Canadian MPs of all stripes condemn Punjab crackdown
Some face threats for criticizing internet restrictions
A cross-section of Canadian MPs are calling out an Indian government crackdown in the state of Punjab, and those criticizing internet restrictions are receiving threatening responses online.
For at least three days, authorities in Punjab have restricted communications and the size of gatherings as authorities search for Sikh separatist leader Amritpal Singh. The manhunt comes a month after he led a violent storming of a police station, according to international media reports.
“As Canadian members of Parliament, we’re trying to ensure that there is some safety for Canadians who are visiting there,” Conservative deputy leader Tim Uppal said.
“We raised this as a concern. And the response was quite harsh — a number of threats in there, as well, and by people who have a very large following.”
The Edmonton MP was among a handful of parliamentarians, across party lines, who have voiced their concerns online this week — even as millions of people in Punjab were reportedly denied access to the internet.
His colleague, Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan, the party’s finance critic, said he was “closely following the situation.”
The Trudeau cabinet has opted against commenting on the situation, with the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly deferring to Global Affairs Canada
“We are monitoring the situation closely and remain in contact with Canada’s High Commission in Delhi and India’s High Commission in Ottawa,” wrote departmental spokesperson Marilyne Guèvremont.
Yet at least two Liberal MPs from Toronto-area ridings with large Sikh populations have publicly expressed worry.
“I am receiving calls from my residents and am deeply concerned,” Sonia Sidhu said on Twitter earlier this week. “I hope the situation is resolved soon (and) Canadians travelling to the region are able to connect with their families and friends in Canada.”
Greater Toronto Area MP Iqwinder Gaheer also said constituents had reached out with concern. “Civil rights and liberties should be maintained in a democracy,” Gaheer
tweeted, in a message shared by another Liberal MP, Gary Anandasangaree.
For his part, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get on the phone with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “to express concern regarding the suspension of civil liberties and the safety of Canadians abroad,” he wrote on Twitter.
India denied Singh a visitor visa a decade ago, in what many saw as a response to his advocacy for Sikhs.
“These draconian measures are unsettling for many given their historical use to execute extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances during the 1984 Sikh Genocide,” Singh wrote, referring to riots Canada has not officially recognized as a genocide, in which roughly 3,000 Sikhs were killed after the assassination of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards.