2023-09-21 21:48:00
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in a file photo. EFE/EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS
The United States is in “constant” contact with Canada and India to prevent the diplomatic conflict unleashed by the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader of Canadian nationality from escalating, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan indicated this Thursday.
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At a press conference, Sullivan said Washington is mediating between its two allies and expressed concern about allegations that Indian agents may have been involved in the death of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, said last Monday that he had credible information of possible links between agents of the Indian Government in the murder in Canada of Nijjar, of Indian origin and Canadian nationality, who was considered a terrorist by New Delhi.
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“Any involvement of a foreign government in the murder of a Canadian on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he said in the Lower House of the Canadian Parliament.
Following the prime minister’s remarks, Canada expelled an Indian diplomat believed to have a credible link to the assassination of the Sikh leader, Canada’s foreign minister said.
A mural displays the image of the late Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was murdered on the grounds of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in June 2023, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. September 18, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
“Allegations that a representative of a foreign government may have been involved in the murder of a Canadian citizen here in Canada, on Canadian soil… are totally unacceptable,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.
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Singh Nijjar, shot by unknown assailants in the parking lot of a Sikh temple, had been accused of terrorism by the Indian authorities for advocating the creation in the state of Punjab of an independent country, Khalistan, for the Sikh minority.
Since Trudeau made his accusations, both governments proceeded with the expulsion of two high-level diplomatic officials – one from each side – respectively and reciprocally.
In addition, India escalated the diplomatic crisis this Thursday by suspending visas for Canadians indefinitely while accusing Canada of serving as a “paradise for terrorism”, in the same terms in which it accuses its arch-enemy Pakistan.
The United States, according to Sullivan, is concerned about these events and supports the investigation being carried out by Canadian authorities to clarify the circumstances of the murder.
In this regard, he highlighted the importance of “getting to the bottom of exactly what happened to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, on Sept. 10, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
In addition, he took the opportunity to make clear that news suggesting that the United States downplayed Canada’s accusations is false.
“I have seen some attempts in the press to drive a wedge between the United States and Canada on this issue and I firmly reject the idea that there is a wedge between the United States and Canada,” Sullivan emphasized.
As reported by The Washington Post on Tuesday, weeks before Trudeau made his public accusations, Canada had asked its closest allies, including the United States, to publicly condemn the assassination of the Sikh separatist leader, but these requests were rejected.
The dispute deals a new blow to relations between Canada and India, which were already in a fragile state due to New Delhi’s displeasure with Sikh separatist activity in Canada.
Nijjar, the murdered man, was organizing an unofficial “referendum”, according to Indian media, to consult the community on the creation in the state of Punjab of an independent country, Khalistan, for the Sikh minority.
About 1.8 million people of Indian origin live in Canada, of which about 770,000 are Sikhs. The leader of the social democratic New Democratic Party (NPD), Jagmeet Singh, the fourth party in the Canadian Parliament, is Sikh.
The Khalistan movement is banned in India, where authorities view it as a threat to national security. But the movement still has some support in northern India, as well as further afield, in countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom, which are home to a sizeable Sikh diaspora.
(With information from EFE)
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