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Sikh Militants Resent Being suspected In Firebombing of Moderate Politician

A P Kamath

Sikh militants in Vancouver feel they are being wrongly suspected for the powerful firebomb attack on Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh's office on Sunday. Though they have made their dislike for him public and have disrupted many of his political meetings, several militants, speaking on condition of no-attribution, thought Dosanjh's backers are only too happy to blame them. There were suggestions that the firebombing was staged to further boost Dosanjh's image.

Dosanjh, the front-runner in the New Democratic Party's leadership election, is expected to be the premier of British Columbia in February. He would be the first Asian premier in Canada.

Meanwhile, police detective Ted McCellam said given Dosanjh's high profile, he was a "moving target at all times." The detective also said it was difficult to make a list of suspects because there would be too many names on the list.

Dosanjh was nearly killed by a terrorist who bludgeoned him with an iron bar in the eighties. His wounds required more than 80 stitches. The attacker escaped, and moderates say that he is being shield by the hard-core leaders.

Balwant Singh, president of a Surrey gurdwara, who wrested it from fundamentalists early this year, told reporters on Monday, the day after the attack: "You just go look at what happened before in the community."

In a related development, a cabinet minister and fellow Sikh, Moe Sihota, who is backed by militants, called the firebombing incident "bizarre."

He rejected the suggestion by moderate Sikh leaders that the attack was a warning to Dosanjh who has been vocally opposing the militants for nearly 15 years.

Dosanjh, a former Punjabi weekly editor in England before migrating to Canada, has received many threatening notes, purportedly from militants.

Following the attack on him, his wife had received a note: "We know how to shut him up. Tell him."

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