The head of the Canadian delegation’s security contingent threatened a group of young environmentalists with the prospect of spending time in an Indonesian jail, yesterday – and then followed up by summoning Indonesian police, as CanWest News Service’s Mike de Souza reports here .
The offending members of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition had been so rude as to hold up a sign questioning Canada’s performance at the UNFCCC conference; pretty much the least you could expect given how embarrassing Canadian Environment Minister John Baird has been for the last few days.
It’s fortunate that the Indonesian police have a sense of occasion – even a tolerance for democracy – that goes beyond what is being shown in the Canadian delegation. The police interviewed the young environmentalists briefly and then left them to their task.
Kudos to de Souza, whose webposts out of Bali have been excellent. And a big brickbat for “team Canada.” The stress of being the world’s foremost environmental pariah must be taking its toll.
