[OT] FLQ (was Re: The GZG Digest V2 #2320)

> The GZG Digest wrote:

> ??? FLQ ???

Something like that.

FLQ: Front de libération du Québec, or Québec Liberation Front, if you
prefer.

They were a terrorist group that operated from 1963 to 1970. Their aim
was a Marxist/anarchist insurrection that would bring down the
provincial government of Québec, separate Québec from Canada, and create a
Marxist society. They were involved in more than 200 terrorist
activities including bombings and bank hold-ups. Their main targets were

prominent English-speaking citizens of Montréal, prominent English
businesses, and McGill University. They were also opposed to the United
States. One cell plotted the blowing up of the Statue of Liberty, but was
arrested before the plot could be attempted. Prior to October, 1970 three
people were killed by FLQ bombs and two were killed by FLQ gunfire. One of
their attacks was the bombing of the Montréal Stock Exchange, which injured
27 people.

On October 5, 1970, an FLQ cell kidnapped James Cross, the British Trade

Commissioner. On October 10, a second cell kidnapped Pierre Laporte, the

Vice-Premier of Québec and Québec Minister of Labour. The two
kidnappings prompted the October Crisis. On October 16, the Québec Premier
Robert Bourassa asked the Canadian government to declare martial

law. Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau declared martial law using the War
Measures Act, which went into effect in the morning of October 17. Later that
day, Laporte was found murdered, making him only the second victim of
political assassination in Canadian history.

In November, a police raid nabbed all but three of the people who killed

Laporte. Negotiations in early December freed Cross, with the members of

that cell being exiled to Cuba (all of them eventually returned to Canada,
where they were given fairly light sentences). Near the end of December, the
rest of the cell that killed Laporte were captured. In early 1971, martial law
was lifted.

This was a controversial period in Canadian history. Over 100 people who

were known to have communist sympathies were arrested and questioned for

several days without being charged. Some people, to this day, state that

Trudeau was too quick to declare martial law and too heavy handed in its

use. However, polls at the time were overwhelmingly in support of the use of
the War Measures Act. It's important to understand the context. Before the
kidnappings, 3,000 Montréal students gathered in an arena supporting the FLQ.
The FLQ's manifestos made it seem larger and better organized than it was. To
English Canadians in 1970, the FLQ was a very scary entity.

In any event, the October Crisis ended almost a decade of violence aimed

at Quebec separation. After that, separatists used non-violent means,
which led to an increase in support for the separatist Parti Québécois.