Canada withdraws staff from embassy in Syria
Feb 2, 2012 2:40:58 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Feb 2, 2012 2:40:58 GMT -5
Canada withdraws staff from embassy in Syria
By Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia News January 31, 2012 Comments (3)
Canada has reduced its diplomatic staff at its embassy in Damascus to a skeleton crew amid mounting unrest in Syria, says Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. Pictured, black smoke is seen from Homs refinery January 31, 2012.
Photograph by: Handout, Reuters
OTTAWA — The visa section at Canada's embassy in Damascus has been closed and diplomats are being withdrawn as violence continues to escalate in Syria, the foreign affairs department said Tuesday.
That means upwards of 4,700 Canadians believed to be still in the Middle East country now will have a harder time escaping as the situation on the ground continues to spin out of control.
"Due to the growing instability in Syria, Canada has reduced its diplomatic staff in Syria to core personnel only," Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said in a statement, adding that Syrian authorities had been imposing travel restrictions on Canadian diplomats.
The Canadian Embassy will remain open and provide limited service, the department said, while an honorary consulate is still operating in Aleppo. However, visas to Canada will now be issued from offices in Lebanon and Turkey.
The government had issued a call for all Canadians to voluntarily evacuate Syria in mid-December and expedited visa applications for spouses and dependent children of Canadian citizens until Jan. 14.
The precaution was a significant departure from events in Lebanon and Libya in recent years, when the government was forced to scramble, spending millions and deploying military aircraft and ships to evacuate thousands of Canadians trapped by war.
But while there were an estimated 5,000 Canadians still in Syria in mid-December, many of them dual citizens who have homes and families in Syria, the foreign affairs department says only 300 have since reported leaving.
"We hope that more will follow their example," Baird said in the statement. "We continue to urge Canadians still in Syria to leave now."
An official in Baird's office said 1,550 Canadians registered with the embassy are still in the country, but that the belief is there are thousands more who aren't registered.
The window for getting out appears to be slowly closing. Recent sanctions drastically reduced the number of commercial flights to and from Syria, while the ongoing violence has made movement difficult.
The frigate HMCS Charlottetown is patrolling in the Mediterranean and likely would be made available in the event of an emergency, but Damascus is not accessible by sea.
The decision to scale back Canada's diplomatic presence in Syria on Tuesday came amid debate at the UN Security Council over how to respond to the crisis, which has claimed an estimated 5,400 lives since last March.
The draft resolution seeks to halt the flow of arms to the country and would call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down from power.
"As the slaughter of innocent Syrians continues, Canada calls on the members of the United Nations Security Council to come together in support of these efforts and adopt a resolution that addresses the deteriorating situation in Syria," Baird said in the statement.
Russia, however, is widely expected to veto any resolution.
The Arab League on Saturday suspended a monitoring mission to Syria because of increasing violence.
Canada and other Western nations are looking to the Arab League to lead the way on a resolution, which began during the wave of pro-democracy movements that characterized the Arab Spring last year. NATO has essentially ruled out any Libya-like military intervention.
www.canada.com/news/Canada+withdraws+staff+from+embassy+Syria/6079874/story.html
By Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia News January 31, 2012 Comments (3)
Canada has reduced its diplomatic staff at its embassy in Damascus to a skeleton crew amid mounting unrest in Syria, says Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. Pictured, black smoke is seen from Homs refinery January 31, 2012.
Photograph by: Handout, Reuters
OTTAWA — The visa section at Canada's embassy in Damascus has been closed and diplomats are being withdrawn as violence continues to escalate in Syria, the foreign affairs department said Tuesday.
That means upwards of 4,700 Canadians believed to be still in the Middle East country now will have a harder time escaping as the situation on the ground continues to spin out of control.
"Due to the growing instability in Syria, Canada has reduced its diplomatic staff in Syria to core personnel only," Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said in a statement, adding that Syrian authorities had been imposing travel restrictions on Canadian diplomats.
The Canadian Embassy will remain open and provide limited service, the department said, while an honorary consulate is still operating in Aleppo. However, visas to Canada will now be issued from offices in Lebanon and Turkey.
The government had issued a call for all Canadians to voluntarily evacuate Syria in mid-December and expedited visa applications for spouses and dependent children of Canadian citizens until Jan. 14.
The precaution was a significant departure from events in Lebanon and Libya in recent years, when the government was forced to scramble, spending millions and deploying military aircraft and ships to evacuate thousands of Canadians trapped by war.
But while there were an estimated 5,000 Canadians still in Syria in mid-December, many of them dual citizens who have homes and families in Syria, the foreign affairs department says only 300 have since reported leaving.
"We hope that more will follow their example," Baird said in the statement. "We continue to urge Canadians still in Syria to leave now."
An official in Baird's office said 1,550 Canadians registered with the embassy are still in the country, but that the belief is there are thousands more who aren't registered.
The window for getting out appears to be slowly closing. Recent sanctions drastically reduced the number of commercial flights to and from Syria, while the ongoing violence has made movement difficult.
The frigate HMCS Charlottetown is patrolling in the Mediterranean and likely would be made available in the event of an emergency, but Damascus is not accessible by sea.
The decision to scale back Canada's diplomatic presence in Syria on Tuesday came amid debate at the UN Security Council over how to respond to the crisis, which has claimed an estimated 5,400 lives since last March.
The draft resolution seeks to halt the flow of arms to the country and would call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down from power.
"As the slaughter of innocent Syrians continues, Canada calls on the members of the United Nations Security Council to come together in support of these efforts and adopt a resolution that addresses the deteriorating situation in Syria," Baird said in the statement.
Russia, however, is widely expected to veto any resolution.
The Arab League on Saturday suspended a monitoring mission to Syria because of increasing violence.
Canada and other Western nations are looking to the Arab League to lead the way on a resolution, which began during the wave of pro-democracy movements that characterized the Arab Spring last year. NATO has essentially ruled out any Libya-like military intervention.
www.canada.com/news/Canada+withdraws+staff+from+embassy+Syria/6079874/story.html
