{"id":30830,"date":"2023-05-14T12:33:45","date_gmt":"2023-05-14T15:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chmafm.com\/welcome\/?p=30830"},"modified":"2023-05-15T19:57:57","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T22:57:57","slug":"protest-expected-as-mount-allison-goes-ahead-with-plans-to-honour-ambassador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chmafm.com\/welcome\/protest-expected-as-mount-allison-goes-ahead-with-plans-to-honour-ambassador\/","title":{"rendered":"Protest expected as Mount Allison goes ahead with plans to honour ambassador"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Deborah Lyons, Canada’s former ambassador to Israel and Afghanistan, served as the UN Secretary-General\u2019s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan just as the Taliban regained control of the country. Photo: dppa.un.org.
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Activists plan to hold a protest on Monday as Deborah Lyons, Canada\u2019s former ambassador to Israel and Afghanistan, receives an honorary degree during convocation ceremonies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A peaceful demonstration<\/a> will take place outside of Convocation Hall, while inside the building, \u201cstudents and faculty will also be making their opposition known,\u201d according to an update from Lara Khattab and Krista Johnston. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two Mount Allison professors launched an online petition<\/a> last month demanding that Mount Allison rescind the honorary degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHMA’s interview with Lara Khattab and Krista Johnston:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That committee \u201cconsists of representatives of Senate, students, and Board of Regents,\u201d according to the university website<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeborah Lyons was nominated in 2020, and her nomination received the support of a majority of Senators, as required under the procedures,\u201d Belliveau said in an email. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe University is abiding by the decision made by Senate in 2020 to honour Deborah Lyons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHMA attempted to reach Lyons via Mount Allison\u2019s communications department and her Twitter account<\/a>, but with no response by publication time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worsening human rights situation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the university announced last month that it would honour the former envoy<\/a>, the news provoked outrage from some quarters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It came amid reports of settler violence against Palestinians<\/a> and police raids at the Al-Aqsa mosque<\/a> in occupied East Jerusalem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, the besieged Gaza Strip has faced renewed bombing. And this week marked one year since Israeli forces shot and killed veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics argue that successive Canadian governments have remained closely allied to Israel<\/a> amid worsening<\/a> human rights<\/a> conditions<\/a> for Palestinians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhether they’re Conservative or Liberal, they have been consistent in terms of supporting Israeli apartheid and settler colonialism,\u201d Khattab said in an interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khattab and Johnston say the ambassador went beyond Canada’s support for Israel by promoting Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recruitment in Canada, allegedly in violation of a federal law against foreign enlistment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, Lyons held an event at the Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv to celebrate what are known as \u201clone soldiers,\u201d foreigners who enlist in the IDF, as reported by the Jerusalem Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A great night! Canadian Embassy staff having a #pizzaparty<\/a> with #Canadian<\/a> lone soldiers in the @IDF<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9L7Dha5TU4<\/a><\/p>— Canada in Israel (@CanEmbIsrael) January 16, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>