Canada: CANADIAN GOVERNMENT APOLOGIZES FOR AIR INDIA TRAGEDY
The Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologizes to the families of the victims of terrorist bombing of Air India flight which claimed the lives of the all the passengers and the crew totaling 329.
In a statement issued on June 24 at Toronto, the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper tendered an apology on behalf of all Canadians to the families of 329 people who were killed when the Air India flight 182 exploded in Irish air space on June 23, 1985.
The Prime Minister added: “It is incumbent upon us all, not to reach out to, but rather marginalize, to carefully and systematically marginalize, those extremists who seek to import the battles of India’s past here and then to export them back to that great forward-looking nation.”
Almost all the victims were Canadians of Indian origin or Indian citizens and the bombing was done by Canada-based Khalistani terrorists. Jurist John Major who released his report on June 17 after four years of enquiry concluded that the terrorist attack was preventable; it materialized because of negligence on the part of the Canadian Security Intelligence agencies.
Those charged with masterminding the terrorist attack were acquitted due to lack of sufficient evidence and feted with sweets by their families and friends in Vancouver.