(OTTAWA) Security concerns in the Sikh community — and the need to deter India — played a role in the choice to go public with a possible link between the Indian government and the Canadian’s murder, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview.
In September, Mr. Trudeau revealed in the House of Commons that he had credible intelligence linking the Indian government to the June 18 shooting death of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside his gurudwara in Surrey, England.
British Columbia’s Sikh community is worried about what will happen next, Trudeau told The Canadian Press in a year-end interview on Monday. The prime minister said his message to the House of Commons that day was aimed at providing an additional “level of deterrence” to ensure better protection for Canadians.
The allegations have worsened already tense relations between the Liberal government and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who continues to deny any connection to the massacre.
Photo by Manish Swaroop, Associated Press Archives
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
In the interview, Trudeau said his public statement followed weeks of “quiet diplomacy” that included raising allegations with India at the highest level.
This includes Mr Trudeau’s conversation with Mr Modi during the G20 summit in New Delhi, where the two leaders met behind closed doors for 16 minutes.
“We know the talks will be difficult, but we know this is an important moment for India to demonstrate its leadership on the world stage with the G20,” Trudeau said.
“And we felt we could use this as a constructive opportunity to work together.” »
When asked if these discussions were constructive, Mr. Trudeau bluntly replied: “No.”
On September 18, Mr. Trudeau clarified that because he expected the information would eventually be released to the media. He wanted Canadians to know the government had the situation under control.
The The Globe and Mail Mr. Trudeau broke the story shortly before rising in the House.
In an interview this week, Trudeau said, “Many Canadians are concerned about being affected,” Mr. The Sikh community in British Columbia raised concerns shortly after Nijjar’s assassination.
Photo by Chris Hellgren, Reuters
Hardeep Singh Nijjar
“All the quiet diplomacy and all the steps we’ve taken – and we’ve made sure our security services are put in place to keep people in the community safe – probably requires an extra level of deterrence by saying clearly loud and clear. We know: or we have credible reason to believe that the Indian government was behind this. he said. Therefore, it deters them from continuing or even considering doing so.”
Canada warned India that what it knows will eventually come to light, and while Ottawa was able to keep things at a “diplomatic level” before the G20 summit, it could not control it after the event, Mr. Trudeau noted.
Mr. Trump said he did not know whether it would come out through leaks, a public inquiry into foreign interference, or because the threshold had been reached “because it was our duty to protect Canadians.” Trudeau said.
Critical diplomatic responses
Mr. Trudeau’s Sept. 18 announcement was met with calls for immediate evidence not only from India, but also from Conservative leader Pierre Poilivre, who told the Liberal leader to “tell the truth.”
India has temporarily suspended visa services for Canadian citizens in Canada and around the world. Canada also withdrew most of its diplomatic presence in India after New Delhi threatened to withdraw diplomatic immunity from these individuals and their families. Mr. Trudeau called the decision a violation of the Vienna Convention.
“They chose comical misinformation in their media to attack us and undermine us,” said Mr. Trudeau said.
” [Cela] It would have been farcical if it had not had real implications in people’s lives and the relationship between our two countries, based on people-to-people relations and people who depend on the flow of communication between us. »
India, the world’s most populous country, reacted differently last month when US prosecutors accused an Indian government official of plotting to kill a prominent Sikh separatist leader living in New York. The US indictment pointed to a link to Mr Nijjar’s case.
Instead of refusing outright, India agreed to form a “high-level” panel to look into the US issue.
A spokesperson for the Indian High Commission in Ottawa pointed to comments by the country’s foreign minister in Parliament last week that the US had provided evidence and Canada had not.
“As far as the US is concerned, some information has been shared with us as part of our security cooperation with the US,” Indian External Affairs Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar said last Thursday in response to a member’s question.
“This information has worried us because it is about the connection between organized crime, trafficking and other issues. Therefore, it has been decided to investigate this and set up a commission of inquiry as it affects our national security. »
In the case of Canada, Mr. Jaishankar argued, “We have not been provided with any specific evidence or information.” He added: “The question of the fair conduct of two countries, one of which has provided the data and the other has not, does not arise.”
In that interview, Trudeau said Canada wanted to disclose evidence, as the U.S. did, “as we reach those points in the investigation.”
He noted that the US authorities had earlier started investigations into the assassination attempt.
“Canada investigates a homicide and the issues are different, our justice system has different processes,” he said. But it happens. »
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