America News Agency

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei issued a statement regarding the separation of Indigenous children from their families in Canada and their forced assimilation.

Baqaei said, “When it comes to Canada’s Indigenous children who were taken from their families, deprived of their names, languages, cultures and identities, and subjected to a system of forced assimilation, this question continues to trouble the conscience of the world.”

Noting that many of the children were subjected to abuse and neglect, while many others died far from their homes and were buried in unmarked graves, Baqaei recalled that September 30 is observed in Canada as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Baqaei said, “Reconciliation cannot be reduced to a day of remembrance or political rhetoric. As long as serious questions about the history of residential schools remain unanswered and historical facts are disputed or concealed, reconciliation remains incomplete.”

Emphasizing that the suffering of Indigenous children is not a matter of culture war, Baqaei said, “This is a matter of historical truth and accountability.”

Stating that questions regarding unmarked graves require evidence, transparency and an honest examination of historical records, Baqaei said, “Not denial, distortion or silence.”

Baqaei concluded his statement with the words, “There is no reconciliation without truth. There is no justice without accountability.”