Air India bombing should be etched in Canadian history: ambassador

Ottawa Citizen

5 hours ago

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AHAKISTA, Ireland — Since the day that Air India Flight 182 exploded off the coast of Ireland 40 years ago, it has not been fully recognized as a Canadian tragedy, Ambassador Bob Rae said in an interview here.
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Rae, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, was tasked with reviewing the Air India terrorism case 20 years ago after two suspects were acquitted of all charges in twin bombings on June 23, 1985.
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Less than an hour before a B.C.-made suitcase bomb detonated on Flight 182, killing all 329 aboard, two Japanese baggage handlers died when a Vancouver suitcase tagged for another Air India plane exploded at Tokyo's Narita Airport.
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'That was one of the main things that I said in my report that I feel very strongly is that from the very beginning of the event, it was seen as somebody else's problem,' Rae said Sunday, after visiting the memorial in this quiet village on the west coast of Ireland.
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'It really was seen as sort of an event affecting the Indian community, ignoring the fact that the vast majority of the people on the flight were Canadians.'
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Rae said that 'there had been a real failure to recognize the level of extremism' that led to the unprecedented act of terrorism.
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'It was Canadians who built the bomb, Canadians who planned it,' he said. 'There was a huge degree of denial in the community that this was true. Many other theories were floated.'
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His report in November 2005 called for a public inquiry into the intelligence failures and investigative problems both before and after bombings. After Conservative Stephen Harper was elected prime minister months later, he appointed retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice John Major to head a broader judicial inquiry instead.
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Rae said his Air India work led to the construction of public memorials in Canada, as well as the declaration of June 23 as a day of remembrance of victims of terrorism.
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While both measures increased recognition of Canada's worst mass murder, 'the narrative of what took place is still not embedded in the country,' Rae said.
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'We still have a lot of work to do make sure it's taught in schools and people understand this was the worst civil aviation disaster, proportionately every bit as important as 9/11.'