WSO Urges Community to Remain Vigilant & Alert During Upcoming Protests

Ottawa (September 22, 2023):  The World Sikh Organization of Canada urges Sikhs to remain vigilant and alert during upcoming protests following the statement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that credible evidence exists to substantiate the involvement of agents of the Government of India in the targeted killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Protests are planned by members of the Sikh community in cities across Canada for Monday September 25th including Toronto and Vancouver.  Recent developments have raised concerns about potential incitement, interference and conflict-provoking activities by the Government of India during these protests in order to cast a negative light on the Sikh community.

Past protests by the Sikh community in Canada and cities outside India have seen attempts to harass and provoke protestors through aggressive counter-protestors, and the recording of participants by Indian consulate staff both openly and covertly. 

Canadian Sikhs also remember the example of Consul General of India, Surinder Malik who during protests in June 1984 was found to have vandalized the Indian Consulate in Toronto in order to smear the Sikh community through a false flag operation.  Malik was later expelled from Canada in 1987 for having engaged in interference and espionage against the Sikh community.

WSO President Tejinder Singh Sidhu said today,

“Peaceful protests are a key democratic right, however, we encourage Sikhs to remain vigilant and alert in the days ahead.  We are concerned that attempts may be made during the protests to incite violence and vandalism in order to malign the Sikh community.  This is a pattern we have seen from India in the past. 

At this time, the focus must remain on finding the killers of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and exposing the full extent of Indian interference in Canada.  We believe that there will be ongoing attempts by India to shift this focus however we must do all in our power to ensure that these attempts are unsuccessful. 

If members of the community feel unsafe or see attempts to incite violence, we encourage them to immediately contact law enforcement.”

The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) is a non-profit organization with a mandate to promote and protect the interests of Canadian Sikhs, as well as to promote and advocate for the protection of human rights of all individuals.