Photo: REUTERS/Blair Gable.
Canada expelled six Indian diplomats on Monday, including its high commissioner, over their alleged involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader and allegations of planning attacks on other Indian dissidents in Canada.
India retaliated early Monday by ordering the expulsion of six senior Canadian diplomats including the acting high commissioner and said it was withdrawing its envoy from Canada, contradicting the country's announcement of the expulsion.
The diplomatic tensions represent a deterioration in relations between the two Commonwealth nations, which have been damaged in the past year since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had evidence linking Indian agents to the assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
In a press conference, Trudeau said the Canadian government had "clear and credible evidence that agents of the Indian government have conducted and continue to conduct activities that endanger public safety."
These activities include covert intelligence gathering techniques, coercive conduct, attacks against South Asian Canadians, and are linked to a range of violent or threatening acts, including murder.
"This is unacceptable," he said, adding that India had made a mistake by carrying out illegal activities in Canada.
India has long denied Trudeau’s allegations. On Monday, the government rejected Canada’s decision to investigate and accused Trudeau of pursuing “political agendas.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) says the Indian government has carried out a widespread campaign against Indian dissidents, including murders and extortion. The force also says the government has used organized crime to target Canada’s South Asian community and interfere with democratic processes.
"The decision to expel these individuals was made with careful consideration and only after the RCMP had gathered sufficient, substantial and clear evidence to identify the six individuals as persons of interest in the Nijjar case," Global Affairs Canada said in a statement.
India said it had asked six Canadian diplomats to leave the country by Sunday. The Indian foreign ministry also said it had summoned Canada's acting High Commissioner to India, Stewart Wheeler, who is currently the country's most senior diplomat in South Asia.
India said it expelled the diplomats because it was not confident it could guarantee their safety.
"We have no confidence in the security assurances of the Government of Canada in power. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to recall the High Commissioner and other officials and diplomats," the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Severe cracking
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the government has asked India to strip six diplomats of their diplomatic immunity, allowing Canadian government investigators to question them about alleged illegal activities.
However, due to the Indian government's lack of cooperation, Canada was forced to deport these individuals.
“We do not seek diplomatic confrontation with India,” she said. “But we will not turn a blind eye when agents of any country are involved in threatening, harassing or even killing Canadian citizens.”
Canada recalled more than 40 diplomats from India in October 2023 after New Delhi asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence.
“We have gone from differences of opinion to a serious rift in relations with India,” said Fen Osler Hampson, a professor of international relations at Ottawa’s Carleton University. “At this point it is difficult to see any return to normality in the immediate future.”
Canada has become home to the world's second largest Sikh population, after Punjab, and Sikh protests in recent years have angered the Indian government.
The US government has also alleged that Indian agents were involved in a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in New York last year, and said it had charged an Indian national who acted at the direction of an unnamed Indian government official.
An Indian government commission investigating Indian involvement in the foiled assassination plot will meet US officials in Washington this week.
Allegations of assassination plots against Sikh separatist leaders in Canada and the United States have severely affected relations between those countries and India, at a time when both countries are looking to strengthen ties with India to counter China's growing influence.
Nguyen Quang Minh (According to Reuters)
Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/canada-truc-xuat-nha-ngoai-giao-cap-cao-cua-an-do-do-lien-quan-toi-vu-am-sat-lanh-dao-phong-trao-ly-khai-204241015102443211.htm
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