'Worried about foreign interference': Canada's envoy at UN amid row with India
'Worried about foreign interference': Canada's envoy at UN amid row with India
Canada on Tuesday expressed concerns about "foreign interference" on its soil, a veiled reference to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent allegations of India's involvement in the killing of a Khalistani terrorist in Canada.
Addressing the 78th UN General Assembly session in New York, UN Ambassador Bob Rae said that "democracies are under threat due to foreign interference" and "cannot bend the rules of state to state relations for political expediency".
"At the same time, we put great emphasis on the importance of equality. We also have to uphold the values of free and democratic societies. We cannot bend the rules of state to state relations for political expediency. Because we have seen and continue to see the extent to which democracies are under threat through various means of foreign interference," Bob Rae said.
"But the truth is, if we don't adhere to the rules that we have agreed to, the very fabric of our open and free societies will start to tear," he pointed out.
Bob Rae's remarks came hours after Minister of External Affairs (MEA) S Jaishankar asked the UN member states not to allow "political convenience" to determine responses to terrorism, extremism and violence, an indirect jibe amid India's diplomatic row with Canada. "Nor must we countenance that political convenience determines responses to terrorism, extremism and violence. Similarly, respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs cannot be exercises in cherry picking," Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar's comments regarding the notion of "political convenience" seem to be aimed at Canada. This was against the backdrop of Trudeau's recent accusation, where he suggested the "possible" involvement of Indian agents in the assassination of Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Meanwhile, India has vehemently rejected this charge, denouncing it as both "absurd" and "motivated."
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