Other People's Wars: A Review of Overseas Terrorism in ... - Edocr

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Other Peoples’ Wars -- Chapter Two Commando Force was inaugurated as its military wing 17 . At this time, the KCF had approximately 400 fighters. 18 In North America, they operate as the Council of Khalistan 19 . The BK were not participants in this coalition. By early 1987, internal differences and egos split the newly created group. Gurbachan Singh Manochanal, one of the five original Panthic Committe members broke away and formed the Bhindranwale Tiger Force for Khalistan (BTFK). In 1988, members of the Bhindranwale family convinced another member of the new Panthic Committee to join them and form the Car Juhujharu Jathebande (CJJ). Another breakaway group, the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), joined the CJJ after the death of its leader. 20 The majority of the breakaway groups from the KCF fell under the influence of the BK. The KCF, and its remaining sub-groups, was the main armed coalition that offered an alternative to the BK. The over-arching objective of the KCF was to mount an assault upon the Indian state, as opposed to the more religiously inspired campaign of the BK. All-India Sikh Student’s Federation (AISSF): The AISSF was originally the student’s wing of the Akali Dal Party, but had broken off in the 1970s. Several years prior to Operation Blue Star, Bhindranwale had made contact with its leader Amrik Singh, who was the son of his own teacher while he studied for the priesthood. 21 The organization had already established a reputation for robbery, assassination, and bombings in the name of Khalistan. While cooperating with Bhindranwale, the AISSF also made inroads into Pakistan. Amrik Singh died with Bhindranwale in the Golden Temple during Operation Blue Star. Since then, the organization has fragmented into two major groups: one headed by Daljit Singh Bittoo, and the other by Manjit (or Lal) Singh. The Singh-led faction posed the most problems for security forces in India, due to their propensity for violence in the pursuit of a separate state. Indian authorities have always believed that Manjit Singh had some involvement in the 1985 Air India attacks. In 1992, he was tracked down and arrested by Indian’s counter-terrorist police unit. Singh was charged with conspiracy to kidnap the granddaughter of Prime Minister Rao. At the time he was also a high-ranking member of the KLF. 22 After weeks of interrogation he allegedly confessed to having lived in Canada while the bomb that brought down Air India 182 was being assembled in British Columbia. 23 He is also reported to have lived illegally in Canada from 1984 to 1988. 24 International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF): The ISYF is the international arm of the All- India Sikh Student’s federation. 25 It was born in Britain in 1984, and soon expanded into 17 Pettigrew p.82. 18 ibid. 19 Tatla p. 117. 20 ibid. p.83. 21 Yaeger pp. 224 and 227. 22 Toronto Sun, July 31, 1992. 23 Toronto Sun, July 7, 1992. 24 Toronto Sun, July 31, 1992. 25 Mahmood, p. 157. 38
Other Peoples’ Wars -- Chapter Two Canada under Lakbir Singh Brar, who had family ties to Bhindranwale. 26 It became plagued by intense divisions in 1988. Currently, there are two significant factions of the ISYF, one led by Satinder Pal Singh, and the other by Jasbin Singh Rode. Rode’s faction included Brar, then under considerable pressure from Canadian immigration authorities. Competition between the two camps has been fierce over the control of both temples and Sikh community newspapers in Canada. As early as 1983, Indian intelligence suspected Pakistani involvement in supporting the terrorist groups. The Punjab shares a border with Pakistan of some 555 kilometres. Due north of the border lies the disputed region of Jammu-Kasmir, where Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Al-Qaeda have been providing support for Muslim militants for years. An interesting statistic emerges within the violent pro-Khalistan movement; 70% of its hard-core support came from only 220 of the Punjab’s 13,000 villages. The vast majority of these are located close to the Punjab-Pakistan border. 27 With the protection of a massive army presence, a Congress government was elected in 1992 in the Punjab. There were protests, although violence and intimidation still kept many voters from going to the polls. The presence of the Congress Party was taken as a direct challenge to the militants, who set out on a massive campaign in 1992 of assassinating anyone representing the central government. The militant violence was countered by a reorganization of the security services and an increased role for the military in the region. Aggressive counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations yielded dramatic results, including the elimination of Canadian Talwinder Singh Parmar, a prominent figure in the BKI, who was killed at the Indo-Pakistani border. Although seriously constrained, members of several terrorist groups have been able to mount limited operations against the Indian government. In 1995, the BK assassinated the Chief Minister of the Punjab, the closely related KLF also claimed responsibility. 28 A bombing campaign was foiled in 1999 when a BK member was arrested with several detonators and 18 kgs of RDX, -- a plastic explosive. Indian authorities allege that the intended targets were both administrative buildings and officials in the Punjab. The BK suspect, according to police, confessed to having ties to the Khalistan-Kashmir Jihad Force. 29 Sikh Terrorist Activities in Canada Since 1985 Punjab-based individuals and organizations are still listed in the organizations and individuals deemed as “targets” in the CSIS Counter-Terrorism Program. 30 Unfortunately, Canada continues to be a destination of choice for the violent radicals who still carry on the armed 26 Tatla, Darshan Singh The Sikh Diaspora: The Search for Statehood (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999) p. 119. 27 Joshi, Manoj, “Combating Terrorism in Punjab: Indian Democracy in Crisis” in Conflict Studies No. 261. p. 17. 28 US State Department, 1995 Patterns of Global Terrorism. 29 Express News Service, June 18, 1999. 30 Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, “Terrorism: the Threat to Canada”: May 3, 2000. 39
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The Will to Defence Other Peoples
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Appendix: A List of Canadian Terror
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Mahjoub, Mohamed Zeki. A Toronto ar
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