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Kanishka
probe rejects WSO's appeals
VANCOUVER: Justice John Major,
commissioner of Air India bombing public inquiry, has rejected three
motions of the World Sikh Organization to call as witnesses authors
Zuhair Kashmeri and David Kilgour and Deputy Commissioner of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gary Bass, reports published in
sections of the press said.
The Order in Council issued last week that Gary Bass, former head of
the Air India task force, will appear before the commission.
However, Major, in his order, said: "Commission Counsels have
indicated that they intend to call Gary Bass as a witness.
Accordingly, insofar as Gary Bass is concerned, this motion is
superfluous."
With respect to Kashmeri and Kilgour, both authors on Air India,
'the affidavits submitted on behalf of the WSO indicate that the
purpose of calling these witnesses is to deal with the allegation
that the government of India may have been involved in the bombing
of Air India Flight 182 and that this allegation was not
investigated adequately in the aftermath of the bombing.'
The media reports said that in dismissing their request, Major has
relied on the terms of reference of the inquiry explaining that the
investigation 'is intended to serve as a backdrop and reference
point for issues as to the degree of co-operation demonstrated
between the departments and agencies of the government of Canada,
including the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The
investigation is also intended to presence a reference point for the
issue of transforming security intelligence into evidence admissible
in a criminal trial.'
In his order, Major goes on to argue that 'none of the terms of
reference call for an inquiry into the issue of who was responsible
for the bombing of Flight 182 nor of the role, if any, of the GOI,
nor of the thoroughness of the investigation of any such role by the
RCMP or CSIS. This contrasts with the mandate of the 1991-92
Security Intelligence Review Committee.'
He therefore, dismissed the WSO's motions to call oral evidence on
that subject through Messrs Kashmeri and Kilgour. 'The subject
matter of the WSO's request is not to be found in our terms of
reference,' Major concluded.
In their submissions, the WSO had stated that 'the Sikh community
has a direct and substantial interest in the subject matter of the
inquiry, as the inquiry deals with the issues related to the alleged
threat of 'Sikh' terrorism.
7 November, 2007
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