NEW DELHI, Mar 1: Amid concerns over sporadic attacks on the Indian community, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs has said the government did not recognise any protest by Khalistani supporters on their soil.
Khalistani supporters had thrashed a group of Indians who were carrying the national flag in Melbourne in January, leaving five injured. More recently, they targeted India’s honorary consulate in Brisbane, with supporters of the separatist group raising the Khalistan flag at the honorary consulate office.
“We respect India’s sovereignty. The Khalistani issue which was raised has obviously been raised through protests. But they have no status. On the broader issue, I would say we have a society where we would expect any criminal activity to be responded to. We believe in a democratic society where people should feel safe, where people should be free to express who they are, they should feel respected in terms of their faith and heritage. We want that for our Indian diaspora…” Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said.
She is in Delhi taking part in the G20 foreign ministers’ meet today and tomorrow. India holds the G20 presidency this year. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his deputy V Muraleedharan during their Australia visit on February 18 had raised India’s concerns over disturbances created by Khalistani supporters.
“Noted the forward movement on our bilateral agenda. Emphasised the need for vigilance against radical activities targeting the Indian community,” Mr Jaishankar had tweeted after meeting Ms Wong.
In Delhi, Ms Wong also spoke at length about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She called the invasion “disastrous for Vladimir Putin and Russia.”
(Manas Dasgupta)