VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A B.C. Member of Parliament set to take part in an online forum “Zoom to free Meng Wanzhou” says the event isn’t a rally for her release but rather a forum to discuss how the Trump administration put Canada in “a terrible position.”
Green MP Paul Manly, who represents Namaimo-Ladysmith will be participating in Tuesday’s forum along with MP Niki Ashton, and John Philpot, lawyer and expert in international criminal law.
“I don’t consider this a rally to free Meng Wanzhou, I consider this a debate about how we get ourselves out of that situation, and that lies squarely with the Trump administration,” he says.
Manly says Meng’s arrest in December of 2018 was an act of “hostage diplomacy” by the U.S. and that China retaliated by arresting Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor soon after.
“The Trump administration abused the trust of Canadian authorities and abused international diplomatic norms. The timing of Meng’s arrest in Vancouver was a cynical manipulation of the Trump administration,” Manly says.
“This whole situation can be laid at the feet of Donald Trump. He is key to everything that happened with Meng Wanzhou and how Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig ended up in Chinese jail with no light at the end of the tunnel.”
Green Party MP @paulmanly confirms he will participate in "Zoom to Free Meng Wanzhou" on Tuesday. Says its a forum to discuss the fate of the "Two Michaels" and how the Trump administration has put Canada in a difficult position. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/BJ6KwPLvI4
— Paul James (@pjimmyradio) November 23, 2020
Meng’s arrest for violating sanctions against Iran “wasn’t important, necessary, or urgent,” Manly argues. “It was a show, and sure enough days later, Donald Trump offered to use Meng as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations with China. What could be a better pressure tactic in trade talks than to orchestrate a surprise glorified perp walk on the global stage?”
RELATED: A new administration in the US could offer glimmer of hope for two ‘Michaels’ detained in China
Nevertheless, Manly says the position of the federal Green Party caucus is that the U.S. should withdraw its extradition request, and he is hopeful the incoming Biden administration will do so.
“We put out a statement in July calling on the federal government to demand that the United States drop criminal charges against Meng Wanzhou and withdraw its extradition requests so that Canada can release her, and that remains my position,” he says.
But Manly says the event should not be understood as an attempt to interfere with or influence extradition proceedings.
“I am putting forward a nuanced position that we’re calling on the U.S. government to drop the extradition process. And that’s what I’m stepping into this event to do, just to talk about the position that we’ve put forward. And that is that we need to ask that the U.S. government drop these charges against Meng Wanzhou,” he says.
“We need to get back to multilateralism, diplomacy, and working together across the international community for peace, good governance, social justice.”