| Margin of Terror by Salim Jiwa
For Salim Jiwa, the year 1981 marked the beginning of an odyssey.
Searching for a front page story, the reporter for The Province went on a hunt to find his ‘monks with machine guns,’ Sikh separatists operating in Vancouver, in no way realizing the full significance of what he was chasing. Members of the group he was investigating would later stand accused of killing the 329 people on board Air India flight 182, and two Japanese baggage handlers on the other side of the world. Jiwa’s new book, Margin of Terror, is a narrative account of Jiwa’s experiences covering the rise of Sikh militancy in Canada.
Years before the bombing plot, Salim’s search brought him to the ‘consulate’ of Khalistan, the would-be sovereign Sikh nation, and later he shook hands with the man he refers to as Canada’s Osama Bin Laden, Talwinder Singh Parmar. Able to immerse himself in the world of the separatists, Salim uncovered information that eluded CSIS and the RCMP thanks in part to his knowledge of the culture.
Himself a Muslim, Jiwa was able to establish a level of trust among the separatists, who considered Muslims to be their brothers. Several stories were published in The Province chronicling the group’s activities prior to the bombing, but in spite of this, the RCMP proved unable to prevent the tragedy from occurring.
Jiwa’s insider account is full of contrasts. He characterizes the federal government’s investigation as ill informed and inefficient. Unable to overcome the cultural barrier and hindered by excessive bureaucracy, the predominately white investigators’ efforts were muddled. Jiwa on the other hand moved through his own investigation with ease — at times, perhaps, too effectively as Jiwa began to encounter threats on his life.
Phone taps recorded conversations in Punjabi, which could have been used as damning evidence in the trial, but they were never translated and even discarded; bomb tests in the woods were never properly investigated; and an overall lack of competent investigators led to an utter failure to address the situation, asserts Jiwa.
"That’s the sad part here. This whole process was a catastrophic failure — a 57 million dollar debacle," says Jiwa. "(The RCMP) were lost in a swamp of cultural differences between a predominately white force and the suspects, who held on to their secrets and a holy oath of silence."
Margin of Terror is a compassionate look at the tragedy and its victims that aims to underscore the need for effective counter-terrorism efforts in Canada. While at times it feels like a conservative indictment of the ineffectiveness of Canada’s response to the terrorist threat, it can also be taken as a penetrating glimpse into the workings of an investigation and the emergence of a radical ideology.
Even though the not guilty verdict against Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri effectively sealed this tragedy, and the threat of Sikh separatism has subsided, Jiwa continues to investigate the story today with a zeal that seems to border on obsession.
"As a journalist, I want closure," says Jiwa. "There are still so many unanswered questions, like who checked the bags at the airport? 20 years of police investigation, the most expensive investigation in criminal history and we still don’t know who checked in the bags. Clearly, this case intrigues me still, and there are still mysteries to be solved." |
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.