ByVaibhav Tiwari
Oct 21, 2023
Canada on Friday withdrew 41 diplomats from India days after New Delhi insisted on their removal alleging interference in internal affairs.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said by revoking diplomatic immunity to 40 diplomats, India contravened a “very basic principle of diplomacy”. Continuing his tirade against India on Friday, he said New Delhi violated the Vienna Convention and all countries in the world should be worried about the move. He also broached the subject of the murder of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He also said India was making it "unbelievably difficult for life as usual to continue for millions of people in India and in Canada".
"The actions that the Government of India took this week are themselves contrary to international law. The Government of India decided to unilaterally revoke the diplomatic immunity of 40 Canadian diplomats in India. This is a violation of the Vienna Convention governing diplomacy...It is something that all countries in the world should be worried about and this is putting aside the allegations we made of a serious violation of international law with the alleged killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil that the Indian government could have been involved in," he said.
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"The Government of India decided to revoke the diplomatic protections of 40 diplomats working in India...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," he added.
He was speaking at an event in Brampton on Friday.
Canada on Friday withdrew 41 diplomats from India days after New Delhi insisted on their removal alleging interference in internal affairs. New Delhi had asked for the removal saying it wanted to achieve parity in the number of diplomatic staff stationed in India and Canada.
The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement on Friday, dismissed Canada's allegations that international law had been violated by its action.
"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.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly said Ottawa has “decided not to reciprocate” even as the development was defined as “expulsion” of the Canadian diplomats.
India defended its actions for diplomatic parity by saying they are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention. This article states: “In the absence of specific agreement as to the size of the mission, the receiving State may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits considered by it to be reasonable and normal, having regard to circumstances and conditions in the receiving State and to the needs of the particular mission.”
Meanwhile, the US and UK, in support of Canada, have expressed concerns over the departure of Canadian diplomats from India.
"We are concerned by the departure of Canadian diplomats from India, in response to the Indian government's demand of Canada to significantly reduce its diplomatic presence in India," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
"We do not agree with the decisions taken by the Indian government that have resulted in a number of Canadian diplomats departing India," a spokesperson for Britain's Foreign Office said.
With inputs from Reuters, ANI
India hits back at Canada as dispute over diplomats escalates
, Bloomberg News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “many countries” are concerned about India forcing 41 Canadian diplomats to leave, adding the move will primarily punish the vast number of Indians and Canadians with ties between the two countries.
“The Indian government is making it unbelievably difficult for life as usual to continue for millions of people in India and in Canada,” Trudeau told reporters Friday, giving examples of students, extended families and business relationships. “And they’re doing it by contravening a very basic principle of diplomacy.”
He said the move “has far-reaching consequences for the diplomatic world that I know many, many countries are very worried about.”
The diplomatic row is the latest escalation since Trudeau accused India’s government of helping to orchestrate the killing of a Sikh separatist activist on Canadian soil.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Thursday that her government relocated 41 staff from its embassy and consulates in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government threatened to revoke their immunity. She called the action “unreasonable and escalatory” and a violation of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.
India reiterated Friday it wanted the two countries to have “parity” in diplomatic presence and had been in talks with Canada over the past month about how to implement this. It said its actions were consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna convention, which states that a country can limit a foreign mission if there’s no specific agreement on its size.
“We reject any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms,” the Ministry of External Affairs of India said in its statement.
“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.”
New Delhi has denied the allegation it was behind the killing of the Sikh activist, and retaliated with several measures including a suspension of visas for Canadians.
Canada said Thursday the cut to its diplomatic staff “will not distract” from the investigation into the murder of the Sikh activist.
Ottawa now has 21 diplomats in India, the same number as New Delhi has in Canada. Canada will halt in-person consular services in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bangalore, slowing down the processing of visas and immigration. Those who need consular assistance can still use the embassy in New Delhi or reach out by phone or email.
Ottawa estimates a backlog of 17,500 visa and immigration application decisions through the end of December, a government official said in a background briefing.
With assistance from Eltaf Najafizada.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during the Canada-Caricom Summit in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Oct 18, 2023.
PUBLISHED ONOCTOBER 20, 2023
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday (Oct 20) 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.
New Delhi is angry that Trudeau last month suggested Indian agents might have been involved in the June murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada. India denies the allegation.
"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.
"It's something that has me very concerned for the wellbeing and happiness of millions of Canadians who trace their origins to the Indian subcontinent," he told reporters at a televised press conference in Brampton, Ontario.
Trudeau said the expulsion of some of Canada's diplomats will hamper travel and trade and pose difficulties for Indians studying in Canada.
Around two million Canadians, 5per cent of the overall population, have Indian heritage. India is by far Canada's largest source of global students, making up for roughly 40 per cent of study permit holders.
The Indian foreign ministry earlier rejected the idea it had violated the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.
Canada wants private talks with India to resolve diplomatic spat
"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 US State Department on Friday backed Canada in the dispute over diplomats.
"We have urged the Indian government not to insist upon a reduction in Canada's diplomatic presence and to co-operate in the ongoing Canadian investigation," said spokesperson Matthew Miller.
US, UK back Canada in its dispute with India over diplomats
On Thursday, Ottawa said it had withdrawn 41 of its 62 diplomats in India after New Delhi ordered it to reduce its staff.
The United States and the United Kingdom has backed Canada said New Delhi ordered it to reduce its diplomatic staff in India, reported Reuters.
On October 3, the Financial Times reported that India had ordered Canada to withdraw over 40 diplomatic staff from the country.
On Thursday, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said that her government had withdrawn 41 of its 62 diplomats from India amid a bilateral tussle over the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Joly said that India had threatened to unilaterally revoke the diplomats’ official status by Friday if they did not leave the country. She called this “unreasonable and escalatory” and claimed that New Delhi’s actions violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the cornerstone of international relations and international law.
New Delhi, however, said that it rejects any attempt to portray implementing parity in the strength of diplomatic staff as a violation of international norms.
Washington said on Friday that it takes Canada’s allegations seriously and has urged India to cooperate with Ottawa in the investigation into Nijjar’s killing.
“We are concerned by the departure of Canadian diplomats from India, in response to the Indian government’s demand of Canada to significantly reduce its diplomatic presence in India,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, reported Reuters.
Meanwhile, a Britain Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We do not agree with the decisions taken by the Indian government that have resulted in a number of Canadian diplomats departing India.”
Relations between New Delhi and Ottawa had been growing strained in recent years but they were pushed to a new low after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged on September 18 that Indian agents were involved in Nijjar’s assassination near Vancouver in June.
New Delhi dismissed the allegation as “absurd” and “politically driven”.
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was one of India’s most wanted persons. He led the Khalistan Tiger Force, which India has designated a terrorist group. In recent years, India has accused Canada of being soft on the supporters of Khalistan, an independent Sikh nation that some Sikhs hope to establish in northwestern India.
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