Documents
in Quebec History
Last
revised:
23 August 2000 |
Documents on the October Crisis
The
Demands of the FLQ FLQ
communiqué, Released
to the public October 6, 1970 The
representative of Great Britain in Quebec, Mr J. Cross, is in the hands of the
Front de liberation du Quebec. Here
are the conditions that the ruling authorities must fulfil in order to save the
life of the representative of the ancient racist and colonialist British system.
- They must see to it that
the repressive police forces do not commit the monstrous error of attempting to
jeopardize the success of the operation by conducting searches, investigations,
raids, arrests by any other means.
- The
political manifesto which the Front de liberation du Quebec will address to the
ruling authorities must appear in full on the front page of all the principal
newspapers in Quebec. The ruling authorities, after consulting with the latter,
must make public the list of Quebec newspapers agreeing to publish our manifesto.
But it should be quite clear that all Quebec regions must be covered.
Furthermore, this manifesto must be read in full and commented upon by the political
prisoners before their departure during a programme, the length of which will
have to be at least thirty minutes, to be televised live or pre-recorded between
8 and 11 PM on Radio-Canada and its affiliated stations in the province.
- Liberation
of political prisoners: Cyriaque Delisle, Edmond Guenette and François Schirm,
Serge Demers, Marcel Faulkner, Gérard Laquerre, Robert Levesque, Réal Mathieu,
and Claude Simard; Pierre-Paul Geoffroy, Michel Loriot, Pierre Demers, Gabriel
Hudon, Robert Hudon, Marc-André Gagné, François Lanctot, Claude Morency, and André
Roy; Pierre Boucher and André Ouellette (recently re-arrested by the police of
Drapeau-the-Dog).
Wives and children of the political prisoners must
be allowed to join them if they so desire.
Furthermore, political prisoners
André Lessard, Pierre Marcil, and Réjean Tremblay, presently out on bail, must
be allowed to join their patriotic comrades and leave Quebec if they so desire.
- A plane must
be made available to the patriotic political prisoners for their transport to
either Cuba or Algeria, once an official agreement has been reached with one of
these two countries.
Furthermore, they must be allowed to be accompanied
by their respective lawyers and by at least two political reporters of two French
Quebec dailies.
- During
a meeting attended by the Lapalme boys and the Postmaster-General - or a representative
- the latter must promise to reinstate them. The reinstatement promise must take
into account the standards and conditions already secured by the revolutionary
workers of Lapalme prior to the breaking off of negotiations. This meeting must
be held within forty-eight hours after the release of this communiqué and must
be open to newsmen,
- A
voluntary tax of $500,000 in gold bullion must be put aboard the plane made available
to the political prisoners. When one recalls the spendings caused by the recent
visit of the Queen of England, the millions of dollars lost by the Post Office
Department because of the stubborn millionaire Kierans, the cost of maintaining
Quebec within Confederation, etc. ... $500,000 is peanuts!
- The
NAME and the PICTURE of the informer who led police to the last FLQ cell must
be made public and published. The Front de liberation du Quebec is in possession
of information dealing with the acts and moves of this louse ... and is only awaiting
"official" confirmation to act.
Through
this move, the Front de liberation du Quebec wants to draw the attention of the
world to the fate of French-speaking Quebecois, a majority which is jeered at
and crushed on its own territory by a faulty political system (Canadian federalism)
and by an economy dominated by the interests of American high finance, the racist
and imperialist "big bosses.." When
you examine the origins of Confederation you are in a better position to understand
what were the true interests ($ $ $) which inspired those who were called the
Fathers of Confederation. Besides, in 1867, the Quebec people (Lower Canada) were
not consulted as to the possibility of creating a Confederation of existing provinces.
It was a question of big money and these questions are only sorted out by interested
parties, the capitalists, those who possess and amass capital and the means of
production and who, according to their sole needs and requirements decide on our
whole lives as well as those of a race of people. Thousands
of Quebecois have understood, as did our ancestors of 1837-38, that the only way
to ensure our national as well as economic survival is total independence. The
Front de liberation du Quebec supports unconditionally the American blacks and
those of Africa, the liberation movements of Latin America, of Palestine, and
of Asia, the revolutionary Catholics of Northern Ireland and all those who fight
for their freedom, their independence, and their dignity. The
Front de liberation du Quebec wants to salute the Cuban and Algerian people who
are heroically fighting against imperialism and colonialism in all its forms,
for a just society where man's exploitation by man is banished. However,
we believe that the only really true support we can give these people moving towards
their liberations is to liberate ourselves first. During and after our struggle
we shall offer much more than the usual sympathy of shocked intellectuals confronted
with pictures showing aggression in a peaceful and blissful setting. Here
is how the various steps must be carried out: - As
soon as this communiqué is received by the ruling authorities, they must immediately
free all the aforementioned political prisoners and take them to the Montreal
International Airport. There, a private room must be placed at their disposal
straightaway so they can fraternize and become acquainted with the manifesto,
the conditions outlined as well as the steps of the operation. A full copy of
the manifesto and of this communiqué must be given to them.
- They
must undergo no harm, brutality, torture, or blackmail.
- In
the hours following the liberation of the political prisoners, a room must be
turned into a studio where they will be able to:
- Communicate with their
respective lawyers;
- Make
a public announcement of their personal decision. The political prisoners can
accept or refuse to leave Quebec; in other words, the imprisoned patriots are
allowed to dissent in view of the disparity between the sentences imposed upon
each of them;
- Read
and discuss the manifesto during a televised and broadcast programme, as set out
earlier in the conditions;
- Meet
all the friends and militants who may wish to go and see them.
- The ruling authorities
must ensure the return to Montreal of legal advisers and newsmen who will accompany
the political prisoners to Cuba or Algeria.
- The
"voluntary tax" of $500,000 in gold bullion must be taken to Dorval
airport in nine BRINKS trucks. If this raises any technical problem, the authorities
can surely call upon the "experts" who managed to make such a brilliant
get-away at the time of the now famous "Brink's show" on the eve of
the election. Newsmen (including the one from the Gazette just like in
the good old days) must be allowed to attend the departure and arrival of the
"happy group."
All
these conditions and their fulfilment must be dealt with within forty-eight hours
from the release of this communiqué.. All these conditions are irrevocable. The
life of the diplomat depends therefore on the good-will of the ruling authorities. Once
the Front de liberation du Quebec has made sure that the lawyers and newsmen are
on their way back and the latter have confirmed the arrival of the political prisoners
as well as the voluntary tax which must be checked by Cuban or Algerian experts,
and once they have confirmed that everything went according to plan, then and
then only will the diplomat be set free. We
feel confident that the imprisoned political patriots will benefit from the experience
in Cuba or Algiers and we thank them in advance for the concern which they will
express for our Quebec comrades. We
shall overcome! Front
de liberation du Quebec. ©
1999, Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College |
