[Public post] Repression must end.
This testimony, written on Saturday, attempts to recall the events of the April 20th anti-Plan Nord protest at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, which preceded the probably arbitrary and supposedly preventive arrests on April 21st on the same location.
Here is a video of the April 20th anti-Plan Nord protest. Not for the faint of heart.
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There has been so much violently visible repression in Quebec these past few weeks... To name a few events1, the militia on the UdeM campus, the violent arrests at UQO, and the arrests at the Palais des Congrès this week. One of the reasons I HAD to be there was to see it with my own eyes. So I could report and witness. Because, quite frankly, I had doubts about the media. My doubts have been confirmed, at least partially.
Now, I want to write about that day, about what I saw. About who was there. And what happened. I'm in shock still, but I'm glad I went.
The protest was an ecological one, against the Plan Nord, which is both over-exploiting natural resources and sabotages the finances of the country. Charest is short-changing Quebec and walking all over Quebec First Nations with this thing. Why insist on something that is so widely criticized, and ignore protesters on all fronts? That was my understanding of the reasons that pushed various interest groups converged on the Palais des Congrès that day.
Present on site, at 11:30AM, were a handful of peaceful protesters, mostly professors, and a few students. At 11:45, a large group of workers (partially professors but also unionized workers from other sectors), joined the group. A few minutes later, they were joined by the CLASSE, who were protesting much closer to the door. That also was, mostly, peaceful. (I say mostly, because people are going to say that throwing paint on the door is violent - those same people who don't condemn police violence, and now I'm stopping, because I'm still furious. The disproportion of means is too dire, and greatly bothers me.)
Then, a door was opened and a young protester, who was too close to it got shot point blank with tear gas (was he trying to get access? I will never know.) My friend was near the doors when things went mad. The police were opening the doors on purpose, to try to lure protesters inside! She approached to take a picture and got gas in the face directly. The camera protected her eyes though. From there, things got rocky. A group of 6 professors, myself included, managed to calm the crowd (both police and protesting youths) by walking through the melee with a peace and love sign, while one of us gave a speech about free will and justice? From there, things got bad. The police went, and we were peacefully protesting still, until the protest was declared illegal and the riot squad came out. In all earnest, they charged unprovoked.
When the crowd dispersed, the mob squad proceeded to charge the CSN union members who were peacefully protesting in the park in front of the Palais. From there, everyone, myself included, retreated into a parking lot, hoping that there would be no charge. Well, the riot squad charged regardless. While I was fleeing, I saw a young man with a broken leg, trying to escape with the help of two friends. I saw countless young people crying from the tear gas. One of the young protesters got hit on the head, was bleeding profusely. He was evacuated out of there by his friends. That's how the protest's first half happened.
After that, I was on the sidelines. Frankly, I was afraid, not of the protesters, but of the police. I stayed on the slope that overlooked the parking, the fountain and the palais and observed the remaining proceedings. There were students and professors scattered all over the place. We were all completely horrified. After that, the CSN contingent left. My friend and I opted to stay. Bear witness. For a time, the students regrouped around the church nearby. Then, they tried again to approach the Palais. I think it was at that point that the Eco-Anar (Ecologist Anarchist) group joined in - and though I did not fear them (despite not knowing a thing about this movement), I feared things were going to get bad. They were not identifying visibly as students - they did not wear the red square, but instead carried around flags of green and black. After that, things get hazy. From where I was, it was charge, run, charge, run, charge, run. At one point, the riot squad almost got caught in pincers. I saw a police officer fall to the ground and be helped by his colleagues. I also saw, from afar, an older gentleman get put into arrest and escorted by far more cops than required.
Then it got bad, it got worse. The SQ was brought in - just like at UQO, the same goons who brutalized a pair of grandparents and who arrested peaceful protesters. We saw them rolling in on St-Antoine, in their big vans and 5 trucks designed for inmates. Most of it was happening on the other side of the Palais, but we could see the police charging, over and over. Slowly, with other peaceful protesters (students, professors, community workers, concerned citizens), we came back down. By that point, the Palais was guarded only by the SPVM, which I will concede is both less scary (because less aggressive) and less overtly violent. The crowd started to talk to them about ethics and about the fact that they were also citizens. A few seemed to waver, but interestingly, a bit later, they were replaced by solemn (dare I say stone-faced) officers, still from the SPVM. One of the more vocal fellows in the crowd sat on the floor and was immediately arrested. All he did was sit down. I'm still reeling from how surreal it was.
From there, curious to see what was going on, we walked to St-Urbain, to observe the rest of the protest. By the time we got there, there was a gathering, but the Eco-Anar were gone (I would suppose they were dispersed or arrested, since 18 people were arrested yesterday - I still wonder, did they not arrest more? I did see the SQ arrive with 5 vans destined to detainees.) The remaining protesters were, well, ordinary people, just singing slogans. They were just, well, there. The SQ still charged. I turned into a side street and left the protest, eyes stinging from tear gas, still in shock.
More violence happened that day, and was reported to me by friends or colleagues who were there, but in different locations.
I only saw Charest's dubious sense of humor later2, in a student lounge at UQAM. I still can't believe that he would have the gall. One does not simply make bad jokes while people, some of them underaged, are getting beat up and arrested outside the door.
I have lost what very little faith and trust in my current administration I had, and more so now that further violence has been enacted on protesters the following day, despite the outrage caused by our Prime Minister's ill-advised levity and the peaceful nature of the on-going protesting.
This repression is as unacceptable as the Plan Nord and the tuition increase. Yesterday, April 22nd, 300,000 people walked in the streets of Montreal to express their disapproval of the Plan Nord. On March 22nd, 200,000 people walked in Montreal in support of the striking students.
The people are not being heard. The 99% is not being heard, and I am tired of injustice. I am outraged. I am heartbroken. I am fighting, and will keep up the fight for a better, and a fairer Quebec.
Thank you for reading, thank you for reposting.
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1 I don't agree with the bias of this article, but it has the merit of giving a good summary. Do bear in mind that the students will soon have been striking without receiving any true opening from the government for almost three months. People are losing patience.
2 « À ceux qui frappaient à notre porte ce matin, on pourra leur offrir un emploi, dans le Nord autant que possible » translates to "And those who were knocking on our door this morning, we shall offer them employment, up North, as much as possible." This has been widely interpreted as a call to deportation by progressists and students.
What you can do:
1) The Government of Quebec wants to increase university tuition fees by 75% over the next 5 years. Most students are on strike since February 13th (over 60 days!) to show their disagreement with the decision. Show them your support if you agree that education is a RIGHT, not a COMMODITY. We will use geolocation to place a Red Square (symbol of your solidarity) where you are right now.
2) Sign the international petition against police brutality, here. English version below the French one, just scroll.
3) Share this post.
Here is a video of the April 20th anti-Plan Nord protest. Not for the faint of heart.
-------
There has been so much violently visible repression in Quebec these past few weeks... To name a few events1, the militia on the UdeM campus, the violent arrests at UQO, and the arrests at the Palais des Congrès this week. One of the reasons I HAD to be there was to see it with my own eyes. So I could report and witness. Because, quite frankly, I had doubts about the media. My doubts have been confirmed, at least partially.
Now, I want to write about that day, about what I saw. About who was there. And what happened. I'm in shock still, but I'm glad I went.
The protest was an ecological one, against the Plan Nord, which is both over-exploiting natural resources and sabotages the finances of the country. Charest is short-changing Quebec and walking all over Quebec First Nations with this thing. Why insist on something that is so widely criticized, and ignore protesters on all fronts? That was my understanding of the reasons that pushed various interest groups converged on the Palais des Congrès that day.
Present on site, at 11:30AM, were a handful of peaceful protesters, mostly professors, and a few students. At 11:45, a large group of workers (partially professors but also unionized workers from other sectors), joined the group. A few minutes later, they were joined by the CLASSE, who were protesting much closer to the door. That also was, mostly, peaceful. (I say mostly, because people are going to say that throwing paint on the door is violent - those same people who don't condemn police violence, and now I'm stopping, because I'm still furious. The disproportion of means is too dire, and greatly bothers me.)
Then, a door was opened and a young protester, who was too close to it got shot point blank with tear gas (was he trying to get access? I will never know.) My friend was near the doors when things went mad. The police were opening the doors on purpose, to try to lure protesters inside! She approached to take a picture and got gas in the face directly. The camera protected her eyes though. From there, things got rocky. A group of 6 professors, myself included, managed to calm the crowd (both police and protesting youths) by walking through the melee with a peace and love sign, while one of us gave a speech about free will and justice? From there, things got bad. The police went, and we were peacefully protesting still, until the protest was declared illegal and the riot squad came out. In all earnest, they charged unprovoked.
When the crowd dispersed, the mob squad proceeded to charge the CSN union members who were peacefully protesting in the park in front of the Palais. From there, everyone, myself included, retreated into a parking lot, hoping that there would be no charge. Well, the riot squad charged regardless. While I was fleeing, I saw a young man with a broken leg, trying to escape with the help of two friends. I saw countless young people crying from the tear gas. One of the young protesters got hit on the head, was bleeding profusely. He was evacuated out of there by his friends. That's how the protest's first half happened.
After that, I was on the sidelines. Frankly, I was afraid, not of the protesters, but of the police. I stayed on the slope that overlooked the parking, the fountain and the palais and observed the remaining proceedings. There were students and professors scattered all over the place. We were all completely horrified. After that, the CSN contingent left. My friend and I opted to stay. Bear witness. For a time, the students regrouped around the church nearby. Then, they tried again to approach the Palais. I think it was at that point that the Eco-Anar (Ecologist Anarchist) group joined in - and though I did not fear them (despite not knowing a thing about this movement), I feared things were going to get bad. They were not identifying visibly as students - they did not wear the red square, but instead carried around flags of green and black. After that, things get hazy. From where I was, it was charge, run, charge, run, charge, run. At one point, the riot squad almost got caught in pincers. I saw a police officer fall to the ground and be helped by his colleagues. I also saw, from afar, an older gentleman get put into arrest and escorted by far more cops than required.
Then it got bad, it got worse. The SQ was brought in - just like at UQO, the same goons who brutalized a pair of grandparents and who arrested peaceful protesters. We saw them rolling in on St-Antoine, in their big vans and 5 trucks designed for inmates. Most of it was happening on the other side of the Palais, but we could see the police charging, over and over. Slowly, with other peaceful protesters (students, professors, community workers, concerned citizens), we came back down. By that point, the Palais was guarded only by the SPVM, which I will concede is both less scary (because less aggressive) and less overtly violent. The crowd started to talk to them about ethics and about the fact that they were also citizens. A few seemed to waver, but interestingly, a bit later, they were replaced by solemn (dare I say stone-faced) officers, still from the SPVM. One of the more vocal fellows in the crowd sat on the floor and was immediately arrested. All he did was sit down. I'm still reeling from how surreal it was.
From there, curious to see what was going on, we walked to St-Urbain, to observe the rest of the protest. By the time we got there, there was a gathering, but the Eco-Anar were gone (I would suppose they were dispersed or arrested, since 18 people were arrested yesterday - I still wonder, did they not arrest more? I did see the SQ arrive with 5 vans destined to detainees.) The remaining protesters were, well, ordinary people, just singing slogans. They were just, well, there. The SQ still charged. I turned into a side street and left the protest, eyes stinging from tear gas, still in shock.
More violence happened that day, and was reported to me by friends or colleagues who were there, but in different locations.
I only saw Charest's dubious sense of humor later2, in a student lounge at UQAM. I still can't believe that he would have the gall. One does not simply make bad jokes while people, some of them underaged, are getting beat up and arrested outside the door.
I have lost what very little faith and trust in my current administration I had, and more so now that further violence has been enacted on protesters the following day, despite the outrage caused by our Prime Minister's ill-advised levity and the peaceful nature of the on-going protesting.
This repression is as unacceptable as the Plan Nord and the tuition increase. Yesterday, April 22nd, 300,000 people walked in the streets of Montreal to express their disapproval of the Plan Nord. On March 22nd, 200,000 people walked in Montreal in support of the striking students.
The people are not being heard. The 99% is not being heard, and I am tired of injustice. I am outraged. I am heartbroken. I am fighting, and will keep up the fight for a better, and a fairer Quebec.
Thank you for reading, thank you for reposting.
-----
1 I don't agree with the bias of this article, but it has the merit of giving a good summary. Do bear in mind that the students will soon have been striking without receiving any true opening from the government for almost three months. People are losing patience.
2 « À ceux qui frappaient à notre porte ce matin, on pourra leur offrir un emploi, dans le Nord autant que possible » translates to "And those who were knocking on our door this morning, we shall offer them employment, up North, as much as possible." This has been widely interpreted as a call to deportation by progressists and students.
What you can do:
1) The Government of Quebec wants to increase university tuition fees by 75% over the next 5 years. Most students are on strike since February 13th (over 60 days!) to show their disagreement with the decision. Show them your support if you agree that education is a RIGHT, not a COMMODITY. We will use geolocation to place a Red Square (symbol of your solidarity) where you are right now.
2) Sign the international petition against police brutality, here. English version below the French one, just scroll.
3) Share this post.