RCMP Pants on Fire! Ramadan apology in dispute!

By Brian Lilley, Parliamentary Bureau

The RCMP has responded to claims that the force apologized for a terror bust during Ramadan by saying no apology was ever issued. However, a woman present at the meeting says she knows what she heard.

“This is simply not correct,” wrote Francois Bidal in response to the apology story. Bidal is commanding officer for A Division, the RCMP section responsible for the Ottawa area.

Bidal was reacting to a QMI Agency report that an apology was offered to Ottawa Muslims after three men were arrested on Aug. 25 in the middle of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

A participant in the meeting told QMI Agency that RCMP and Ottawa Police were present at a meeting the day after the arrests and offered an apology.

In a letter to the editor to the Ottawa Sun, Bidal acknowledges that a meeting was called to “provide information and discuss any concerns relating to actions taken by the RCMP” but he denies there was an apology.

“As the meeting was convened during the month of Ramadan, the RCMP expressed regret to the committee for any inconvenience the timing of the meeting may have presented to its members,” Bidal wrote.

Salma Siddiqui, who was present at the Aug. 26 meeting, insists the RCMP did apologize not for the arrests but for the timing of the arrests.

“When you tell the community that there is no disrespect meant by making the arrests during Ramadan what is the RCMP doing but apologizing. An apology is an apology is an apology,” said Sididqui.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper responded to reports on the apology by stating his government doesn't want religious holidays given special treatment by law enforcement.

“The general approach that this government would expect to see is that the law, our important laws, are enforced every day of the year,” Harper said.

Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh, Misbahuddin Ahmed were arrested in Ottawa while Khurram Syed Sher was arrested near London, Ont. All three men face several terror related charges.

Ramadan, the Islamic holy month is a moving religious holiday that started on Aug. 12 in 2010 for Muslims in North America and ended Sept. 9.