Furore over visa language leads to apology from Canada to India
Posted: June 2nd, 2010 | Author: admin | Filed under: Asia | No Comments »
Canada went ahead and apologized to India for the language used by its officials against Indian security and intelligence establishments. This happened after retaliatory measures were threatened by Indian home ministry in case Canada did not backtrack from its stand.
As per a statement released by Jason Kenney, Minister of citizenship and immigration, Canada:
The government of Canada deeply regrets the recent incident in which letters drafted by public service officials during routine visa refusals to Indian nationals cast false aspersions on the legitimacy of work carried out by Indian defence and security institutions, which operate under the framework of democratic processes and the rule of law. Canada has the highest regard for India, its government institutions and processes.
The apology happened after PMO took up the matter with the ministry of external affairs. The issue surfaced after over the last few years, Canadian High Commission denied visas to various serving and retired officials of the armed forces and intelligence establishments stating that they had served in sensitive areas like Jammu and Kashmir and were involved in violence and human rights violations.
These adverse comments had triggered an outrage in the country with the home ministry calling for retaliation in case no corrective steps were undertaken by Canada within a week.
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