ON RECORD
Fears over militancy unfounded: Salim Jiwa
by Jupinderjit Singh
Salim Jiwa
THE Canadian Prime Minister’s recent apology for the bombing of Air India Kanishka that killed over 300 people, mainly Indian nationals, came after 25 years. It brings into focus where Canada and India went wrong in preventing the conspiracy and then punishing the guilty.
While the last word on the conspiracy is yet to be said, Salim Jiwa, celebrated Canadian journalist and author of the bestseller, Margin of Terror, who had exposed the conspiracy and the spread of Punjab terrorism in Canada, feels the fear of militancy was far-fetched as there was no public support for the movement.
Currently editor and publisher of Vancouver’s online news source, Vancouverite, he speaks to The Tribune in Jammu.
Excerpts:
Q: Has justice been delivered on the bbombing case?
A: Justice works both ways. In a fair trial, insufficient evidence will result in acquittal. In terrorism trial, it is often difficult to convict the whole group but Canada has done well in getting Inderjit Singh Reyat since he made the bombs that detonated in Japan and aboard Air India.
Parmar died in Indian government custody and a lot of evidence went down with him. Others have died natural death. So justice has been done. However, it may not satisfy the victims’ families.
Q: Was the Canadian Prime Minister’s apology for his failure to check Sikh militancy and the conspiracy behind the bombing too little, too late?
A: The Canadians’ conduct in the episode is shameful. The government tried hard to obfuscate the fact that a bomb had brought the plane down. Canadians failed to grieve the loss of fellow citizens because of a lack of kinship with the victims.
Q: In Margin of Terror, you said mystery still shrouds some men involved in the bombing. These included two persons who booked tickets for the flight and their luggage contained the bombs. Will you please explain?
A: There has been progress in identifying some more players. However, whether that will lead to further prosecutions will depend on the quality of evidence. It is possible that not every person involved in the tragedy will be identified for two reasons — not all suspects may have known each other and several key players are dead.
Q: The Punjab police killed Parmar, a key accused. You said that these cops lost opportunity in unraveling the whole mystery as he was kept in custody before his death. Who failed to unearth the truth behind the bombing?
A: The Indian government agencies allowed the bombing suspects to romp around India freely. Your consulate granted a key man, Hardial Singh Johal, visas to proceed to India. They also allowed Ripudaman Singh Malik to visit India. India could have furthered the case by telling the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to arrest Parmar. Instead, they killed himwhich proved costly for the investigation. The CBI, RAW and IB all failed to assist adequately.
Q: Blacklisted Sikhs may finally get the green signal to visit India. Any comment?
A: In 1984, there was extreme emotion over the Golden Temple attack. That helped fuel the insurgency. Time and distance have taken care of the wounds inflicted by the attack. The key support provided by Pakistan is not there anymore. The movement is unable to get off the ground. It is wrong to suggest that Sikh militancy is again on the march.
Once support for militancy died down in India, it died a natural death over here. Some people suggest that militancy is on the rise. That is not true. Militancy can rise only if it finds a root in Punjab and it will be difficult to sustain the movement. as there is no emotional issue tugging at the present generation.
While the criminals should be brought to justice, reconciliation is not a bad idea either. That is how most insurgencies have been resolved.
Q: Your book is an amazing work on Punjab militancy. What are your future plans?
A: I am currently working on my thesis for Master of Journalism programme at Carleton University. My thesis involved the examination of the writings of Tara Singh Hayer (a controversial journalist who ran a Punjabi Paper in Canada) in 1984 and 1985 during which the community was torn by events in India.
Specifically, my thesis will dwell on how a medium written in a language that is non-native to mainstream Canadians can fan social conflict within a closed community and during times of intense emotions.
(PUBLISHED IN THE TRIBUNE TODAY.http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101010/edit.htm#4
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