The Muslim Canadian Congress has written to Liberal leadership hopeful Michael Ignatieff demanding that he publicly apologize to the Lebanese people. The congress is dismayed by the Etobicoke-Lakeshore MP's statements in an August 2 interview with the Toronto Star. When asked to comment on the July 30 Israeli bombing of the town of Qana, where at least 54 Lebanese civilians were killed in a single missile strike, Ignatieff replied: “This is the kind of dirty war you're in when you have to do this and I'm not losing sleep about that.”

Imtiaz Popat, Vancouver's regional coordinator for the MCC, told the Straight that his group is deeply concerned about Ignatieff's remarks. After questioning his “calibre as a statesman” and his suitability to be Liberal leader, Popat suggested that Ignatieff might not care about the opinions of Muslims.

“If he says he is 'not going to lose any sleep' over it, then I don't think he's going to lose any sleep over whether he should apologize or not,” Popat said.

Since the MCC published the letter earlier this month on its Web site ( www.muslimcanadiancongress.org/ ), Ignatieff stated in an interview with the Canadian Press that his remarks were a mistake, but he fell short of making a formal apology.

In response to Ignatieff's reaction to the Qana attack, the MCC published a subsequent statement on its Web site expressing “outrage” at what it calls his “callous disregard for the lives of innocent Lebanese children”. The statement goes on to question the motives behind several of Ignatieff's recent responses to the conflict.

Popat said the MCC believes that Canada can play an important role in peace negotiations in the Middle East, but it worries about the actions of certain members of Canada's current government. “We cannot have our foreign minister or potential prime ministers making insensitive comments,” Popat said.

Ignatieff's controversial remarks on the Middle East stand in contrast to the diplomatic approach pursued by his father, George Ignatieff, who was once Canada's ambassador to the United Nations.

The late George Ignatieff represented Canada in 1967 when the UN Security Council passed Resolution 242. Perhaps the best-known action the Security Council has ever taken, 242 calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from territories occupied in the 1967 Six-Day War, the termination of hostilities, and recognition of sovereignty of every state in the area. Today it is widely regarded as the basis for any Middle East peace plan. In debates about the Security Council's adoption of the resolution, George Ignatieff earned a reputation as a fair-minded diplomat who worked toward the mediation of conflict and for peaceful change throughout the world. For those efforts and many others, he was awarded the Pearson Peace Medal in 1984.

George Ignatieff also once commented on the importance of Canada as a conflict mediator independent of the United States. Michael Ignatieff has supported the war in Iraq and has been accused by human-rights advocates of justifying the use of torture. Michael Ignatieff's office could not be reached for comment by deadline.

Ignatieff did not join calls for an immediate cease-fire until the fourth week of Israel's bombardment, and the MCC argues that he has repeatedly made one-sided comments supporting Israel in the conflict.

When told of the important role that the senior Ignatieff once played in Canada–Middle East politics, Popat was quick to respond: “Maybe his father should be running for the leadership of the Liberal party.”