Serious accusation
Canada accuses India of assassination attempt on Sikh separatists and expels diplomat
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accuses India of being responsible for the death of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil
© Sean Kilpatrick / Canadian Press via ZUMA Press / DPA
Canada has expelled an Indian diplomat following the death of a Sikh separatist. He is said to be involved in the assassination attempt. India denies the allegations.
Nijjar, who campaigned for the establishment of an independent Sikh state in India, was found shot to death in the parking lot of a temple in the Canadian province of British Columbia in June.
On Monday, the Canadian government expelled an Indian diplomat who the Foreign Ministry in Ottawa said was suspected of having a connection to the assassination attempt. That a representative of a foreign government could be involved in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is “completely unacceptable,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. “That is why we have expelled a high-ranking Indian diplomat today,” she emphasized.
There is an “unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Prime Minister Trudeau told Parliament. He called on the Indian government “strongly” to cooperate in clarifying the allegations. After Nijjar’s murder, relations between Ottawa and New Delhi had already deteriorated considerably.
There have been disagreements between Canada and India for a long time
Ottawa recently put negotiations on a free trade agreement with India on hold. The government in New Delhi accuses Canada of turning a blind eye to the activities of radical Sikh nationalists who advocate independence from India.
A statement from India’s Foreign Ministry in New Delhi on Tuesday said: “Claims that the Indian government is involved in an act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated.” India is “a democratic community with a strong commitment to the rule of law,” the ministry said.
Canada is home to the world’s largest Sikh community outside the northern Indian state of Punjab. Punjab, home to about 58 percent Sikh and 39 percent Hindu, was rocked by a violent independence movement in the 1980s and 1990s. Thousands of people were killed. Today, the most vocal separatists live in the Indian diaspora.