Today the word 'terrorist' is bandied about flippantly to describe just about anybody who uses force of arms in any context at all and ranges from the extreme to the benign.
Recently in Quebec, Marc Lepine the serial killer in the École Polytechnique massacre, was described as a terrorist instead of the deranged and disturbed killer that he was.
Un acte terroriste antiféministe,
Colonel James Angus, at the opposite end of the scale of violence was described as a terrorist for his decidedly angry rants against Francophones.
Canada is often described by nationalists as a 'terrorist' state.Canada - un État terroriste.
In Quebec, everyone seems to fit the label of terrorist, except the actual few who fit the definition, like FLQ members who actually perpetrated over 300 acts terrorism, including over two hundred bombings.
One such a man is Rhéal Mathieu, a FLQ member who in 1967 was sentenced to nine years in prison for terrorist activities including murder. Because of his unrepentant attitude, he served the whole sentence before being released.
After seemingly having been rehabilitated, he was given a pardon for his 'youthful indiscretions' but in the year 2001 he was again convicted and served time for being involved in the terrorist fire-bombing of the three
Second Cup coffee shops over language issues, this time under the guise of another terrorist group, the
Brigade d'auto-défense du français (BAF)
Read an interesting article describing Mr. Mathieu
Mr. Mathieu is also a prolific contributor to vigile.net where he continues to spout his radical agenda.
In light of the recent letter campaign, aimed to intimidate large Quebec Liberal Party donors, Mr. Mathieu proudly recounts how in 1998 he undertook another letter campaign, eerily similar to the one waged by the RRQ.
Link fr
The 1998 letter-bombing campaign consisted of a group of militants hand delivering letters to Westmount addresses.
In Mr. Mathieus own words on vigile.net;
"In support of the letter campaign that the RRQ sent to Liberal party donors, I am reminded of a similar gesture made by the MLNQ (Mouvement de Liberation National du Quebec) on 17 May 1998. This date was the 35th anniversary of 'Operation Mailbox' in Westmount, led by the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) ,on May 17, 1963: 10 bombs, 5 blasts, a Canadian army officer severely wounded."
And so this letter campaign conducted by the MNLQ was to commemorate and honour the 1963 terrorist attack. Hmm...
"The MLNQ therefore decided to use this anniversary, to place in the mailbox of virtually every citizen of Westmount, a circular which you will find the text in the attached file ."
 |
| Click to Download the letter (French |
The letter, written in French, also sported the familiar 'Patriote" bearing arms, as you can clearly see in the attached copy .
The letter chastised the city of Westmount and particularly Mayor Peter Trent for passing a resolution in favour of partition in the event of Quebec sovereignty.
"Indeed, you must think about what you do when Quebec becomes a sovereign state. You should think carefully before acting, because if your city tries to partition, it is likely that your life will become hell. Your situation could be similar to that of American hostages in the embassy in Tehran, or at best, that of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip ."
It's pretty clear that today's RRQ letter bombing campaign aimed at Liberal donors is nothing more than a repeat of the 1998 action in Westmount.
If you don't remember the 1998 incident, don't worry, time has proven how event-changing the action really was- zero.
The same can be said for the current letter-bombing campaign, its no big deal.
Like the 1998 action, it is essentially a masturbatory effort meant to titillate and thrill those in the radical separatist movement. As for changing minds either in Westmount or among Liberal donors, the effect will be almost negligible.
If you are worried that the RRQ, an organization that has devilishly hinted at violence, but cleverly never taken that step, now boasts a real terrorist among its ranks, don't be concerned.
The organization remains under strict watch by security services especially the Surete du Quebec who has no doubt placed many agents within its membership. I dare say that when Patrick Bourgeois orders take-out, the Surete listeners are commenting among themselves over his choice.
There's little doubt that there's nothing the RRQ can plan, or do, that the forces of order don't know about. The first whiff of real violence will trigger an arrest wave unseen since the October Crisis.
The RRQ is painfully aware of this fact and limits itself to bellicose roaring that can be safely ignored.
In his article Mr. Mathieu proclaims his letter-bombing campaign a stunning success. Why, I don't know, Westmount never did reverse its partition resolution.
Perhaps he measures success in the ability to deliver a letter. If that's the case, he could have been just as successful using the post office, just like the RRQ.
He categorized the Westmount Anglos as '
paper tigers' but the reality is that the term more appropriately describes the RRQ, an organization full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
They are without a doubt a bunch of modern chikenshit pseudo-revolutionaries, nothing like militants of the past. They haven't got the stones.
The RRQ today is nothing more than weekend revolutionaries, who discuss independence over $5 lattes in coffee shops and Internet forums.
The sad part is that they are given so much play by the press, they are nothing.
Ignore them and they will talk only to themselves.
In fact, the next time they make a threat of violence, its time to face them down, the promise of confrontation more frightening to them than to the police.
To them I say;
Come on down, let's rumble!
