Cfflce of Lhe Cmbudsman

.C. 8ox 300, SLaLlon A

1oronLo, CnLarlo
M3W 1L6
1el. (416) 203-2978
ombudsman[cbc.ca
cbc.ca/ombudsman

!uly 4, 2014


Mr. Lambros kyrlakakos
AcLlng Chalrperson
CoallLlon of LrlLrean Canadlan CommunlLles and CrganlzaLlons (CLCCC)
legalaffalrs[erlLreacanada.org


uear Mr. kyrlakakos:

lease flnd my revlew of your complalnL abouL a C8Cnews.ca arLlcle abouL Canadlan-LrlLrean
relaLlons.

!"#$%&'()

?ou are Lhe acLlng chalr of Lhe CoallLlon of LrlLrean Canadlan CommunlLles and CrganlzaLlons.
ln LhaL capaclLy, you wroLe Lo complaln abouL a C8Cnews.ca arLlcle, enLlLled uesplLe sancLlons,
uepuLy Mayor celebraLes confllcL-prone sLaLe of LrlLrea." 1he arLlcle noLed LhaL 1oronLo's
depuLy mayor, norm kelly, had senL a leLLer Lo Lhe consulaLe of LrlLrea, locaLed ln 1oronLo, Lo
congraLulaLe LhaL counLry on lLs lndependence day, May 24. lL conLrasLs Lhe sendlng of Lhe
leLLer wlLh Lhe sLralned" relaLlons beLween Lhe Lwo counLrles.

?ou Look lssue wlLh many aspecLs of Lhls reporL. ?ou LhoughL lL was full of lnaccuracles, was
selecLlve ln Lhe facLs lL presenLed, lacked conLexL, and unnecessarlly creaLes conLroversy
around Mr. kelly's proLocol leLLer." ?ou Look lssue wlLh Lhls negaLlve porLrayal of relaLlons
beLween Canada and LrlLrea. ?ou sald, We are dlsappolnLed and dlsmayed LhaL whlle your
naLlonal wrlLlng sLaff had readlly avallable facLs Lo help wrlLe an accuraLe and balanced sLory,
Lhey chose noL Lo seek Lhem ouL."

?ou polnL Lo many examples of Lhls dlsLorLlon. 1he arLlcle sLaLes LhaL Canada's ambassador ls
noL ln Lhe counLry, buL operaLes from kharLoum. ?ou Lhlnk Lhls creaLes a false lmpresslon
because Canada has never had an embassy ln LrlLrea, and Lhls ls noL Lhe only counLry where
Lhls ls Lhe case. lor varlous reasons, Canadlan ambassadors serve counLrles where Lhey are noL
2

resldenL. ?ou also Lake lssue wlLh Lhe facL LhaL Lhere was no menLlon LhaL Canada malnLalns a
consulaLe ln Lhe LrlLrean clLy of Asmara.

?ou noLe LhaL Lhe LrlLrean consul ln 1oronLo ls referred Lo as Lhe head of consular servlces aL
Lhe LrlLrean embassy ln Canada" whlch ls clearly noL Lhe case because Lhere ls no embassy. ?ou
also sLaLed LhaL Ahmed lman, Lhe LrlLrean consul, dld noL make a sLaLemenL aLLrlbuLed Lo hlm
ln Lhe arLlcle.

?ou sald LhaL whlle Lhe arLlcle menLloned LhaL LrlLrea has llmlLed relaLlons wlLh oLher counLrles,
Lhls was noL balanced by Lhe facL LhaL many oLher world leaders also senL messages of
congraLulaLlon on lndependence uay. Slmllarly, whlle Lhe arLlcle menLloned LhaL Canada does
noL provlde humanlLarlan ald Lo Lhe counLy, lL dld noL provlde balance by menLlonlng Lhe
offlclal pollcy of Lhe LrlLrean governmenL ls one of self-rellance. And you felL LhaL Lhere also
should have been menLlon LhaL Lhe number of vlsas granLed Lo Lravel Lo LrlLrea ls lncreaslng as
a balance Lo Lhe sLaLemenL LhaL Lhe CovernmenL of Canada urges Canadlans noL Lo go Lo
LrlLrea."

And, flnally, you Look lssue wlLh Lhe parLlal and lmbalanced chronology" of slgnlflcanL evenLs
slnce LrlLrean lndependence. ?ou felL Lhe arLlcle blamed LrlLrea for clashes wlLh nelghbourlng
counLrles when lL sLaLed: LrlLrea has a vlolenL recenL hlsLory wlLh lLs nelghbourlng counLrles,
wlLh baLLles agalnsL ?emen and LLhlopla."

1he lssue ls more complex, and you clLe a reporL from Lhe lnLernaLlonal Crlsls Croup LhaL sLaLes
Lhe lnLernaLlonal communlLy should have done more Lo pressure LLhlopla Lo lmplemenL a
recommendaLlon from Lhe lnLernaLlonal 8oundary Commlsslon Lo hand some dlspuLed LerrlLory
Lo LrlLrea. 1hls parLlcularly concerns you because you Lhlnk 1hls facL ls lmporLanL because
LrlLrea's forelgn pollcy ls largely affecLed by Lhe resulLlng percepLlon LhaL Canada and lLs
lnLernaLlonal parLners are behlnd LLhlopla, no maLLer whaL lL does."

#&(&+,#,() -,.$"(.,

1he managlng edlLor of news for 1oronLo, CaLhy erry, responded Lo your concerns. She
explalned LhaL Lhe arLlcle had a llmlLed scope and could noL address Lhe lnLrlcacles and
background on LrlLrea you see as crlLlcal Lo brlng balance Lo Lhe plece. She Lold you LhaL Lhere
was a llmlLed naLure and purpose Lo Lhe sLory." She added LhaL lL compared Lhe
congraLulaLory lndependence message senL by 1oronLo uepuLy Mayor norm kelly wlLh Lhe
Canadlan CovernmenL's on-Lhe-record concerns over Lhe governance of Lhe counLry." lL dld
noL geL lnLo hlsLory or causes buL narrowly focused on Lhe currenL sLaLe of governmenL
relaLlons beLween Lhe Lwo counLrles. She polnLed ouL LhaL Lhe orlglnal sLory had a quoLe from
Lhe consul sLaLlng LhaL LrlLreans were deLermlned Lo reslsL exLernal consplracles." She felL Lhls
addressed some of Lhe negaLlve lnformaLlon clLed ln Lhe sLory.

She addressed all Lhe polnLs you ralsed: She acknowledged LhaL Lhe quoLe abouL exLernal
consplracles could noL be dlrecLly aLLrlbuLed Lo Lhe consul." 1he wrlLer had read Lhe phrase ln
3

an accounL of lndependence uay observance ln 1oronLo on an LrlLrea MlnlsLry of lnformaLlon
web slLe. Slnce Lhe consul, Mr. lman, had spoken aL Lhe evenL, Lhe wrlLer made Lhe lnference.
When you wroLe Lo say lL had noL been ln hls speech, Lhe sLory was amended and LhaL phrase
was Laken ouL. She also lnformed you Lhe wrlLer had Lrled for Lwo days Lo reach Lhe consul, buL
was noL able Lo speak Lo hlm. She also acknowledged Lhe lnadverLenL" error of referrlng Lo
Lhe consulaLe as an embassy.

She Lold you LhaL Lhere was no blas ln sLaLlng LhaL Lhe Canadlan Ambassador Lo LrlLrea llves ln
kharLoum because LhaL ls slmply Lhe facL. She polnLed ouL LhaL Lhe sLory nexL sLaLes LhaL Lhe
LrlLrean Ambassador Lo Canada acLually resldes ln WashlngLon, and LhaL Lhese sLaLemenLs
[usLlfy Lhe concluslon: 8elaLlons beLween Lhe Lwo counLrles are sLralned."

Ms. erry Lold you LhaL Lhe polnL you ralsed abouL Lhe lncreased Lrade beLween Canadlan and
LrlLrean flrms was beyond Lhe scope of Lhe arLlcle, as was Lhe need Lo menLlon LhaL oLher
counLrles and noLable world leaders senL lndependence uay greeLlngs, slnce Lhe focus was a
comparlson of 1oronLo and Canada's poslLlons.

She also sald LhaL Lhe arLlcle accuraLely reflecLs Lhe poslLlon of Lhe CovernmenL of Canada
regardlng humanlLarlan ald and lLs poslLlon Lo dlscourage Canadlans from Lravelllng Lo LrlLrea.
Cn Lhe quesLlon of ald she quoLed from Lhe ueparLmenL of lorelgn Affalrs and lnLernaLlonal
1rade webslLe whlch sLaLes:

Canada has noL provlded any humanlLarlan fundlng for LrlLrea slnce 2003,
when Lhe World lood rogramme was forced Lo redlrecL Canadlan fundlng Lo
reglonal programmlng followlng CovernmenL of LrlLrea lnLerference ln lLs
monlLorlng process."

She responded Lo your concern abouL Lhe selecLlve use of facLs ln Lhe chronology of evenLs ln
LrlLrea by explalnlng lL focused on Lhose areas LhaL hlghllghLed Lhe dlvergence beLween uepuLy
Mayor norm kelly's leLLer and Lhe way ln whlch lL conLradlcLed forelgn pollcy." lL was noL
meanL Lo glve a comprehenslve hlsLory of LrlLrea."

-,/',0

!"! $%&'()*+,-+. /-)(0)'0, )(0 1').-+.2, has accuracy, balance and falrness aL Lhe core of lLs
values and guldellnes. 1here were Lwo errors of facL ln Lhe orlglnal arLlcle, whlch ls a vlolaLlon
of pollcy. Powever, when news sLaff became aware of Lhe errors, Lhe arLlcle was amended and
Lhe change noLed. lL was a lapse ln [udgemenL Lo dlrecLly aLLrlbuLe a quoLe Lo someone wlLhouL
knowlng for cerLaln he sald lL. 1he second error, Lhe reference Lo Lhe consulaLe as an embassy,
was cerLalnly a mlnor one.

?our larger concerns wlLh Lhls arLlcle cenLer on lLs balance and falrness. Cne example you clLe
abouL a lack of falrness ls Lhe menLlon of Lhe facL LhaL Canada's ambassador Lo LrlLrea resldes ln
kharLoum, ouLslde Lhe counLry. ?ou rlghLly polnL ouL LhaL Lhere are oLher counLrles covered
4

dlplomaLlcally from ouLslde lLs borders. 1he wrlLer makes an assumpLlon wlLh no aLLrlbuLlon,
and furLher Lrles Lo make Lhe case by phraslng lL Lhls way:

1he Canadlan ambassador Lo LrlLrea ls noL even ln LrlLrea, buL ln a dlplomaLlc
ouLposL ln kharLoum, Sudan."

1hls may well be a reflecLlon of Lhe sLaLe of relaLlons beLween Lhe Lwo counLrles, buL Lhere ls no
aLLrlbuLlon or evldence provlded. l don'L belleve Ms. erry ls correcL when she says LhaL clLlng
Lhe resldence of Lhe Lwo ambassadors effecLlvely lllusLraLed or explalned Lhe sLaLe of relaLlons
beLween Lhe Lwo counLrles. l agree lL does noL serve balance ln Lhe plece.

?ou clLe a range of oLher facLs you felL should have been presenL. ?ou re[ecLed Ms. erry's
explanaLlon LhaL Lhe arLlcle was llmlLed ln scope and could noL address many of Lhe deLalls you
ralse. ln facL, scope does maLLer. 1hls was noL a deflnlLlve look aL LrlLrea, or LrlLrean-Canadlan
relaLlons. lL was wrlLLen Lo polnL ouL a percelved anomaly beLween Canadlan forelgn pollcy and
Lhe acLlons of a local mayor. lL ls leglLlmaLe Lo narrow Lhe scope of an arLlcle. Lven wlLhln LhaL
scope, Lhere ls a pollcy requlremenL Lo provlde facLs Lo enable a member of Lhe publlc Lo form
an oplnlon, and Lo do LhaL by ensurlng a range of perspecLlves.

1here ls noLhlng lnaccuraLe ln palnLlng a porLralL of sLralned relaLlons beLween Lhe Lwo
counLrles. 1here ls a challenge ln Laklng on someLhlng as complex as forelgn relaLlons ln an
arLlcle Lhls shorL, and compresslng Lhe facLs as lL does. l Lake Ms. erry's polnL LhaL Lhe purpose
of Lhe arLlcle was Lo show LhaL 1oronLo's depuLy mayor was ouL of sLep wlLh Canadlan forelgn
pollcy. 1o do so effecLlvely requlres explalnlng whaL LhaL forelgn pollcy ls, and why lL has come
Lo be LhaL way. And LhaL ls where Lhere ls dlfflculLy.

1here ls noLhlng wrong wlLh Lhe facLs as presenLed ln Lhe correcLed arLlcle. 1he quesLlon ls, ls
Lhere enough of Lhem and glven LhaL lL ls crlLlcal of LrlLrea, does Lhe plece provlde enough
perspecLlve. 1he facLs would have been beLLer served wlLh some more deLalled explanaLlon or
daLa Lo back Lhem up. Ms. erry provlded one such example when she quoLed from Lhe
ueparLmenL of lorelgn Affalrs webslLe.

Also lacklng ls aL leasL some reference Lo LrlLrea's poslLlon and lLs world vlew - whlle unlversally
seen as LoLallLarlan and aggresslve, some conLexL on why lL mlghL see Lhe world ln LhaL way
mlghL have lncreased Canadlan undersLandlng and provlded balance. 1he facLs LhaL you ralse
were for Lhe mosL parL well beyond Lhe scope of Lhe plece. WheLher Lhe consul ls lssulng more
vlsas or bllaLeral Lrade ls growlng does noL change offlclal Canadlan governmenL pollcy, Lhe
focus of Lhe arLlcle. 1helr absence does noL vlolaLe pollcy.

1he arLlcle does provlde some conLexL for Lhe Canadlan governmenL poslLlon ln Lhe chronology
of evenLs glven slnce lndependence. 1hey are accuraLe, and backed up by Canadlan
governmenL documenLs, SLaLe ueparLmenL reporLs, and counLless human rlghLs organlzaLlons.
Lven Lhe reporL you clLed Lo show a dlfferenL perspecLlve, LhaL of Lhe lnLernaLlonal Crlsls Croup
3

ln 2010, ls hlghly crlLlcal of LrlLrea. ?ou quoLed lL Lo explaln LrlLrea's confllcLs wlLh oLher sLaLes
ln Lhe reglon. 1he reporL, enLlLled LrlLrea: 1he Slege SLaLe, sLaLes more Lhan once:

MlllLarlsed pollLlcs has spllled lnLo forelgn pollcy, Lhe laLLer frequenLly lnvolvlng
armed responses and aggresslve advenLurlsm aL Lhe expense of convenLlonal
dlplomacy. 1o daLe, LrlLrea has foughL, dlrecLly or lndlrecLly, wlLh LLhlopla,
?emen, u[lbouLl and Sudan and lnvolved lLself ln varlous ways ln Lhe confllcLs ln
easLern Sudan, uarfur and Somalla. Whlle lL asserLs LhaL lL ls pursulng
leglLlmaLe naLlonal securlLy lnLeresLs and lambasLs Lhe u.S. ln parLlcular for
lnLervenlng ln Lhe affalrs of oLhers, Lhe aggresslve approach and abraslve Lone
have lefL lL lncreaslngly lsolaLed. 1he wllllngness of poLenLlal frlends Lo conslder
Lhe leglLlmacy of aL leasL some of lLs concerns ls dlmlnlshed by LrlLrea's
unwllllngness Lo demlllLarlse lLs forelgn pollcy and Lo make concesslons on any
level.

1he purpose of Lhe reporL ls Lo encourage engagemenL, raLher Lhan lsolaLlon, Lo solve some of
Lhe lnLernal and reglonal lssues. lL polnLs ouL LrlLrea's world vlew LhaL mosL wesLern counLrles
supporL LLhlopla no maLLer whaL. lL ls Lrue lL does say LrlLrea has a grlevance ln LhaL Lhe
boundarles agreed upon were never acLed on by LLhlopla, buL lL also very clearly sLaLes LhaL Lhe
counLry ls deflned by a culLure of mlllLarlsm. lL ln no way conLradlcLs Lhe facLs as sLaLed ln Lhe
C8C news arLlcle. 1o have gone lnLo Lhls klnd of deLall ls well beyond Lhe scope of Lhe news
plece. lL would have been beLLer served however, lf lL had found a way, when Lhe consul was
noL avallable for commenL, Lo provlde some LrlLrean response and perspecLlve Lo Lhe sLaLe of
relaLlons beLween Lhe Lwo counLrles.

Slncerely,

LsLher Lnkln
C8C Cmbudsman




cc: CaLhy erry, Managlng LdlLor, C8C news 1oronLo
!ennlfer McCulre, Ceneral Manager and LdlLor ln Chlef, C8C news
PuberL 1. Lacrolx, resldenL and CLC, C8C
norm kelly, uepuLy Mayor, ClLy of 1oronLo
Pon. Shelly Clover, MlnlsLer of Canadlan PerlLage and Cfflclal Languages