What makes a leader a leader? And how should a leader respond to violence and confusion?
Those questions were at the heart of testimony yesterday in the Quebec Superior Court trial of activists Jaggi Singh, Christina Xydous and Jonathan Aspireault-Masse, all of whom are accused of rioting on Oct. 23, 2000, during a meeting in Montreal of G20 finance ministers.
The jury of nine women and three men again watched a video of a demonstration on Ren? L?vesque Blvd., between Drummond and Stanley Sts.
The footage is eerie, for it was shot from inside the cafeteria of the IBM building across the street and is silent. It is as if people danced, spoke, shouted, threw paint and rocks, scrawled graffiti and ran from both Montreal riot police and a line of officers mounted on horses, all without making a sound.
Det.-Sgt. Serge Laplante of Montreal police, who spent yesterday in the witness box, guided the jury through the tape. He pointed out what turned out to be a Molotov cocktail exploding, as if in slow motion, and he called Singh, an activist who is known across the country, a protest leader.
Cross-examined by Singh, who is representing himself (the two others have counsel), Laplante admitted that Singh's photograph was one of a few that were circulated among police before the demonstration occurred.
In one sequence a burly, red-headed man whose face is clearly identifiable is seen throwing three projectiles, one after the other. Laplante said the man was never arrested, and he has no idea who the man was.
Laplante said he never saw Singh do anything more remarkable that day than speak to the crowd from the back of a pickup truck, talk with individuals and help the truck back away from where things had become violent.
"He was a leader of the demonstration. He arrived and made a speech," Laplante said. "He saw what happened. He knew what was happening. He didn't go. He didn't go."
Later on, Singh, who stayed at the demonstration and is shown in the video standing and watching with the rest of the crowd, asked whether a leader would not have stayed to help people.
"Well, I think a leader should have been gone a long time ago," Laplante replied.
The trial continues today.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.