A TOP African scientist has been denied entry by Canada as a punishment, he claims, for opposing North American policy on genetically modified organisms. 鈥淚 cannot find any other possible reason,鈥� says Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, who is a leading architect of the UN Biosafety Protocol regulating GMOs and is also Ethiopia鈥檚 delegate to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Tewolde planned to attend a UN-sponsored meeting related to the biosafety protocol in Montreal that began on Wednesday, where he intended to press for compulsory labelling of GM foods 鈥� a measure Canada opposes. The Canadian government denied Tewolde鈥檚 visa application late last week, but he was invited to reapply, he says 鈥� after answering a list of questions about his political affiliations. He has travelled to Canada in the past without any problem.
The Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged in a written statement that as host to the CBD it is required to let delegates enter the country. But as 快猫短视频 went to press, it still wasn鈥檛 clear if Tewolde would be granted a visa, or if it would come in time for him to make new travel arrangements.
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