Snackpack
February 12, 2003, 03:29 PM
Air Canada Pilots Comment on Air India Sentence
TORONTO, Feb. 12 /CNW/ - The Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) today
expressed its dismay over the five year sentence received by Inderjit Singh
Reyat in connection with the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in June, 1985.
In a recent plea-bargain, crown prosecutors agreed to drop charges of
first degree murder in exchange for a guilty plea on a single count of
manslaughter in the bombing which killed 329 passengers and crew.
"What kind of message does this send in the post-911 environment?" asked
Captain Don Johnson, President of ACPA. Captain Johnson expressed the concern
that this sentence is out of all proportion to a heinous atrocity committed on
a commercial airliner. "We are very concerned that this lenient sentence
presents a message that Canada is somehow soft on terrorism, or that given the
right circumstances, terrorist acts may be attempted with only minimal
consequences."
The Air Canada pilots are very concerned about the potential use of a
commercial aircraft as a terrorist weapon. Over the last 18 months the
Association has been pressing for continued improvements in airline security,
including enhanced passenger and baggage screening, reinforced airline
cockpits, the increased presence of onboard protective officers, and double
doors to further inhibit any attempt to assault aircraft cockpits.
"Canadians sometimes can be a bit complacent, thinking we are not a prime
target for terrorist activity." noted Captain Johnson. "It is sobering to
reflect that the bomb which destroyed Air India 182 - as well as the one that
exploded in Narita airport one hour earlier - were first carried out of
Vancouver by a Canadian carrier, CP Air. Most of the 329 people killed in the
Air India bombing were Canadian citizens."
The Air Canada Pilots Association calls on police and legal authorities
to take whatever steps necessary to reaffirm Canada's commitment to combat
terrorism by ensuring that Inderjit Singh Reyat, or his associates, are not
free to carry on similar activities in the future.
TORONTO, Feb. 12 /CNW/ - The Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) today
expressed its dismay over the five year sentence received by Inderjit Singh
Reyat in connection with the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in June, 1985.
In a recent plea-bargain, crown prosecutors agreed to drop charges of
first degree murder in exchange for a guilty plea on a single count of
manslaughter in the bombing which killed 329 passengers and crew.
"What kind of message does this send in the post-911 environment?" asked
Captain Don Johnson, President of ACPA. Captain Johnson expressed the concern
that this sentence is out of all proportion to a heinous atrocity committed on
a commercial airliner. "We are very concerned that this lenient sentence
presents a message that Canada is somehow soft on terrorism, or that given the
right circumstances, terrorist acts may be attempted with only minimal
consequences."
The Air Canada pilots are very concerned about the potential use of a
commercial aircraft as a terrorist weapon. Over the last 18 months the
Association has been pressing for continued improvements in airline security,
including enhanced passenger and baggage screening, reinforced airline
cockpits, the increased presence of onboard protective officers, and double
doors to further inhibit any attempt to assault aircraft cockpits.
"Canadians sometimes can be a bit complacent, thinking we are not a prime
target for terrorist activity." noted Captain Johnson. "It is sobering to
reflect that the bomb which destroyed Air India 182 - as well as the one that
exploded in Narita airport one hour earlier - were first carried out of
Vancouver by a Canadian carrier, CP Air. Most of the 329 people killed in the
Air India bombing were Canadian citizens."
The Air Canada Pilots Association calls on police and legal authorities
to take whatever steps necessary to reaffirm Canada's commitment to combat
terrorism by ensuring that Inderjit Singh Reyat, or his associates, are not
free to carry on similar activities in the future.