Sri Lanka, Bangladesh have their Nijjars too in Canada

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, September 29

Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have made common cause with India on the issue of Canada providing safe haven to fugitives, including mass murderers and drug traffickers, from their countries.

Common cause

• Sri Lanka is miffed at Canada for marking May 18 as ‘Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day’
• The island nation claims all know there was no genocide in Sri Lanka
• Bangladesh is angry over shelter to Noor Chowdhury, killer of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman

“The same thing they did for Sri Lanka, a terrible, total lie about saying that Sri Lanka had a genocide. Everybody knows there was no genocide in our country,” said Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry on India accusing Canada of providing safe havens to gangsters and separatists.

Canada’s Tamil diaspora had backed the LTTE in the 1983-2009 civil war and was allegedly instrumental in financial shiploads of weapons to fight the government forces. The Sri Lankan government also bristles at Canadian PM Justin Trudeau marking May 18 as the “first Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day”. “Some of the terrorists have found safe haven in Canada. The Canadian PM has this way of just coming out with some outrageous allegations without any supporting proof,” added Sabry in New York.

Bangladesh is also cut up with Canada for providing sanctuary to Noor Chowdhury, the self-confessed killer of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. Dhaka has repeatedly sought his extradition and feels that Canada comes up with excuses each time to deny its request. As was the case with slain Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, his status in Canada is shrouded in mystery. He had been staying in Canada for a long time, but it was not clear whether he was a citizen of that country. Both countries have also pulled up Ottawa for honouring a Ukrainian military veteran who fought for the Nazis. In New Delhi, Sri Lankan High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda has supported India’s stand because “we have endured, and we have suffered. And as a country that has gone through that, (the) tolerance for terrorism is zero”.