Good going Canada!
The U.S. reli-o-nut known for burning Korans and inciting unrest in the Middle East was barred on Thursday from entering Canada, where he was set to attend a potentially divisive debate with a imam, Canadian media reports said.
Terry Jones was blocked at the U.S.-Canada border in Windsor, Ontario, because of a previous legal infraction in the United States and because the German government has issued a complaint against him, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp said.
Jones told the CBC
that he would seek legal counsel on whether to appeal what he said was a
"grievous act" against free speech.
"We are going to head back to Florida now and we are going to check whether we are going to appeal that," he said.
The Canadian
government said it does not comment on individual cases and that border
officials determine the entry of any individual on a case by case basis.
"Every person
seeking entry to Canada must demonstrate that they meet the requirements
to enter the country," said Julie Carmichael
, spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.
Jones was scheduled
to debate a Toronto imam, a Sikh leader and a Muslim author on Thursday
evening on the grounds of the Ontario provincial legislature in
Toronto, according to local organizers.
The once
little-known pastor sparked riots in Afghanistan two years ago when he
burnt copies of the Koran to mark the anniversary of Sept 11, 2001
attack on the World Trade Center in New York.
He also promoted
the film "Innocence of Muslims" this year, which Muslims said insults
the Prophet Mohammed. The film sparked unrest across Middle East.
The U.S. ambassador
to Libya and three embassy staff were killed in September when Islamist
gunmen, blaming the U.S. government for the film, stormed the U.S.
consulate in Benghazi.
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