The Canadian Parliament has supported a non-binding call for a public inquiry into the 1985 Air India bombing.ª
Ripudaman Singh Malik, 57, and Ajaib Singh Bagri, 55, the two Indian-born Sikhs accused in the worst case of mass murder in the country's history were acquitted by a British Columbia court last month due to lack of credible evidence.
Families of the 329 people who were killed when the Kanishka flight crashed off the Irish Coast had urged Canada to hold a new investigation into the disaster.
Opposition members of Parliament in Canada's House of Commons united on Tuesday to pass easily the motion calling for public inquiry.
The 172-124 vote in Ottawa came hours after a bitter exchange, which involved opposition leader Stephen Harper, who wondered if an inquiry would have come sooner had more victims been white.
Prime Minister Paul Martin countered angrily saying, "Any notions of racism are odious and any accusations of such are simply not acceptable," the Canadian press news agency reported.
Martin pointed out that Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan is working with the families of victims on an appropriate course of action. "She is seeking the questions that the families want to have answered."
The Liberal government, which has brushed aside increasingly insistent calls for an inquiry, does not have to follow the Conservative-led recommendation, experts said.
Last week, when Conservative MP from British Colombia Gurmant Grewal proposed the motion for an inquiry, McLellan did not support it, but announced she would appoint an 'eminent person' to review the case file and make recommendations.
McLellan, who is also the public safety minister, had also said she would meet the affected families before taking further action.
She, along with Canadian Police (RCMP) Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, kept her promise. The two met about 20 families at a Toronto hotel.
However, an association representing about 70 families boycotted the meeting, saying McLellan isn't serious about getting to the bottom of the disaster nor sincere or committed to a public inquiry.
The minister said she wanted to meet the families 'so that we have a good understanding of what questions remain unanswered for them'.
Meanwhile, India on Tuesday took note of the Canadian government's move to appoint an independent advisor and said it wanted justice to be done.
ª
© 2024 Rediff.com -