New Delhi and Ottawa expel several diplomats

Cascade of retaliation between India and Canada. The two countries each expelled their ambassador and five other high-ranking diplomats on Monday, October 14, after New Delhi declared that its envoy had been cited among the “persons of interest” in an investigation into the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader. India initially indicated it was withdrawing its six diplomats from Canada, but Mélanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, later confirmed they had been expelled, not withdrawn. The minister stressed having taken this decision taking into account “the numerous, clear and concrete evidence allowing the identification of six people as persons of interest in the Nijjar affair” and the lack of collaboration from India which refused to lift the diplomatic immunity of its envoys. The death of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who campaigned for the creation of an independent Sikh state in northern India called Khalistan, soured relations between the two countries, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declaring that there were “credible allegations” linking Indian intelligence to this crime. In turn, India “decided to expel” Ottawa’s acting high commissioner, Stewart Wheeler, his deputy and four first secretaries, ordering them to leave the country before midnight on Sunday. The expulsion of the diplomats – the most senior envoys from both sides – constitutes a major escalation in the conflict. “Monumental error” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that India had made “a monumental error” by deciding to “attack Canadians” after these cross-expulsions. “I believe India made a monumental mistake in choosing to use their diplomats and organized crime to attack Canadians (…) and to create violence and homicides. This is unacceptable,” he said, referring to allegations made by Canadian federal police against Indian government agents. “We do not have confidence in the current Canadian government’s commitment to ensuring their security,” explained the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to justify the withdrawal of its personnel. In particular, he described as “absurd” the allegations that India was involved in the murder, seeing it as a “strategy of defamation of India for political purposes”. At the same time, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced on Monday that they had “evidence” regarding “the involvement of agents of the Government of India in serious criminal activities in Canada”. RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme spoke in particular of cases of “intimidation, harassment, extortion and coercion” on Canadian territory, linking government agents to “homicides and acts of violence”, to “clandestine activities such as intelligence gathering” and “interference in democratic processes”. The federal police emphasize that they tried to approach the Indian authorities with this evidence, without success. One-upmanship Since Justin Trudeau’s accusations, New Delhi and Ottawa have engaged in one-upmanship in diplomatic reprisals. Last year, India temporarily restricted visas for Canadians and forced Canada to repatriate some of its diplomats. “India now reserves the right to take further action in response to these latest efforts by the Canadian government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats,” its foreign ministry warned on Monday. Nijjar, who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and has been a citizen since 2015, advocated for an independent Sikh state in India, Khalistan. Wanted by Indian authorities for alleged “terrorism” and conspiracy to commit murder – charges he denied – Nijjar was shot dead on June 18, 2023 in front of the Sikh temple he led in the suburb from Vancouver. Four Indians were arrested following the murder. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers American justice reveals the underside of an Indian plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist in New York Add to your selections In November 2023, the American Department of Justice for its part accused an Indian citizen, living in the Republic Czech, of having planned a similar assassination attempt in the United States. Prosecutors said an Indian government official was also involved in the case. Some 770,000 Sikhs live in Canada, constituting 2% of the population, with an active minority calling for the creation of an independent state of Khalistan. Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content



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