NEWS RELEASES

May 24, 2001 (12:30 p.m. EDT) No. 67

MANLEY CONDEMNS TALIBAN IDENTIFICATION OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley today announced that Canada was deeply disturbed by reports of a Taliban proposal that would force religious minorities in Afghanistan to wear special identification on their clothing.

"I am shocked by these reports -- discrimination on the basis of religion is abhorrent and is an affront to values held by all Canadians," said Mr. Manley. "I hope that the Taliban will come to its senses and not implement this terrible edict."

Minister Manley underscored that Canada's High Commission in Islamabad was raising this issue with Taliban diplomats in Pakistan, and with senior officials of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry who have regular contact with Taliban authorities.

The Taliban is a fundamentalist Islamic political movement, headquartered in Kandahar, Afghanistan, that exercises de facto control over approximately 90 percent of the country's territory. It refers to its government as the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." Canada has not had diplomatic relations with Afghanistan since 1979.

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