Canada-India relations improving: Indian high commissioner

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags India’s decision to expel a Canadian diplomat and strip the diplomatic immunity of dozens of other envoys was retaliatory and based partially on “an emotional element,” but relations between the two countries are better than they were two months ago, India’s high commissioner to Canada says. Sanjay Kumar Verma told CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in a wide-ranging exclusive interview airing Sunday, that things have improved between the two countries since September thanks to ongoing “constructive” discussions. This, after he said “the emotional element was a factor” in India’s decision to expel a Canadian diplomat. He insists, however, that the move to strip the diplomatic immunities from dozens of other envoys in October was largely for the sake of parity, to have the same number of Canadian diplomats in India as there were Indian diplomats stationed in Canada. It’s been a tense two months between Canada and India, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in the House of Commons in September there were “credible allegations” the Indian government may have been involved in the killing of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in B.C. in June. India has denied the allegation — with Verma insisting India was “absolutely” and “decidedly” not involved — but has thus far refused to cooperate with any investigation. Verma said India’s “main concern” in its relations with Canada remains that “some Canadian citizens are using Canadian soil to launch attacks on (India’s) sovereignty and territorial integrity,” referring to the Sikh separatist movement. He added from that “core issue” come “security concerns” for Indian diplomats and officials working in Canada, himself included. Later, when asked by Kapelos whether he is overblowing the risk Sikh separatists pose for domestic political advantage in India, the high commissioner said his government has presented “documentation” to the Canadian government “through a mutually agreed channel” to prove Sikh separatists living in Canada are engaging in criminal activity in both countries. When pressed on the timing of relations between the two countries going sour, and the quid-pro-quo expulsion of diplomats taking place shortly after Trudeau’s allegation in the House of Commons, Verma said “emotions became very high” at that time. “Since one of our principal diplomats was expelled from here as persona non grata, so yes, we did retaliate on that,” he said. “Any action will have reaction, and similarly, we declared persona non grata on one of the Canadian diplomats who was at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, and others are in a process of evaluation.” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, in a statement at the time, called India’s actions “completely unreasonable and escalatory.” When asked why having parity in terms of the number of diplomats in both countries did not seem to be an issue prior to September, Verma said Trudeau’s allegations impacted the Indian government’s assessment. “The emotions became very high once the statements were made from Ottawa,” he said. “And a bit of emotional elements will be there, and the decisions are taken.” “The events which unfolded after the (prime minister’s) statements were made, we did not feel it was very friendly,” he also said. Verma also said, however, that Canada and India are working on “more dialogue” to sort out how to “facilitate a better diplomatic presence” in both countries. And when asked whether he sees a path to some form of solution and improved relations between the two countries, Verma said “of course.” “I would say that, yes, the relationship is better than what it was a couple of months back,” he also said, in response to a question about what should be inferred from India’s decision to reinstate electronic visa applications for Canadians. Verma in his interview also discussed that decision this week to reinstate some visa applications for Canadians, why India is cooperating with an American investigation but not Canada’s, and the Sikh separatism movement in Canada more broadly. Watch the full interview on CTV’s Question Period Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.   This transcript of Verma’s interview with Vassy Kapelos for Sunday’s episode of CTV’s Question Period has been edited for length and clarity. Vassy Kapelos: I want to start off  with the latest news this week that India restored electronic visa services for Canadians. What should be interpreted from that? High Commissioner Verma: When we suspended the e-visa services, and other visa services as well, the main concern was our security and safety, and the security of not only myself, in person, my console generals and other consular staff, other diplomatic staff. So we did a continuous evaluation of the situation. And during the last evaluation, we came to a conclusion that now the security situation is relatively better than what used to be when we suspended the visa services. And therefore we decided to resume e-visa services. Kapelos: Is there a reason for that assessment? Is there additional security, for example, that’s been provided to you and your colleagues? Verma: There is additional security, of course, provided. But it’s a huge matrix. So there are many other factors which are taken into consideration in this matrix in order to reach a conclusion. So conclusion is, of course, that it is a bit better than what it used to be, safety and security of my colleagues. And therefore we were ready to reinstate where we were earlier. Kapelos: Should Canadians interpret at all from the decision that things between Canada and India, in terms of the relationship between the two countries, are improving? Verma: There’s a lot of conversation going on, a lot of dialogue between the two governments, and I feel that most of it is very constructive. And therefore I would say that, yes, the relationship is better than what it was a couple of months back. And it’s moving more towards more and more dialogue, and probably taking it to the next step. Kapelos: The impression, I think, at the time of the suspension of those visa services among the public in Canada was that the decision was made as a retaliatory measure for the accusation that the Prime Minister levied against the Indian government. Can you respond to that? Verma: Not really. If you look at the main concern, which we have, and what is India’s main concern in Canada, that some Canadian citizens are using Canadian soil to launch attacks on sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is against any international law. India and Canada are both members of the United Nations. United Nations, Article 24 very clearly states, and the spirit is that that no country should allow its oil to be used to target other countries’ sovereignty and integrity, or territorial integrity. So that is the core issue, which still remains there. But from this core issue, a lot of security concerns come up. And those security concerns are more current, and therefore they are being taken care of, to some extent, and we feel relatively safe. Kapelos: So I just want to be clear on that. And we’ll get into that core concern that you’ve outlined in a second, because I certainly do want to explore it. But the timing of all these decisions, for example, to kick diplomats out of India or remove their immunity, so they effectively had to leave, to suspend the visa services, to issue a travel warning, all of that followed in succession right after the prime minister rose in the House of Commons on that day, and levied the accusation. Are Canadians really to believe that none of that was in retaliation, that it’s all just out of security concerns? Verma: So on the retaliation side, of course, since one of our principal diplomats was expelled from here as persona non grata, so yes, we did retaliate on that. Any action will have reaction.  And similarly, we declared persona non grata on one of the Canadian diplomats who was at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, and others are a process of evaluation. Since the emotions became very high once the statements were made from Ottawa, and a bit of emotional elements will be there, and the decisions are taken. But again, the core concern remains there. And therefore, we will keep talking to…

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