July 3, 2024 — Today, the World Sikh Organization of Canada and the Sikh Coalition in the United States issued the following joint statement:
“The Sikh community remains under threat from transnational repression perpetrated by the government of India.”
“In some regards, our respective countries are taking this issue seriously. In the United States, a group of senators recently called for a ‘robust diplomatic response’ to the targeting of U.S.-based Sikhs for assassination, and a subcommittee of the Department of Homeland Security’s Faith-Based Advisory Council urged that transnational repression must not go unanswered, ‘regardless of whether the country is a U.S. ally or adversary.’ And in Canada, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians recently found that India is now ‘the second-most significant foreign interference threat to Canada’s democratic institutions and processes’—a finding built on conclusions of the previous Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions.”
“Yet despite these arguments for Indian transnational repression to be a policy priority, on the heels of the G7 gathering in Italy last month, both the Biden Administration and the Trudeau government appear to be moving in the opposite direction. Rhetoric from both U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Prime Minister Trudeau himself on the heels of the summit appears to take a more conciliatory tone, with a renewed emphasis on dialogue and strategic partnership accompanied by minimal language about justice, accountability, or the civil rights and safety of the Sikh diasporic community.”
“We have said repeatedly that self-investigation leading to self-absolution is an unacceptable outcome. If Canada and the United States do not stand together against Prime Minister Modi’s vision of an India that ‘comes into your home and kills you,’ Sikhs will suffer the consequences—and allies and adversaries the world over will feel emboldened to mete out whatever consequences serve their self-interest on the individuals who reside within our borders.”
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