Canada|Canada’s parliament observed a moment of silence on the anniversary of the assassination of a Canadian activist, India’s response came in no time.
Vancouver
The summary is made by artificial intelligence and checked by a human.
On the anniversary of the assassination of a Sikh activist, a special protest in Vancouver.
Indians arrested on suspicion of murder in Canada.
Activists pushing for an independent Sikh state blame the Indian administration.
Canada is investigating claims the murder is linked to the Indian regime.
“Who is a terrorist?”
“MO-DI”
“What is our goal?”
“KHA-LIS-TAN!”
Rhythmic slogans echo in front of the Indian consulate on Vancouver’s Howe Street on Canada’s west coast.
The protest has been organized by a Sikh activist and a Canadian citizen By Hardeep Singh Nijjar to commemorate the anniversary of the assassination.
Nijjar was a plumber and director of a local Sikh temple. He was murdered in Surrey, 30 kilometers from downtown Vancouver.
Four Indians have been arrested in Canada on suspicion of murder.
Independent Activists pushing for a Khalistan state in the Sikh regions of India and Pakistan say the assassination was orchestrated by the Indian government.
Therefore, for the first time, the demonstration includes a theatrical part, or a “civil trial” of the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi’s of guilt.
There is a “judge”, an eloquent “prosecutor” and even a “jury”.
This one the show’s verdict is already clear in advance.
In the footage of the demonstration, Modi is already behind bars and in one picture is holding a sign “I killed Nijjar”.
Cardboard Modi is also brought in a bar cage to watch the play.
The demonstration lasts three hours. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is also shown as part of the “prosecutor’s speech”. CBC investigative documentarywhich largely supports the Sikh activists’ version.
Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau confirmed last fall that the country was investigating “credible allegations” that the murder had links to the Indian government.
India denied the allegations and accused Canada of harboring Sikh terrorists.
India also revoked diplomatic privileges for Canadian embassy staff and imposed visa restrictions.
United States conducted its own investigations, according to which the Indians apparently planned a similar assassination in the United States.
A Sikh separatist was mentioned as the target Gurpatwant Singh Pannuwho is a citizen of both Canada and the United States.
In March Bloomberg reported Behind the scenes, India admitted to the US authorities that people who worked for the Indian administration participated in the planning of the assassination in the US, but not on the orders of the Indian administration.
A similar theory about an attack group that operated on its own has been presented in Canada as well. Other theories have included organized crime and inter-Sikh feuds.
“Everyone has their own theory,” coordinator of Sikhs For Justice Mohender Singh grant to a Finnish journalist.
“However, the truth is that a Canadian citizen has been murdered here by Indians because he is a Sikh.”
What about India’s claims that Nijjar was a terrorist?
“The only evidence they presented was a television picture of a man practicing shooting with a machine gun, but everyone can see that the man depicted was not Nijjar. His resistance was never violent.”
of India according to the vast majority of Sikhs do not want an independent state. To counterbalance this, Singh and the leaders of the movement organize “referendums”, i.e. mass events where Sikhs from different localities can vote on their desire for independence.
“We will hold the next vote in Calgary,” says SIngh.
Canada has the largest Sikh population in the world after India. About 770,000 Sikhs live in the country.
Trudeau and Modi shook hands at a G7 rally last week in Italy, which protesters frowned upon.
According to Trudeau, the countries plan to work together to improve the safety of Canadians.
“Canada has certainly done a lot and arrested murder suspects, but we also need higher-level arrests,” activist Bikramjit Singh from Toronto says.
“The planning of the murder must have included, for example, the employees of this Indian consulate,” he claims, pointing to the consulate’s windows.
To the same at the time, the Parliament of Canada held a moment of silence in Nijjar’s memory.
Consulate of India in Vancouver announced countered to hold a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the Air India plane bombing in 1985.
Investigations into the explosion took decades. In the end, a Canadian and British citizen of Sikh background received the sentence Inderjit Singh Reyat.
of India the relationship between the leadership and Sikh activists has been inflamed for decades.
The Prime Minister of India was assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards of Indira Gandhi in 1984 in revenge, for example, for Gandhi ordering the soldiers to empty the Golden Temple, important to the Sikhs.
In the unrest that followed the prime minister’s assassination, Sikhs were killed in what Sikh activists have called genocide.
#Canada #assassination #stirs #tensions #India #Canada #anniversary #special #civil #trial