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<title>CANADA TO CONTRIBUTE TO RESEARCH ONRAOUL WALLENBERG</title>
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<p><font face="Univers" size="+2"></font><font face="Univers" size="+2">September 5, 1996 No. 153</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Univers" size="+2">CANADA TO CONTRIBUTE TO RESEARCH ON</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Univers" size="+2">RAOUL WALLENBERG</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced that the Department of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade will assist in defraying the costs of
research activities to be conducted by Winnipeg lawyer David Matas to determine
the fate and whereabouts of Raoul Wallenberg.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Mr. Wallenberg was the renowned Swedish diplomat responsible for saving the lives
of tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Second World War. In 1944, at
great risk to his own life, he masterminded a scheme to issue protective passports
for Hungarian Jews in Budapest, permitting them to avoid deportation and certain
death in Nazi concentration camps. In January 1945, Raoul Wallenberg disappeared,
and unconfirmed reports suggest that he may have died in July 1947. </font></p>
<p><font face="Courier"> </font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"Canadians attach real importance to the extraordinary heroism of Mr. Wallenberg
and the inspiration that it offers to champions of human rights who might despair
over the huge obstacles they face," said Mr. Axworthy. "In this context, the
Canadian government praises and supports David Matas' effort to conduct a new
inquiry into Mr. Wallenberg's fate."</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">For his courage, Raoul Wallenberg was declared an honorary citizen of Canada in
1985.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">The launch of Mr. Matas' research will coincide with the unveiling of a memorial
to Raoul Wallenberg in North York, Ontario, on September 8. </font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Funding for this initiative was provided for in the March 1996 federal budget and
is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Courier">- 30 -</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">For further information, media representatives may contact:</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Catherine Lappe</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Director of Communications</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(613) 995-1851</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Media Relations Office</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(613) 995-1874</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca</font></p>
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