Canadian PM gives way to Air India Bombing Inquiry Chief

Canadian PM Stephen Harper has ordered national security officials to swiftly defuse a bitter dispute over "top secret" government documents that could lead to the collapse of the Air India inquiry.

Air India Flight 182, originating in Canada, blew up off the Atlantic coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985. A near-simultaneous attack aimed at a second Air India flight killed two Tokyo airport workers. The attacks were believed to be the work of Sikh militants in revenge for India's storming of the Golden Temple in 1984.

Former Supreme Court Justice John Major – named to lead the inquiry – had warned he might shut it down permanently in the face of sweeping claims by the government of "national security" that prevents much evidence from being heard publicly. It would be an unprecedented step in the history of such inquiries in Canada. Major's inquiry is not to find the perpetrators but to find out what had "allowed" the bombings. One person has been convicted of involvement in the blasts but two others were acquitted for a lack of corroborating evidence. Two Vancouver Sikh separatists were found not guilty in 2005.

The Government's lawyers are arguing against any broader release of secret information, saying it would compromise the institutions the inquiry is trying to strengthen. Lawyers representing the families' association, said the disturbing thing is that Major had seen the documents and believed they could be made public without jeopardizing national security.