Canada-India Row: Five Eyes Intelligence backs Canada’s probe into Nijjar’s death | Oneindia News
Canada's relationship with India has plunged into turmoil following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's explosive statement accusing an Indian government agency of killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June of this year. Trudeau's remarks have resonated within the Five Eyes Intelligence alliance, a coalition that includes Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, all of which engage in extensive intelligence sharing through a unified multilateral agreement.
#Canada #CanadianPrimeminister #HardeepSinghNijjar #FiveEyesIntelligence #FiveEyesIntelligenceNijjar #US #Australian #NewZealand #IndiansVsKhalistanisInCanada #KhalistanisVSIndians #IndiaVSKhalistan #CanadaExpelsIndianDiplomat #MelanieJoly #IndianDiplomatExpelled #TrudeauOnNijjar #KhalistanTerrorist #Khalistan
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#Canada #CanadianPrimeminister #HardeepSinghNijjar #FiveEyesIntelligence #FiveEyesIntelligenceNijjar #US #Australian #NewZealand #IndiansVsKhalistanisInCanada #KhalistanisVSIndians #IndiaVSKhalistan #CanadaExpelsIndianDiplomat #MelanieJoly #IndianDiplomatExpelled #TrudeauOnNijjar #KhalistanTerrorist #Khalistan
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Transcript
00:00 Canada's relationship with India has plunged into turmoil following Canadian Prime Minister
00:06 Justin Trudeau's explosive statement accusing an Indian government agency of killing Khalistani
00:11 terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June of this year.
00:14 Trudeau's remarks have resonated with the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance, a coalition
00:19 that includes Canada, the US, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, all of which engage
00:25 in extensive intelligence sharing through a unified multilateral agreement.
00:30 So what has the Five Eyes Alliance said in response?
00:34 The Five Eyes Alliance has responded variably to Trudeau's allegations.
00:38 A senior US State Department official stated that they have maintained close communication
00:43 with their Canadian counterparts regarding the allegations of Indian government involvement
00:48 in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada.
00:51 They have urged India to cooperate with the investigation.
00:55 How have the experts and government officials reacted?
00:58 We are deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau earlier
01:02 today.
01:03 White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement, adding,
01:08 "We remain in regular contact with our Canadian partners.
01:12 It is critical that Canada's investigation proceed and the perpetrators be brought to
01:16 justice."
01:17 In contrast, a US expert criticised the Canadian Prime Minister's assertion of a potential
01:21 link between Indian government agents and the Khalistani leader's killing as a "shameless
01:26 and cynical action".
01:28 This expert called on the United States not to endorse it.
01:32 The UK also termed the allegations as "serious" as British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley
01:36 said that his government backs the Canadian investigation to determine whether India was
01:41 involved in the killing of the Sikh leader.
01:43 However, the UK government, addressing the serious allegations concerning the murder,
01:47 declared that it would not allow these allegations to impact its ongoing trade negotiations with
01:52 India.
01:53 Meanwhile, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong commented on the killing of Hardeep
01:57 Singh Nijjar in Canada, expressing concern and noting that investigations are ongoing.
02:03 Australia is closely monitoring developments in coordination with its partners.
02:07 These are concerning reports and I note that investigations are still underway.
02:16 But obviously these are concerning reports and as I've said, we are monitoring these
02:22 developments closely with our partners and will continue to do so.
02:27 On the alliance, Australian PM Anthony Albanese said, "I don't talk about Five Eyes intelligence
02:32 at a press conference.
02:33 We don't speculate on what intelligence is."
02:36 I don't talk about Five Eyes intelligence at a press conference, funnily enough.
02:41 That's why it's called intelligence.
02:43 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called on India, in the strongest possible terms, to
02:47 cooperate with Canada in uncovering the truth behind this matter.
02:51 In response to Trudeau's allegations, both Canada and India have expelled a senior diplomat
02:55 from each other's nations.
02:57 Trudeau implicated agents of the Indian government in the killing of the prominent Sikh separatist
03:01 leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, aged 45, in Surrey in June.
03:05 As I've said, India, the government of India, needs to take this matter with the utmost
03:11 seriousness.
03:12 We are doing that.
03:13 We are not looking to provoke or escalate.
03:19 We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them and we want to work with the government
03:26 of India to lay everything clear and to ensure that there is proper process.
03:33 One of the things that is so important today is that India and the government of India
03:38 take seriously this matter.
03:41 It is extremely serious and it has far-reaching consequences in international law and otherwise.
03:48 For Canada, as I said yesterday, we're going to remain calm.
03:52 We're going to remain grounded in our democratic principles and values.
03:57 We're going to follow the evidence and make sure that the work is done to hold people
04:01 accountable for the challenges that they face.
04:05 Over the course of the summer, we have been working closely with our intelligence agencies
04:10 who are moving forward in their analysis.
04:13 We wanted to make sure that we had solid grounding in understanding what was going on in analysis
04:20 and indeed in facts.
04:21 We wanted to make sure we were taking the time to talk with our allies, to share what
04:25 we knew.
04:26 We wanted to make sure that we fully shared with the government of India the seriousness
04:31 and the depths of our preoccupations and indeed conclusions.
04:36 But Canadians have a right to know and need to know when things are going on like this
04:42 and that's why we made the decision to do this.
04:45 Nijjar, the leader of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force, was one of India's most wanted
04:49 terrorists, carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.
04:52 He was fatally shot by two unidentified asylums outside a gurdwara in Surrey, located in the
04:57 Canadian province of British Columbia on June 18.
05:01 Canada is home to a substantial population of nearly 1.4 million individuals of Indian
05:05 ethnic or cultural origin, constituting about 3.7% of the country's total population as
05:10 per the 2021 census.
05:12 Over 770,000 people in Canada identify their religion as Sikhism, representing approximately
05:17 2% of the nation's population.
05:20 In 2019, the Canadian government designated April as Sikh Heritage Month.
05:25 In terms of trade, India ranked as Canada's 10th largest two-way merchandise trade partner
05:29 in 2022, with trade exceeding US$13.7 billion.
05:34 However, Trudeau's interactions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Group
05:38 of 20 meeting in New Delhi were marked by tension.
05:41 Trade negotiations have been halted and a planned trade mission to India has been cancelled.
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