Air India inquiry head accuses government of trying to discredit witness

Ottawa: The head of a public inquiry into the 1985 bombing of an Air India plane accused the Canadian government Monday of trying to undercut the testimony of a witness who said the government knew the airline was being targeted.
Former Supreme Court Justice John Major observed that there seems to be an "effort by government to discredit" James Bartleman.
Bartleman, Ontario's ceremonial head of state and Canada's former director of security and intelligence for the Department of External Affairs, stunned the inquiry last week by declaring that he had seen an electronic intercept, just days before the bombing, that suggested Air India would be targeted by terrorists the following weekend.
Just a few days after Bartleman received the intelligence, the plane blew up on June 23, 1985, off Ireland, killing 329 people.
Major expressed concern that Gordon Smith, Bartleman's former boss at the Foreign Affairs Department, appeared to have aligned himself with an effort to discredit.
"You're just falling into line with the others," Major interjected as Smith was fielding questions from lawyers.
"I'm not questioning your sincerity, but it's obvious that they don't like that testimony (by Bartleman). You are one of several who seem upset by that evidence."
08/05/07 The Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, France

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Categories: Air India May 2007, Foreign May 2007, Safety May 2007