- Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said the Indian government’s crackdown on Canadian diplomats was making normal life difficult for millions of people in both countries.
- Trudeau said the expulsion of some of Canada’s diplomats will hamper travel and trade and pose difficulties for Indians studying in Canada.
- The U.S. State Department on Friday backed Canada in the dispute over diplomats.
- Analysts say the U.S. and the UK do not want to damage ties with India, which they view as a counterbalance to their main Asian rival China.
- Canada withdrew 41 diplomats from India after New Delhi last month asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence following Canada’s allegations over Nijjar’s killing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Indian government’s crackdown on Canadian diplomats was making normal life difficult for millions of people in both countries. Trudeau spoke a day after Canada said it had withdrawn 41 diplomats following an Indian threat to unilaterally revoke their status.
“The Indian government is making it unbelievably difficult for life as usual to continue for millions of people in India and in Canada. And they’re doing it by contravening a very basic principle of diplomacy,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau said the expulsion of some of Canada’s diplomats would hamper travel and trade and pose difficulties for Indians studying in Canada.
Around two million Canadians, 5% of the overall population, have Indian heritage. India is by far Canada’s largest source of global students, making up roughly 40% of study permit holders.
The Indian foreign ministry earlier rejected the idea it had violated the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. “The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa,” it said in a statement. Canada now has 21 diplomats remaining in India.
The U.S. State Department on Friday backed Canada in the dispute over diplomats. The United States and Britain on Friday urged New Delhi not to insist Canada reduce its diplomatic presence in India and expressed concern after Ottawa pulled out 41 diplomats amid a dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist.
Canada has alleged Indian involvement in the June murder in a Vancouver suburb of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom India called a “terrorist.” India denies the allegation. Washington has said it took Canada’s allegations seriously and, along with London, urged India to cooperate with Canada in the murder probe even as Western powers have been reluctant to openly condemn India.
Analysts say the U.S. and the UK do not want to damage ties with India, which they view as a counterbalance to their main Asian rival China. But Friday’s statements from the U.S. State Department and Britain’s Foreign Office have been the most direct criticism by Washington and London of New Delhi thus far in this case.
Canada withdrew 41 diplomats from India after New Delhi last month asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence following Canada’s allegations over Nijjar’s killing. Canada on Friday said it was temporarily suspending in-person operations at consulates in several Indian cities and warned of visa processing delays.
Britain’s Foreign Office also cited the Vienna Convention. It said, “The unilateral removal of the privileges and immunities that provide for the safety and security of diplomats is not consistent with the principles of the effective functioning of the Vienna Convention.”
(With inputs from agencies)
