Hassan Diab dismissal: CUPE 4600 asks President Runte to justify University's actions
[Jul 29, 2009 11:44 PM]
Dear President Runte;
The executive of CUPE 4600 is
extremely concerned upon learning of the sudden dismissal of one of our
members, Hassan Diab. We are alarmed
that he was fired after he had already commenced his contract to teach SOCI
1002.
We certainly hope Hasan Diab
is not connected to the heinous bombing of a synagogue in Paris in 1980. We at
CUPE 4600 in no way condone violence—political, racial or otherwise. We also
place great faith in the ability of our legal system to determine guilt or
innocence in a fair and impartial manner. We believe that when Mr. Diab has his
day in court, the facts of the case will be brought to light and a verdict
cognizant of Canadian law will be handed down. Until that point in time,
President Runte, and as we are sure you are very well aware, Mr. Diab has the
right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty.
We are concerned that in the
firing of Mr. Diab, the University has reneged on a contract and violated the
collective agreement we have negotiated with each other in good faith. Further,
we are extremely distressed by the possibility that the University has acted in
this fashion after being pressured by
an external organization, B’nai Brith Canada, as reported in the Ottawa Citizen
on July 28th, 2009. We certainly hope that this reporting is in
error, as it would represent your administration as setting a precedent that
outside organizations decide who can or cannot teach here at Carleton.
We are aware that the highly
publicized case of Mr. Diab has put the University in a difficult position. We
are also certain that various media sources and commentators will seize the
opportunity to call public attention to a “suspected terrorist” on campus. Yet, we urge the university to balance
public opinion with the law and a sense of professional integrity. We should not pre-judge guilt upon any individual
in the Carleton Community; the obvious ramifications of your action in this
instance is that you have already done so, even if you believe that you are
acting in the best interest of this University.
In the final analysis, a
recent editorial in the National Post had
it right: “Until such time as Mr. Diab
is proven to have been the man who killed four innocents in Paris 29 years ago,
he should be free to teach at Canadian Universities.”
We thank you for your
consideration in this matter and urge you to respond personally with your legal
justification for Mr. Diab’s dismissal.
Sincerely,
Vladimir de Baghy, on behalf
The Executive Board of Local
4600
