Some may point to Evan
Pederick as the obvious Hilton bomber--after all he
confessed to it. However, because he pleaded guilty, his
confession was never tested until Tim Anderson's appeals
case where it was criticised by the judges as
unrealiable. There were numerous inconsistencies with the
known facts. For example, Pederick first claimed the bomb
was composed of 20 sticks of gelignite, until it was
pointed out that amount would not fit into the garabage
bin! Also the street address he claims Indian MP Desai
arrived at was factually wrong.
Pederick accused Tim Anderson of
conspiring with him over the bombing, however the case
against Anderson was eventually thrown out of court on
appeal.
Some years into Pedericks life
sentence he expressed what many had been saying all
along:
"Even Pederick has called for an
inquiry into his conviction because he now believes he
may be innocent ... Pederick has accused the police and
prosecution of failing to test his evidence or his state
of mind despite what he acknowledges were major flaws in
his story ... Pederick now believes it is possible he may
have become obsessed with the bombing and assumed guilt
for it ... [Pederick said] 'The fact is that some
of my most vivid memories, which I described in great
detail under cross-examination with absolutely no doubt
that what I was describing was true, could not have
happened. My self-confidence is not unassailable.'"
(Janet Fife-Yeomans,'Confessed
bomber seeks inquiry into verdict', The
Australian, 16 May 1995, front page)
Did Ananda Marga Have a
Motive?
No, in fact the newly elected
Indian Prime Minister Moraji Desai, who the bomb was
allegedly aimed at, was supporting the retrial of the
imprisoned Ananda Marga leader (Baba). Ananda Marga had
presented a letter to the Indian PM reminding him of his
election promise. He did in fact honour his promise and
Baba was subsequently retried and aquitted of all
charges.
Violence was also not supported
by Baba or the organisation as a way to secure Baba's
release from false imprisonment. As Baba said to a
reporter: "I completely disavow acts of violence and even
if some misguided youths who have no faith in the Marga's
ideology, are involved in such acts, it will not obtain
my release in this way."
Since Baba refused to come out
of jail through violence it made no sense to engage in
violence--not to speak being against Ananda Marga's
ideology. It is also noteworthy that no one has ever
claimed responsiblity for the bombing.
The only group to have gained
from the Hilton bombing is Special Branch and ASIO.
Special Branch had been closed down in South Australia
and there was intense public debate in favor of closing
them down in NSW. There was also a lot of talk about
reducing ASIO's powers because Australia did not have any
serious terrorist threats. Then the Hilton Bombing
occurred and all talk of closing them down stopped. In
fact they gained greater powers and Special Branch
continued another 15 years until last year. ASIO
continues today...
