Ottawa:
Federal police are investigating an online posting calling for the murder of Canada's top Sikh politician, Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, after he warned of rising Sikh extremism in this country. "We've opened an investigation into threats against Dosanjh made in Facebook entries," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Paul Richards said.
"Someone shoot him ASAP," one commenter posted on the Facebook site titled "Ujjal Dosanjh is a Sikh Traitor," the National Post reported. Another posting branded Dosanjh, a former premier of British Columbia and federal justice minister from 2004 to 2006, as a "rat in our midst," a "scumbag traitor and an insult to the Sikh religion."
Dosanjh's caucus colleagues responded in an open letter, saying "Canada is a free country where citizens must be able to express their views without being subjected to threats. "We unequivocally condemn the threats of violence against our colleague Ujjal Dosanjh, and condemn all forms of extremism coming from any Canadian community," said Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.
Dosanjh, who was savagely beaten in 1985 after speaking out against religious violence, warned in an interview on Wednesday that Sikh extremism in Canada - blamed for the 1985 Air India bombing - is "getting worse." "It's more entrenched, it's more sophisticated and sometimes it's double-faced," he said.
His comments echoed concerns expressed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper over growing support by Canadian Sikhs for militants in Punjab. The two leaders spoke on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on April 12. Harper, according to his office, told Singh he was awaiting an inquiry report on the bombing of Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland in 1985 that killed 329 passengers and crew.
Prosecutors argued that Canadian Sikh extremists had sought to bring down Air India jets in retaliation for the Indian government's June 1984 attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Sikhism's holiest shrine.
Two baggage handlers at Japan's Narita airport were also killed in the blast of a second suitcase bomb tied to the plot.
Dosanjh's comments also came after a riot at a Sikh temple in Brampton, Ontario over proposed management changes. It also came after organisers of an annual Sikh festival in Surrey, British Columbia warned Dosanjh and another Canadian Sikh politician, both known for their moderate views, not to attend a parade.
"Someone shoot him ASAP," one commenter posted on the Facebook site titled "Ujjal Dosanjh is a Sikh Traitor," the National Post reported. Another posting branded Dosanjh, a former premier of British Columbia and federal justice minister from 2004 to 2006, as a "rat in our midst," a "scumbag traitor and an insult to the Sikh religion."
Dosanjh's caucus colleagues responded in an open letter, saying "Canada is a free country where citizens must be able to express their views without being subjected to threats. "We unequivocally condemn the threats of violence against our colleague Ujjal Dosanjh, and condemn all forms of extremism coming from any Canadian community," said Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.
Dosanjh, who was savagely beaten in 1985 after speaking out against religious violence, warned in an interview on Wednesday that Sikh extremism in Canada - blamed for the 1985 Air India bombing - is "getting worse." "It's more entrenched, it's more sophisticated and sometimes it's double-faced," he said.
His comments echoed concerns expressed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper over growing support by Canadian Sikhs for militants in Punjab. The two leaders spoke on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on April 12. Harper, according to his office, told Singh he was awaiting an inquiry report on the bombing of Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland in 1985 that killed 329 passengers and crew.
Prosecutors argued that Canadian Sikh extremists had sought to bring down Air India jets in retaliation for the Indian government's June 1984 attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Sikhism's holiest shrine.
Two baggage handlers at Japan's Narita airport were also killed in the blast of a second suitcase bomb tied to the plot.
Dosanjh's comments also came after a riot at a Sikh temple in Brampton, Ontario over proposed management changes. It also came after organisers of an annual Sikh festival in Surrey, British Columbia warned Dosanjh and another Canadian Sikh politician, both known for their moderate views, not to attend a parade.
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