File spoon-archives/postcolonial.archive/postcolonial_2001/postcolonial.0111, message 212


From: "julian samuel" <jjsamuel-AT-vif.com>
Subject: The "brilliant" Premier of the province of Quebec, Canada
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 19:03:20 -0800



'Bitterness' is blamed for Sept. 11
Attacks on World Trade Centre were the result of peoples' failure to gain
their freedom: Premier

ALEXANDER PANETTA
Montreal Gazette


Monday, November 19, 2"At this point in human history, the future for
nations shall be either libertarian or reactionary," Landry told delegates
in closing remarks at this weekend's Parti Québécois convention.

The destruction of the World Trade Centre resulted from the bitterness that
can result when nations like Quebec fail to achieve their independence,
Premier Bernard Landry suggested yesterday.
The freedom of peoples and nations and their character is an indispensable
condition for global equilibrium; otherwise, we will go from dominant
imperialism and disappointment to deep bitterness.
"Since the events of Sept. 11, if there is one conclusion to draw in
relation to the project of Quebec sovereignty and the sovereignty and
liberty of all people, that is it."

To illustrate his point, Landry used the example of Catalonia - a region in
northeastern Spain with its own language and political autonomy.

"The future is Catalan or Taliban," Landry said, quoting what he said was a
recent speech by former U.S. president Bill Clinton. "To follow our ideal of
sovereignty, it's simply contributing to the progress of all humanity."

Hubert Bolduc, Landry's press secretary, said the premier was not trying to
make any link between the terrorist attacks and the sovereignty option.

"You can't link the Quebec independence project with Sept. 11," Bolduc said
by telephone. "You are making a story out of nothing."

But after speaking with the premier last night, Bolduc added: "I don't
really know what he meant to say. But one thing is certain: that's not what
he wanted to say. Well, at least not the way it was interpreted."

Terrorism Denounced

Terrorism Denounced

The attacks, which killed an estimated 4,500 people, were the work of a
terrorist network spawned to fight U.S. influence in the Middle East and the
perceived erosion of Islamic values.

Landry has repeatedly denounced terrorism while offering his full support to
the U.S. government in the wake of the attacks.

He also plans to meet with New York Governor George Pataki and tour Ground
Zero during a trip to New York City in two weeks.

Speaking in French without notes, Landry also delivered his harshest remarks
about federalism since the terrorist attacks.

One recent poll suggested Quebecers felt more secure inside Canada since
Sept. 11, and Landry has played down talk of sovereignty while remaining
cautious when discussing the federal government.

The premier has generally been guarded in his remarks about Canada since
referring to the Maple Leaf flag as a "red rag" in January. He later said
his remark was misinterpreted.

But he adopted a harsher tone in a pair of speeches to PQ delegates.

Yesterday, Landry said the Canadian union has regressed while the rest of
the Western world has evolved.

He said Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and federal Intergovernmental Affairs
Minister Stéphane Dion "embody the opposite of modernity."

Meanwhile, he noted, British Prime Minister Tony Blair recognizes that
Scotland and Wales are nations.

"Why is Canada blocked, while England manages to recognize Scotland and
Wales?" Landry said. "Why is the world evolving, while - on constitutional
matters - Canada regresses?"

He said his remarks were not directed against Canadian citizens, but at the
federal government.

http://www.canada.com/montreal/news/story.asp?id={E518ADB1-CE26-41F1-93D2-B4
C296ED45D7}





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