High Canadian Diplomat's Abduction Being Ignored By The Press

This war crime should be getting more attention everywhere, from the United Nations, the new American Administration, radio, television and the internet. It is the story of the abduction six weeks ago of top Canadian peace negotiators in Africa, and they haven't been found.

"Mr. Fowler, 64, was one of Ottawa's most powerful bureaucrats before his retirement. He had served as an ambassador to the United Nations, a deputy minister of defence, a top adviser to a string of prime ministers and a veteran of war zones from Rwanda to Darfur." from The Globe and Mail.


Diplomat Robert Fowler, right, meets then-prime-minister Paul Martin in 2005. (Dave Chan/PMO)


A very high Canadian government official has been abducted and held for six weeks in war-torn Africa, conducting quiet negotiations to end strife, and today's story is the first time it has come to my attention, in the respected, trusted Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail.

Robert Fowler is a former U.N. Ambassador and his case has been dismissed or forgotten by CNN and other outlets. Just in case it's a case of 'the squeakiest wheel getting the grease', I must add this to the news stories out there because today is the first I heard about it, which I don't like and cannot understand. That is the value of this medium.


Robert Fowler

Hope CNN and the networks take notice. Please, networks and reporters, please make more of an issue of this, if there is any sense of fairness in reporting. It could have been an American of similar qualifications, such as Madeleine Albright. It's not like anyone is trying to cover it up, if it ever even has been reported, but it clearly hasn't been well-assigned. Today, CNN and other networks are fixated on the death of a bacteria-infected Brazilian model, sad as her case is. Does this just prove the press generally doesn't find this story "sexy" enough to cover? Huh? Excuse me, please, but this is important and worthy of official acknowledgement and coverage for anyone interested in lessening African strife and for these abducted peace-loving, senior Canadian officials.

With the bus strike in Ottawa, and the Canadian government just returning from a month-long hiatus, there is a lot of work to do and a lot to report on in Canada, besides shoveling the snow.

What do you think? Do you think there should be more in the international press about this abduction?
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