Vanguard Magazine

6 APRIL/MAY 2017 www.vanguardcanada.com s sIt REP Canada's Defence Minister, Harjit Singh Sajjan, visits India for seven-day official state visit Sajjan speaks on peacekeeping but suffers attack from Indian minister On his first visit to India as Canada's defence minister, Harjit Sajjan spoke about modern peace- keeping and security cooperation. But before he even landed in the country, he was already facing criticism from a high-ranking official from the In- dian state from which the defence chief was born. A few days before, Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of the state of Punjab, linked Sajjan and other Canadian Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial Parliament to a Sikh sepa- ratist movement. In an interview with the NDTV Indian television show Off the Cuff, Singh said he would not meet with Sajjan when he visits Punjab this week. "I'll tell you on a matter of principle, I don't agree on this," Singh said. "There are five ministers [in Canada] who are Khalistanis, and I am not inter- ested in meeting any Khalistanis." Members of the nationalist movement Kha- listan seek to create a separatist Sikh state. Politi- cal and armed conflict between the government and the movement flared up in Punjab in the 1970s and 1980s. Sajjan has refused to get caught up in the con- troversy. He called the allegations against him "incorrect and unfortunate." "I don't promote the break-up of any country. My job is to promote the bilateral relations," Sajjan said in an interview with the Hindustan Times when he arrived in New Delhi. Key figure in Canadians' beheading killed in clash with Philippine troops A terrorist commander, believed to have played a key role in the 2015 beheadings of two Canadi- ans in the Philippines, was killed in a battle with government troops. A statement from the Armed Forces of Philip- pines said Muammar Askali, alias Abu Rahmi, was among six members of the Muslim terror group Abu Sayyaf who were killed during a gun battle with soldiers in a coastal village in the southern island of Bohol. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Eduardo Año said Askali was identified by captured Abu Sayyaf members from a picture that soldiers took of the rebel commander after he was killed. It was learned that the mili- tants slipped into Bohol onboard three motor- boats on Monday night before their encounter with the soldiers. Año told the Philippine online news site Inter- Aksyon.com that Askali's death was "a major blow to the Abu Sayyaf." "The Abu Sayyaf must think twice; our security forces are working challengingly and effectively as they thwarted their plans to sow terror in the area," he said. "I can declare that the threat is over successfully after the siege in Brgy. Napo, Inaban- ga, Bohol although we are still pursuing some of the remnants of the groups, our assault team con- tinues to scour the area." The top ranking Filipino officer said Askali was involved in the beheading of Canadians John Rid- sel and Robert Hall in 2016. The two men, along with Hall's Filipina girlfriend Marites Flor and Nor- wegian Kjartan Sekkinstad, were captured and held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf. The militant group demanded $8.1 million for their release. The Trudeau government takes a tough stance against terrorist kidnappings and does not pay ransom. The two men were eventu- ally killed by their captors after the deadlines for their respective ransom run out. Askali is also being linked to the killing of and German tourist Jurgen Kantner in February this year. The 70-year-old was captured by the Abu Sayyaf, who wanted $2.1 million in ransom for his release. Kantner was beheaded when the deadline for his ransom passed. The Abu Sayyaf is listed by the United States and Canadian governments as a terrorist orga- nization responsible for bombings, kidnappings, ransoms and beheadings. The group is holding at least 29 captives in Sulu's jungles, many of them foreign tugboat and cargo ship crewmen seized in the seas surrounding by southern Phil- ippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, according to the Canadian Press.

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