Редакција
Petition of Canadian Serbs to Parliament of Canada
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND SCHOLARLY RESEARCH THREATENED IN CANADA
Several weeks ago, an obscure organization called “Institute for research of genocide – Canada” managed to gather sufficient signatures to put before the Canadian Parliament Petition 1837 which would drastically undermine Canadians’ freedom of expression. Petition 1837 makes spurious claims about what happened in Srebrenica in 1995 during the Bosnian civil war and urges the imposition of criminal penalties for “denying Srebrenica genocide”. Its sponsor is NDP MP Brian Masse (brian.masse@parl.gc.ca).
Canadian lawmakers would be well advised not to get involved in this controversy and not to approve, at the behest of lobbying groups that they probably know little or nothing about, such a drastic infringement on the right of free expression in Canada. That right is guaranteed by Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a “fundamental freedom.” Can lawmakers be sure that they really want to interfere with it, and is it their job as representatives of the people of Canada to pass judgment and mete out punishment in controversies that do not affect Canada or their constituents? The only impact of approving Petition 1837 would be to curtail the freedom of expression of Canadian citizens and visitors to Canada who would venture to express a different opinion on the subject of Srebrenica.
