John Baird defends Conservatives’ response to Egypt convicting journalists

OTTAWA—Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird defended the government’s response to the terrorism conviction of Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy, saying the Conservatives won’t practice “bullhorn diplomacy.”

Baird told Ottawa radio station CFRA the federal government was pursuing “the path that will be most effective” in securing the release of Fahmy, one of three Al-Jazeera journalists jailed on terrorism charges for their reporting.

But while senior politicians in Britain, the United States, and Australia directly called on Egypt’s new government to pardon the journalists, the federal Conservatives were criticized for offering a more muted response to the verdict.

“Either way critics of the government can win, because if we’re loud and vocal, we’re practicing bullhorn diplomacy and not being professional,” Baird said. “But if we try to take the case directly to the leadership, we’re accused of not standing up.”

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/06/24/bullhorn_diplomacy_wont_free_canadian_journalist_in_egypt_says_baird.html

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Politics/ID/2467606112/