Vancouver on the one-year anniversary of Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.... In videos of the protest circulated online, an unidentified masked woman led a crowd of hundreds in chants of 'death to Canada, death to the United States and death to Israel,' while some in the group burned Canadian flags. CBC News has not independently verified the videos posted online of the rally, but a CBC journalist who passed by the rally said they clearly heard a speaker chant, "death to Canada, death to the United States."
"Earlier this year, Samidoun's international co-ordinator Charlotte Kates was arrested in a Vancouver hate-crime investigation after she praised the Oct. 7 attack as 'heroic and brave.' Samidoun also posted a statement that called the attack 'a legitimate military operation'....
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/samidoun-terrorist-entity-1.7352424
Samidoun listed as terrorist entity following flag burning, "death to Canada" chant at BC rally | Global News | October 15, 2024_
Was it the Western Standard's video that was a terrorist entity's undoing? | Western Standard | Nigel Hannaford
October 15, 2024 - "That the Government of Canada has declared the Samidoun organization a terrorist entity is welcome news. But one has to ask, what took them so long? And how did they pluck up the courage to do it? After all, it wasn’t exactly a secret that Vancouver-based Samidoun is an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Along with a plethora of fist-raised anger articles, they’ve had it on their website for at least three years and as we pointed out on Monday, the PLF itself has been designated as a terrorist entity in Canada since 2003....
"It is hard to escape the conclusion that the Trudeau Liberals have until now had no wish to antagonize what they treat as a significant Muslim voting bloc. For example, while the Trudeau government doubtless regards the past year’s vicious antisemitic street demonstrations as regrettable, they have done little to condemn them and less yet to restrain them.... And, when the Liberals finally took action, they did so with it an air of regret, as though they were pushed into it... The Government of Canada statement in which Samidoun was officially listed, speaks of 'acting in concert with the US Treasury Deparment'. Ah there it is, the alibi. “Sorry, the Yanks made us do it'.... It was weak and cowardly and about eight days late....
"As for the voting bloc they're afraid of losing, the Liberals seem to forget that not every Canadian Muslim supports terrorism in general, or Hamas/Hezbollah in particular. Many came here to get away from that sort of thing. Not to put too fine a point on it then, as much as the Jews of Toronto have a legitimate claim on the government's protection, so do Canadian Muslims who are committed to this country and the hope-filled vision that drew them here....
"But here's the thing. How did this come to their attention? I have checked the news feeds. The first reports and the only pictures of these events came from a Western Standard reporter who enterprisingly (and not without some personal risk) got up close and started running his camera. The video evidence of Jarryd Jäeger may be examined here. And so far as we know, that's all there is from any news source.... "[I]f the CBC uses Western Standard video footage, it's likely that there was no other available. And frankly, given the national importance of the event and the consequences we now see — the banning of Samidoun — we're happy to be of assistance to the CBC. (And to the National Post and a dozen other outlets that picked up our story).... .So, a golden attaboy to Western Standard Vancouver reporter Jarryd Jäeger. It's not the first time that good reporting has led to prompt, effective actions out of government. Dedicated as we are to the public good, we don't intend it to be the last."
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