Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry launched a scathing attack on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his allegations against India. Sabry said that some of the terrorists have found safe haven in Canada. He went on to allege that some of the terrorists have found safe haven in Canada, adding that the Canadian PM has this way of just coming out with some outrageous allegations without any supporting proof.
Sabry said that the same thing Canada did for Sri Lanka, which was a terrible and total lie about saying that Sri Lanka had a genocide. Everybody knows there was no genocide in our country. I saw yesterday he had gone and given a rousing welcome to somebody who had associated with the Nazis in the past during the Second World War. So this is questionable and we have dealt with it in the past. I am not surprised that sometimes PM Trudeau comes out with outrageous and substantiated allegations.
Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda also commented on Canada’s allegations on India. He said that India’s response has been unequivocal and firm regarding those allegations.
He said, “I think India’s response has been unequivocal and firm and direct. I think as far as we are concerned, we support India on that…40 years of my life have been spent facing various forms of terrorism in Sri Lanka…Our position on this matter is very clear because we have endured and we have suffered…Zero tolerance.”
In the meantime, Canadian Sikhs staged protests against Indian government outside India’s diplomatic missions on Monday (September 25), a week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there may be a link between New Delhi and the murder of a Sikh separatist advocate in British Columbia.
About 100 protesters in Toronto burned an Indian flag and struck a cardboard cut-out of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a shoe. About 200 protesters also gathered outside the Vancouver consulate.
In Ottawa, fewer than 100 people gathered in front of the Indian High Commissioner’s office in the capital. They waved yellow flags marked with the world “Khalistan,” a reference to their support for making India’s Punjab region an independent state for Sikhs, a cause Nijjar campaigned for.
It is noteworthy that Canada is home to about 770,000 Sikhs – the highest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab – and in recent years there have been many demonstrations that have irked India. India labeled Trudeau’s allegations “absurd.” It warned travelers last week that there were growing anti-India activities in Canada, urging ‘utmost caution’ but did not provide evidence or details of specific incidents.
Meanwhile, US Department of State’s Spokesperson Matthew Miller has also reacted to the ongoing India-Canada row. He said the US has privately and publicly asked India to cooperate in the Canadian investigation. “We are deeply concerned by the allegations referenced by Canadian PM Trudeau. We remain in close contact with our Canadian partners. We believe it’s critical that Canada’s investigation proceed and that the perpetrators be brought to justice. We have publicly and privately urged the Indian Government to cooperate in the Canadian investigation,” he said. (Inputs from ANI and Reuters)