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Baird Comments on North Korea’s Anniversary
September 9, 2013 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“For 65 years, the people in North Korea have suffered and continue to suffer under a rogue regime.
“Canada unreservedly condemns the ongoing violations of human rights in North Korea. The existence of gulags, arbitrary detentions, forced abortions, intergenerational punishment, indefinite holding of political prisoners, mistreatment of workers and lack of overall freedom, including religious freedom, is absolutely deplorable.
“The true travesty is that the people in North Korea continue to starve while successive Kim regimes squander limited resources. Pyongyang has become a city representing the folly of totalitarianism.
“While there is only darkness in the communist North, we look forward to the day when the lights of freedom turn on. Even the most repressive dictatorships cannot withstand truth or the freedom their people yearn for.”
A backgrounder follows.
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Backgrounder - Canada’s Sanctions Against North Korea
For more information on the extent of the sanctions Canada has already imposed against North Korea and its reaction to North Korea’s human rights violations, please see the following documents:
- North Korea: Overview of New Sanctions
- Statement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper
- Address by Minister Cannon on Measures Against North Korea
- Baird Urges North Korea to Abandon Nuclear Weapons Program
- Canada Unequivocally Condemns North Korean Nuclear Test
- Baird Addresses North Korean Threats
- Baird Welcomes UN Human Rights Council Resolution on North Korea
- Baird Welcomes Expanded Sanctions Against North Korea
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