As children of the 20th century, we are all aware of the overwhelming violence and needless brutality that exists in the world today. For generations, children have been born into a society where the breaths of hundreds of people have been stolen from their bodies by the cruel and calculated hand of a suicide bomber. Busses, trains, plains and automobiles have been reduced to twisted heaps of scrap metal and infrastructures have collapsed to ruin under the tyranny and hatred of rival countries or nations. The sheer knowledge that such an unfathomable hatred has and continues to exist in our present day and age is heartbreaking. Yet, as long as injustice subsists, so will terrorism: the ultimate last resort for many people. Although terrorists can and do employ many tactics to spread their message, no method stands to be more effective than hostage taking (White, ). Through this technique, terrorist groups gain media attention, compliance with governments and public support (White, ). It is specifically seen through the actions of the Front de Liberation du Quebec, that one can see how hostage taking can be an exceptionally successful technique in terrorism.

Primarily, hostage taking is a method that enables a certain terrorist group to gain widespread media attention. Of existing terrorist groups, none have utilized the media to such a brilliant manner than that of the Front de Liberation du Quebec or the FLQ. During the late 1960’s and early 1970's, nationalism runs rampant and the members of the FLQ stage a revolt in favor of the Quebec sovereignty movement (Wikipedia, Front de Liberation du Quebec). Very quickly, the FLQ becomes renown for their utilization of extreme violence and fear to promote their ideals (Wikipedia, Front de Liberation du Quebec). Yet, although they bomb some of the most highly significant monuments in Quebec, their request for worldwide attention is denied (Nacos, 36). The FLQ, infuriated, resort to kidnapping two of the most influential men in Canada and Britain (Wikipedia, Front de Liberation du Quebec). When James Cross, the British Trade Commissioner, and Pierre Laporte, the Quebec Minister of Labor, are abducted, the Quebec government has no other choice but to turn their attention to this terrorist group (Nacos, 36-37). What quickly follows is a media frenzy (Belanger, The FLQ). Nightly, CBC broadcasts the pleas of the Cross and Laporte family's, begging the FLQ to release their respective spouses (Belanger, The FLQ). Newspapers narrate the adventures of the FLQ religiously (Belanger, The FLQ). It does not take long for everyone in Quebec and Canada to recognize the FLQ's plight and quest (Belanger, The FLQ).

It is through the media attention, that the FLQ gain the ability to spread their cause throughout the country (Belanger, The FLQ). Shortly after the high profile kidnappings, a list of demands is issued to the government (Wikipedia, Front de Liberation du Quebec). Yet, as seen in the past, the government is very reluctant in dealing with terrorism and terrorists (Nacos, 125). The demands of the FLQ go unanswered (Wikipedia, Front de Liberation du Quebec). Due to this crucial error, Pierre Laporte is found days later, strangled, in the trunk of an abandoned car near an airport (Belanger, The FLQ). For fear of another needless death, the government of Quebec, still recovering from such a critical blow, gives into the list of nine demands issued by the terrorist group (Belanger, The FLQ). As soon as the vast majority of the demands are met and the political prisoners have escaped, James Cross is released (Belanger, The FLQ).

Despite the fact the FLQ murder an innocent man, public support for the group only increases and is at an all-time high during the hostage situation (Wikipedia, Front de Liberation du Quebec). The FLQ's use of hostage taking is brilliantly executed. When the government complies with their demands, their manifesto is published on the cover of every major newspaper in Quebec and is broadcast on radio and television alike (Belanger, The FLQ). Political experts are called in and begin commenting on the proposal, which further serves to spread the knowledge (Belanger, The FLQ). Seeing as how there are two primary options in dealing with hostage situations, (negotiate or eliminate), the FLQ, which is entirely consistent of ten men, risk an incredible amount to make their message public (Wikipedia, Hostages). The police, who have infiltrated the group by the time of the Cross kidnapping could have easily taken out several pivotal members (Wikipedia, Front de Liberation du Quebec). Yet, the population of Quebec is already in the midst of revolution. Hundreds of university students gather together and protest the Bourassa/Trudeau imposition of Martial Law and thousands more Quebecois silently approve of the measures of the FLQ (Belanger, The FLQ). Even now, over thirty years later, the members of the FLQ have blended back into society, acting as judges, lawyers and even university teachers (Nacos, 84). With their nationalist message still passionately alive today, it is clear to see why the FLQ's tactics are extremely successful.

Hopefully in the near future, terror will cease to be a means to an end of a problem. Thousands upon thousands of pointless deaths occur each year, due to ignorance and megalomania. Yet, one must always remember that terrorist groups do not have to be large in members to be more effective. Sometimes, even the smallest of breezes can knock the mighty oak tree down. For Quebec, The FLQ will always be a symbol of the calm before the storm and transformation through revolution.

[ main page ] . [ guestbook ] . [e-mail ]