By A Staff Writer OTTAWA: Soft Target’s exposure of the machinations of Government of India’s spies in Canada has caused considerable embarrassment to the Tories government.

Opposition critics charged in the House of Commons of attempting to cover up its “bringing” of the Kanishka tragedy and renewed demands for a royal commission of inquiry into the 1985 tragedy.

The book charged that Indian government intelligence agents were linked to the bombing of the airplane in which 329 people lost their lives.

The Canadian Solicitor Genel Pierrie Blais said on June 22 that he was aware of a Canadian Security and Investigation Service Investigation (CSIS) of the links between the Indian Government and the crash. He however refused to give the details saying it would interfere with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Investigation.

Liberal immigration critic Sergio Marchi said the Indian agents also attempted to manipulate External Affairs Minister Joe Clark as part of an elaborate operation in Canada.

“Elaborate and covert operations of the Indian government in Canada (tried) to discredit and destabilize the Canadian Sikh community and the manipulation of the minister and his department in this scheme,” Marchi said.

He asked if part of the reason the government hasn’t exposed the Indian plot was because Canada didn’t want to disrupt a $1.9 bilion pipeline deal with India.

Clark said the accusation was “false” and promised to look into the other allegations.

Unholy matrimony is the minister not concerned about this unholy matrimony between the government of India and the government of Canada when the rights of Canadian citizens of Sikh origin are being violated? Don’t you have any respect for their citizenship? Marchi asked.

Clark replied that the accusation “exceeds even (Marachi’s)

low standards.”

Canadian External Affairs Minister Joe Clark had also said he would check to find out whether three Indian diplomats had left in Canada in 1987 because they were caught spying.

Indian government has denied the allegation.

Gian Singh Sandhu, president of the World Sikh Organization told WSN that, “On the anniversary of the Air India explosion, in which many Sikh lives were taken, the World Sikh Organization believes that a parliamentary or public inquiry is needed urgently to investigate the extent of Government of India’s sponsored activities against the Sikh community in Canada, including the role of the Indian government in the Air India tragedy.”

“In the interest of justice and) truth for the grieving families, we urge a major investigation of the allegations contained in the book,” Soft Target.

“The World Sikh Organization expresses its grief over all who were victims of the Air India disaster,” he added.

Article extracted from this publication >>  June 30, 1989