'Catering to Dictatorial Regimes No Way to Run an APEC Meeting' - Matas

Visiting human rights lawyer, David Matas, says the harassment of Epoch Times reporter Sarah Matheson at Final Leader Declaration photo opportunity at APEC was similar to events that happened in his own country Canada during the 1997 APEC Summit in Vancouver.

During the 1997 summit, Indonesian dictator Suharto's attendance was conditional on the suppression of dissent and the avoidance of embarrassment he would face from confrontation with protestors. Canada obliged, attacking protestors and using excessive force to push them out of sight of the conference venue.

Mr Matas said, "We allow dictatorial regimes to participate in APEC meetings in the hope that the contact with the outside world and human rights values will impact positively on their behaviour."

However, according to Mr Matas, what both the Canadian and Sydney incidents showed is the reverse – that our contact with them impacts negatively on our behaviour. "Their undemocratic values make us behave worse, rather than make them behave better," he said.

Due to pressure from the Chinese officials, accredited Epoch Times journalist from New Zealand, Sarah Matheson, 24, missed the opportunity to photograph the leaders Final Leader Declaration photo opportunity outside Government House in Sydney on Sunday.

Epoch Times journalist Sarah Matheson working in the APEC International Media Centre after being taken out of a media opportunity by security after Chinese pressure. (The Epoch Times)

She was told that Chinese officials were pressuring organisers because she was attending the ceremony as an Epoch Times journalist.

Miss Matheson, together with a group of 10-15 journalists were then escorted to the side of Government House out of view of the original photo opportunity, being told that there would be a photo opportunity there. However there was no photo opportunity at this site.

Mr Matas asked; "Who now thanks Canada for the suppression of dissent in favour of Suharto in 1997?"

"Suharto and his cronies are gone from power. The people of Indonesia have to view with dismay the suppression of dissent in Canada in 1997," he said.

"Once the Hu Jintao regime is gone from China, the people of China will reject the attempts by Australia to curry favour with that regime. Australia should have learned the bitter APEC lessons of the 1997 Canada meeting – that catering to dictatorial regimes is no way to run an APEC meeting," said Mr Matas.