Sikh group opposes visit by Indian PM
Canada urged to probe link between Modi and Gujarat riots
A Sikh human rights group has filed a complaint with the Attorney General of Canada, requesting criminal proceedings against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging he aided in torture and genocide amid communal violence in India in 2002.
Modi is to visit Canada from Tuesday to Thursday, with stops in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, marking the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister in more than 40 years. The meeting between Modi and Stephen Harper will offer opportunities to broaden the close relationship between India and Canada, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
“No elected official is above and beyond the constitution of Canada.” GURPATWANT SINGH PANNUN LEGAL ADVISER FOR SIKHS FOR JUSTICE
In a statement, Harper said the visit will “further strengthen bilateral relations and expand our trade and investment ties.”
But a representative for Sikhs for Justice, the group behind the complaint, said Canadian values are being put aside for business interests. “When Canada denied Modi an entry into Canada, we upheld our values. Today, they’re not doing this, and it’s very concerning that we’re slowly pushing this envelope further and further,” said Jatinder Singh Grewal, SFJ’s director of international policy.
Various human rights organizations have linked the polarizing Indian prime minister with encouraging attacks on Muslims in early 2002, after 58 Hindus burned to death in a train.
Hundreds were killed, most of them Muslims, in the subsequent Gujarat riots. At the time, Modi was the top elected official of the west Indian state, which has a population of 60 million.
“It’s well-documented that Modi was banned from entry into Canada — he was denied a visa — on the grounds that he was responsible for the massacre that took place in Gujarat,” Grewal said.
Modi previously denied similar allegations, and India’s Supreme Court has said there was insufficient evidence linking him to the riots.
He was never charged with any crime.
Yet SFJ’s complaint urges the At- torney General to bring charges, or consent to charges being brought, against Modi for allegedly aiding, abetting and counselling torture under section 269.1 of the Criminal Code. The 16-page Memorandum of Law, drafted by lawyers Marlys Edwardh and Louis Century, also asks the Attorney General to bring charges against Modi for allegedly counselling genocide in violation of the War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act.
“No elected official is above and beyond the constitution of Canada, or the law,” said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal adviser for SFJ.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General of Canada said the ministry has not yet received the complaint.
Johanna Quinney, press secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, told the Star in a statement that the government takes its “international obligations seriously.
“We welcome Prime Minister Modi as a Head of Government and the representative of the Republic of India, the world’s largest democracy,” Quinney said.
“It’s well-documented that Modi was banned from entry into Canada on the grounds he was responsible for the massacre . . . in Gujarat.” JATINDER SINGH GREWAL SIKHS FOR JUSTICE