These remarks were made by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at a press conference in the UN Headquarters on Tuesday
United Nations: Australia has described Canada’s allegations about India’s involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader as a matter of “concern” and said Canberra is “monitoring these developments closely” and has raised the issue with its Indian counterparts, a PTI report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
These remarks were made by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at a press conference in the UN Headquarters on Tuesday, Sept 19.
Wong, heading an Australia’s delegation to the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, was responding to a question on allegations by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the involvement of alleged “Indian government agents ” in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force.
“Look, these are concerning reports, and I note that investigations are still under way, but obviously these are concerning reports, and as I’ve said, we are monitoring these developments closely with our partners, and we’ll continue to do so,” Wong said at the press conference on Tuesday.
Nijjar one of India’s most-wanted terrorists carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen outside a gurdwara in Surrey in the western Canadian province of British Columbia on June 18.
India has strongly rejected Trudeau’s statement made in the Canadian Parliament and said “allegations of Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated.”
In response to a question whether Australia has raised the issue with India, Wong said, “Australia has raised these issues with our Indian counterparts, as you would expect us to do.”
She added that Australia has been “monitoring these developments with partners closely, we will continue to do so, and I will confirm that we have raised our concerns with India. I’m not going to go into any further detail on that”.
The Foreign Minister said Australia’s principal position is “that we believe the sovereignty of all countries should be respected, we believe the rule of law should be respected, and our views as a matter of principle reflect those views.”
Wong was asked if she has concerns about foreign interference from India in Australia, to which she replied: “I think Australia is a robust democracy, and I think the Indian diaspora has a range of views, and you know, we have made clear in relation to democratic debate in Australia that the peaceful expression of different views is a key part of Australia’s democracy, and I think most Australians would agree with that.”
When asked what guarantee of safety is provided to Sikh Indians in Australia, Wong said, “I’d note that these allegations are still being investigated, so I would recognise that fact, but more broadly I would say this: we take the view as a government that Australian democracy is precious, that as a matter of principle, and as a matter of law Australians of whatever persuasion have a right to peaceful protest, and in all circumstances we reflect that right in our public statements and in our private conversations with other governments.
**************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com