Thank you for this helpful piece of institutional background.
It seems to me, though, that the Canadian government’s statement of last week was carefully phrased and quite sensibly nuanced: that there were “credible” “allegations” of a “potential” “link” between “agents” of the government of India, and the killing of a Canadian citizen".
Now, perhaps I am hampered by giving these words their ordinary meaning; but, as I read it, this is a far cry from the bold assertion that “India arranged the assassination of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil” - which is how the press has (predictably) portrayed it.
It merely says that there is reason to believe there was Indian involvement - without saying much about who, or how, or why.
Accordingly, until we have a sense of what the purported “agent” allegedly DID, in connection with this murder, and with whom, then perhaps it is prudent not to speculate too much. Did they counsel, procure, encourage, or support it, and if so, how?
Furthermore, those over a certain age [or who check it out on Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182 ] will know that pro-Khalistan terrorists based in Canada participated in the killing hundreds of innocent people, by planting bombs on aircraft, and only one person was successfully prosecuted in Canada for it (and he is now out of jail. They are by far our most lethal recent terrorists. Way worse than ISIS.
I also remember the millions spent on a long but ultimately unsuccessful investigation and a failed criminal trial; while, enquiries by a retired Supreme Court Justice and by a distinguished Canadian were critical of the police and also of the security services?
Have those institutions markedly improved their performance? Does the RCMP, in particular, work better today than it did back then?
So, perhaps a degree of skepticism is warranted, at least for now. Especially when, ironically, it appears that dissident members of CSIS, are also doubtful about whether there is the political will to get to the bottom of things. Which is to say: whether trolling for ethnic votes, will take precedence over both security and justice?
So, should we be surprised if, perhaps, India feels the same way?
Finally, it probably should not be forgotten that friendly countries like the US and Israel (after the Munich massacre) and the UK (IRA members in Gibraltar?) have, themselves, been involved in the extrajudicial killings of purported terrorists; so perhaps the muted response from some of our allies is an attempt to avoid the appearance of hypocrisy.
I disagree with your analysis, India is a commercial/economic giant and is favoured now as a tool against China by our Allies. Canada does not have clout, nor power or money, this is why our Allies will make polite statements but nothing else against India. Pragmatic geopolitics will be the main factor in this issue. Canada stands alone.
Thank you for this helpful piece of institutional background.
It seems to me, though, that the Canadian government’s statement of last week was carefully phrased and quite sensibly nuanced: that there were “credible” “allegations” of a “potential” “link” between “agents” of the government of India, and the killing of a Canadian citizen".
Now, perhaps I am hampered by giving these words their ordinary meaning; but, as I read it, this is a far cry from the bold assertion that “India arranged the assassination of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil” - which is how the press has (predictably) portrayed it.
It merely says that there is reason to believe there was Indian involvement - without saying much about who, or how, or why.
Accordingly, until we have a sense of what the purported “agent” allegedly DID, in connection with this murder, and with whom, then perhaps it is prudent not to speculate too much. Did they counsel, procure, encourage, or support it, and if so, how?
Furthermore, those over a certain age [or who check it out on Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182 ] will know that pro-Khalistan terrorists based in Canada participated in the killing hundreds of innocent people, by planting bombs on aircraft, and only one person was successfully prosecuted in Canada for it (and he is now out of jail. They are by far our most lethal recent terrorists. Way worse than ISIS.
I also remember the millions spent on a long but ultimately unsuccessful investigation and a failed criminal trial; while, enquiries by a retired Supreme Court Justice and by a distinguished Canadian were critical of the police and also of the security services?
Have those institutions markedly improved their performance? Does the RCMP, in particular, work better today than it did back then?
So, perhaps a degree of skepticism is warranted, at least for now. Especially when, ironically, it appears that dissident members of CSIS, are also doubtful about whether there is the political will to get to the bottom of things. Which is to say: whether trolling for ethnic votes, will take precedence over both security and justice?
So, should we be surprised if, perhaps, India feels the same way?
Finally, it probably should not be forgotten that friendly countries like the US and Israel (after the Munich massacre) and the UK (IRA members in Gibraltar?) have, themselves, been involved in the extrajudicial killings of purported terrorists; so perhaps the muted response from some of our allies is an attempt to avoid the appearance of hypocrisy.
I disagree with your analysis, India is a commercial/economic giant and is favoured now as a tool against China by our Allies. Canada does not have clout, nor power or money, this is why our Allies will make polite statements but nothing else against India. Pragmatic geopolitics will be the main factor in this issue. Canada stands alone.
This presumes that Trudeau's allegation is correct.
Currently there is no public evidence.