NCJ Number
63549
Date Published
1970
Length
88 pages
Annotation
A REPORT BY THE 'MONTREAL STAR' DESCRIBES THE HISTORY, IDEOLOGY, AND ACTIVITIES OF THE FRONT DE LIBERATION DU QUEBEC (FLQ), THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS UNDERLYING ITS EMERGENCE, AND ITS LEADERS.
Abstract
THE MOVEMENT BEGAN IN LATE 1962 AS A PRODUCT OF SOCIALIST AND SEPARATIST UNREST IN QUEBEC, CANADA, UNIVERSITIES. IT ATTRACTED YOUNG FRENCH CANADIANS IMPATIENT TO SEPARATE QUEBEC FROM THE REST OF CANADA AND DREW INSPIRATION FROM THE LEFTIST LIBERATION FRONT IN ALGERIA. THE MOVEMENT WAS CHARACTERIZED BY LOOSE ORGANIZATION, CHANGING LEADERSHIP, SECRET MEETINGS, AND GROWING COMMITMENT TO INTERNATIONAL THEORIES OF REVOLUTION. THE FLQ PUBLISHED AN UNDERGROUND JOURNAL WHICH ROUSED STUDENTS, PREACHED REVOLUTION, AND GAVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR CARRYING OUT TERRORIST ACTIVITIES. BOMBINGS, VIOLENCE, KIDNAPPING WERE ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED BY ITS MEMBERS FOR THE CAUSE OF LIBERATION. PERHAPS THE MOVEMENT'S MOST INFAMOUS DEED WAS THE ABDUCTION OF TWO IMPORTANT POLITICAL FIGURES, CROSS AND LAPORTE. (THE DAILY CHRONICLE OF THE KIDNAPPING, SUBSEQUENT RESPONSES BY CANADIAN POLICE AND THE GOVERNMENT, AND THE RESCUE OF THE HOSTAGES IS PRESENTED.) FOCUSING ON THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FLQ, THE REPORT TRACES THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS AND HISTORY OF QUEBEC, THE POLITICAL SCENE AT ITS BIRTH, IMPORTANT POLITICAL EVENTS, AND THE DEMANDS OF THE FRENCH CANADIANS FOR EDUCATION, TRADE UNIONS, AND GOVERNMENT. THE TEXT IS LIBERALLY ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS. (RFC)