Canada’s Counterproductive Policy Of Permitting Separatists – OpEd

Referring to the policy of the Government of Canada permitting the activities of those who are demanding and carrying out campaigns for independent states in other countries (for example the similar demands of the LTTE the Khalistan in Sri Lanka and India, respectively), India's Foreign Minister reminded the Canadian government about Newton's Third Law of Motion.

Newton's Third Law states that  for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This refers to a scenario that if Object A exerts a force on Object B, then Object B exerts an equal amount of force on Object A in the opposite direction.

The Canadian government is freely allowing the activities of such separatist forces, which are creating serious problems for other countries like India and Sri Lanka. Obviously, such aa policy approach of the Canadian government clearly gives an impression that it is totally unconcerned about the problems caused to other countries due to its policy of permitting the activities of separatists in Canada.

The Canadian government seems to be justifying such a policy approach, by claiming what it calls as the "free speech policy of the government". However, it is not concerned about the harmful impact of the free speech and free action policy of the government on other countries. As for the affected countries that are concerned, this is a serious matter and they would be justified in concluding that Canada, which permits the activities of separatists, is a hostile country.

Sri Lanka suffered enormously due to the ethnic war caused by the LTTE separatists, who largely operated from Canada, with that country's government closing its eyes on the activities of the LTTE on Canadian soil. A prolonged internal war took place in Sri Lanka, for which the Canadian government is largely responsible indirectly, by providing free territorial space to the LTTE separatists in Canada. While a few other countries in Europe have also done this, Canada is the foremost country to have  permitted the LTTE separatists.

When India's Foreign Minister referred to Newton's Third Law, he obviously meant that India cannot remain as a silent spectator, when the anti-Indian Khalistani separatist movement is being organised on Canadian soil and particularly with the Canadian government irresponsibly keeping its eyes closed. India has to necessarily protect its territorial integrity.

When LTTE waged ethnic war in Sri Lanka with a considerable base in Canada, Sri Lanka could do nothing about it, as it was a small country facing local difficult situation. But, such would not be the scenario in the case of India, which is a large country with considerable muscle power to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

In the past, Canada had the image of a large, prosperous and under-populated country. The Government of Canada adopted  an open arms policy to refugees and migrants from all over the world, perhaps with minimum checks and controls. While such apolicy approach contributed and continues to contribute to a demographic imbalance in the country, Canada also has become a fertile country for separatists from other countries to establish their bases and operate freely against other countries.  

There is bound to be a negative impact on the social and political climate in Canada due to such a policy, which is suicidal. There is already some evidence to indicate such a trend. Recently, there have been number of incidents of ethnic clashes and hate mongering in Canada. It is unfortunate that  the Government of Canada gives the impression that it is not able to read the writing on the wall.  

In several European countries also such liberal migrant / refugee policies have caused havoc, with several cities in Europe including London, Brussels, having a population mix with migrants close to outnumbering the natives. The recent decision of the UK government to send asylum seekers back to Rwanda indicates the level of concern in European countries.

The Canadian government should derive the right lesson from the present predicament of European countries. It should also understand that if it continues to facilitate separatists in Canada to harm other countries, then Canada cannot escape from the consequence of Newton's Third Law of Motion then becoming applicable to Canada.