First Published: In Struggle! No. 131, October 31, 1978
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Malcolm and Paul Saba
Copyright: This work is in the Public Domain under the Creative Commons Common Deed. You can freely copy, distribute and display this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit the Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line as your source, include the url to this work, and note any of the transcribers, editors & proofreaders above.
In the pages of its newspaper, IN STRUGGLE! called upon the public to condemn the Katevale incident of September 29 as an example of police repression.
On October 25, more than thirty student associations, community groups, trade unions and progressive people belonging to the coalition to prepare the Operation Freedom demonstration in Montreal declared their support for a common position. In a letter addressed to Trudeau and Levesque, as well as Marc-Andre Bedard, Quebec Minister of Justice, and Jean-Jacques Blais, Solicitor-General of Canada, they condemned “repression (that) has been erected into a system” in Canada and, in reference to the Katevale incident, upheld the “minimal democratic right for an individual or group to know why it was held hostage”.
The letter has been endorsed by the following groups:
Maison St-Jacques;
Clinique des citoyens de St. Jacques;
the executive of the union of the workers at the Clinique de Pointe St. Charles;
the board of directors of Carrefour d’education populare;
Mouvement Action-chomage (Montreal);
Operation chomage (Sherbrooke);
Association de defense des droits sociaux du Montreal metropolitain;
Association cooperative d’economie familiale de Montreal;
comite logement St. Louis;
Regroupement pour la defense des droits democratiques (Laval);
Comite d’information sur lea prisonniers politiques;
Association nationale des etudiants du Quebec;
Federation des associations etudiantes du campus de l’Universite de Montreal;
Association des etudiants en criminologie de l’Universite de Montreal;
Centre dialogue;
Centre de sante des femmes du quartier;
Collecif de production de “des lutes et des rires des femmes;”
Coalition pour le contingent gai;
Centre cooperative de recherché en politiques socials;
Syndicat des professionnels du gouvernement du Quebec;
CLSC Chateauguay;
CUPE local 313;
Conseil syndical du Syndicat des charges de cours de l’Universite du Quebec a Montreal;
Syndicat national des employes de lnstitut Pinel;
Ligue des droits et libertes;
the law firm of Cousineau, Beauchemin and Beauvais;
Groupe socialiste des travailleurs du Quebec;
Revolutionary Workers League;
and the Parti des travailleurs du Quebec.
Individuals have also endorsed the letter.
Not unexpectedly, Trudeau and Levesque have remained deafeningly silent about the activities of their political police. But IN STRUGGLE! has been receiving letters and resolutions from various groups and coalitions. During a recent support rally in Quebec City, the president of the union of the workers on strike at CJRP (a radio station) publicly condemned the repression to which workers are subjected as well as the violation of the rights of expression and association in the Katevale incident.
Growing political repression against labour, community and student organizations and the communist movement makes it urgent that people active in these organizations respond by condemning the Katevale incident and all other cases of repression. They should have resolutions protesting the repression passed and send them to IN STRUGGLE! Copies should also be sent to the bourgeois newspapers. Work at preparing broad participation in the demonstrations, meetings and statements of the various coalitions across the country like Operation Freedom. The bourgeois State’s “democratic” mask is slipping. We must denounce the dictatorial power that lies behind it.