A solemn crowd of about 100 gathered at the Air India memorial in Stanley Park Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the deadly terrorist bombing that shattered the country鈥檚 innocence.
Some called for action to bring the Air India bombers to justice despite the passage of time.
Others said they are resigned to the fact most of those in B.C. who plotted the June 23, 1985 bombing that killed 329 will never be brought to justice.
91原创 resident Major Sidhu lost his sister Sukhwinder, her daughter Parminder, 10, and son Kuldip, 9, when Air India Flight 182 blew up off the coast.
鈥淭his is the worst tragedy in 91原创 history,鈥� he said Tuesday. 鈥淚 would like to request all the communities to please come forward to help the justice system to punish the criminals.鈥�
Perviz Madon, whose 41-year-old husband Sam also died, said after all these years, she doesn鈥檛 expect more charges.
Two B.C. men linked to the Sikh separatist movement were charged in 2000 and acquitted in 2005. A third, Inderjit Singh Reyat, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for helping to build the bomb.
鈥淏asically I don鈥檛 think [anyone else will be charged] unless some miracle happens and something just falls from the sky,鈥� Madon said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think those guys will ever be behind bars. At least we have one of them.鈥�
She said it surprised her how emotional she felt Tuesday morning as she thought about that terrible day in 1985 that left her a widow with two small children.
鈥淚t has really hit me somehow. I didn鈥檛 think it would hit me so badly,鈥� Madon said.
鈥淢y kids being so far away from me have been texting and making sure I鈥檓 alright. And I鈥檝e been making sure they鈥檙e alright.鈥�
Son Eddie now has two children and lives in Australia. Daughter Natasha just finished a PhD in criminology in Toronto.
Madon said she is finally at peace now and ready to put the pain behind her.
鈥淚 just hope that something like this will never happen again. We live in a very tumultuous world. There is so much violence and killings and wars. My hope is that some day we find peace amongst us human beings.鈥�
Many at the service cried as the names of all 329 victims etched on the memorial wall were read aloud. Afterwards candles were lit and placed on the wall.
Victims鈥� relatives were joined at the service by community leaders, politicians and some of the RCMP officers still working on the Air India investigation.
Former MLA Dave Hayer spoke about his late journalist father Tara Singh Hayer, who had agreed to be a Crown witness in the Air India case before he was assassinated in Surrey in 1998. No one has ever been charged in his death.
鈥淚 think we all have to work together to condemn the bombing,鈥� Hayer said.
He also referenced the fact that Talwinder Singh Parmar, the bombing mastermind, is depicted as a martyr in a portrait hanging outside a Surrey temple. Parmar was killed by Punjab police in 1992.
鈥淲e have to make sure that anyone who was involved in the Air India bombing - especially who have been shown in court as the mastermind, their picture should not be used as a hero or as a martyr anywhere,鈥� Hayer said.
He said his father gave up his life to bring justice to those who perished in the bombing.
鈥淎s long as I am alive I will still continue talking about those Air India victims,鈥� Hayer said.
