Canada unwilling to grant asylum to Ben Ali family

Fri, 28 Jan 2011

Ottawa/New York - Canada, the preferred destination of the family of ousted Tunisian leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, does not want to grant them asylum.

"They are not welcome let me be very clear, we do not welcome them in our country," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, in comments that the Montreal Gazette quoted Friday.

After a meeting with Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, Harper stressed that Canada supports "the democratic development that is taking place" in Tunisia.

He made clear that he was unhappy about reports that Ben Ali's billionaire brother-in-law Belhassen Trabelsi is already in Montreal, along with his wife, four children and a nanny. The government is concerned about this, Harper admitted.

"Canada will use all tools at its disposal to co-operate with the international community in dealing with members of the former regime," he said.

Ben Ali fled his country for Saudi Arabia earlier this month after weeks of public protests. His Swiss bank account has been frozen and an international warrant was issued for his arrest.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have reportedly received from Interpol a request to locate members of the Ben Ali family, although the institution stressed that this "does not constitute an arrest warrant under Canadian law."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/364799,asylum-ben-ali-family.html.