Confrontation between Canada and India over the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian territory is increasing, and over the weekend the United States stepped in to call on New Delhi to cooperate with the Canadian investigation.
"We want to see a commitment to accountability," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "so it's important that the investigation is carried out properly and yields conclusions. We hope that our Indian friends will cooperate." Without going into details, Blinken added that the U.S. views "cases of cross-border repression" with severity and that "it is important to the international system that any country considering such actions does not do so."
A wall commemorating the murdered leader near a Sikh temple in British Columbia, Photo: AP
Brief background: Last June, a Sikh leader named Hardeep Singh Nijjar was assassinated in a public parking lot near a Sikh temple in the western Canadian province of British Columbia. Two masked men shot and killed him at close range. Nijjar was one of the leaders of the Sikh separatist movement, which seeks to separate from India and establish Khlistan, an independent state in the Punjab region. India, for its part, claimed that Nijjar was part of a conspiracy to murder a Hindu priest in exchange for a $12,000 reward.
Sikh activist in Amritsar, India, photo: AFP
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his country's intelligence had found a "solid link" between Nijar's death and the Indian government. "Any involvement of a foreign government in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty." Trudeau said he raised the issue in a conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit.
My statement on allegations surrounding the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. pic.twitter.com/auIyj194A8
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) September 19, 2023
India's foreign ministry rejected Trudeau's accusations, calling them "absurd." "We are a democratic country with a strong commitment to the rule of law," New Delhi said in a statement. After another call by Ottawa to cooperate with the investigation, India reduced its embassy staff in Canada and stopped issuing visas to Canadians. Talks to reach a trade agreement between the two countries have also been halted.
Secretary of State Blinken. "It is important to complete the investigation," Photo: Reuters
The United States, for its part, is in a sensitive situation in the confrontation between the two countries. On the one hand, Canada is one of its closest allies, and the two are members of the Five Eyes intelligence community, which also includes Australia, New Zealand and Britain. At the same time, the US is making considerable efforts to warm relations with India as a counterweight to China – as evidenced by the spectacular reception received by Indian Prime Minister Modi in Washington two months ago, as well as the railway and shipping corridor between India and the European Union, which Biden announced just two weeks ago.
Sikhism is a religion originating in the Punjab region of India. Today it is the fifth largest religion in the world, with about 30 million adherents. Its followers make up 2% of India's population. Canada is home to nearly 700,<> Sikhs, making them the largest Sikh community outside Punjab in the world. In recent months, New Delhi has exerted pressure on foreign governments, including Australia, Britain and New Zealand, to prevent "Sikh extremism" and protect Hindu communities in their territory.
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