Sri Lanka joins India in dubbing Canada a safe haven for terrorists

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry joined India in slamming Canada for providing a safe haven to the terrorists.

While referring to the India-Canada diplomatic spat, the minister said that terrorists had found safe haven in Canada.

He also criticised Candaian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and said that he was "not surprised" by his remarks since Trudeau had earlier also made "outrageous and substantiated allegations."

"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. 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," he said.

Taking a dig at Trudeau for honouring a former Nazi soldier in Canada's parliament, he said, "I saw yesterday he had gone and given a rousing welcome to somebody who has associated with the Nazis in the past during the Second World War. So, this is questionable and we have dealt with it in the past. I am not surprised that sometimes PM Trudeau comes out with outrageous and substantiated allegations."

Last Friday, during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's speech in the Canadian Parliament, 98-year-old Ukrainian Yaroslav Hunka, who served in the first Ukrainian division, also known as the SS division "Galicia" during World War II, was honoured by the Speaker of Canada's House of Commons.

Sabry said Trudeau's "genocide" comment had affected Sri Lanka- Canada ties.

"That has actually affected our relationship. The Foreign Ministry has a different take on that. Ministry of Global Affairs has very clearly said that Sri Lanka did not go through a genocide, whereas PM Trudeau as a politician stands up and says that genocide had taken place. That itself is contradictory to each other. That doesn't help," said Sabry.