London: Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday said there was no evidence so far to suggest that elite British special forces played a role in the 1984 Operation Bluestar to flush out Sikh militants holed up in the Golden Temple.
"I don't want to prejudge the outcome, but I would note that so far it has not found any evidence to contradict the insistence by senior Indian Army commanders responsible at the time that the responsibility for this was carried out solely
by the Indian army," he told Parliament.
Cameron's remarks came while fielding questions from opposition MPs on claims that the country's Special Air Services (SAS) commanders helped out with the military operation to flush out Sikh militants holed up in the Golden Temple on orders of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
"I think it is important to put that, but it is important to get to the bottom of this...the findings of the official inquiry into the incident will be made public," Cameron said, a day after ordering an urgent probe into the decision by
Thatcher's government in 1984.
Cameron has asked Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood to conduct the investigation after documents declassified suggested a British special forces officer advised the Indians on carrying out the attack.
The claims have emerged from documents released by the National Archives in London under the 30-year declassification rule as part of the series over the New Year.
Labour MP Tom Watson and Pat McFadden had raised the issue in the House of Commons, demanding full disclosure of the issue.
Watson and Lord Indarjit Singh had demanded an explanation after the documents made public indicated that the officer of Britain's SAS was dispatched to help India plan for the raid on the Golden Temple, an operation that left over 1,000 people dead.
Cameron said the assault had left "deep scars" and "incredibly strong feelings that exist to this day". Sikh groups in the UK have claimed the latest developments prove a deeper controversy that they had always suspected.
Comments
0 comment