Friday, August 24, 2007

Montebello - questions

Now that the Quebec Provincial Police (SQ) has copped (heh) to owning the 3 miscreant undercover "protesters" that many suppose were planted as agents provocateurs, there are as many questions as before, maybe just slightly different ones. To wit:

(1) What was the fake "protester" saying to the police in the lineup just before his "arrest"? He didn't flash any ID, so the cops clearly knew who he was. If frontline riot cops knew who he was, somebody higher up had to know.

(2) Assuming someone higher up knew who the "protester" was and why he was there, why wouldn't the SQ brass confirm it until seeing the YouTube? (In my opinion, seeing the YouTube only confirmed that they were screwed and needed to make some kind of statement.)

(3) Who gave the order to put undercover cops in the crowd for any reason, not just as shit-disturbers? I know it's something they do on a regular basis, but they're seldom caught at it by anyone other than the people around them, so I'd love to hear their explanation for this tactic.

(4) If the intention of the undercovers was to mingle and check things out, why was one carrying a rock? Why did one respond so aggressively (pushing and shoving) when he was called out by Coles? (Again, just my opinion, but it looked like a last-ditch effort to get the other protesters to rush to Coles' defense, possibly starting some kind of uproar.) If they were put in the crowd to disrupt the protest, why?

(5) Who else besides the SQ was in on this? I am absolutely not buying that a provincial police agency did this on their own.

I had a look at the blurb about security for Montebello on the RCMP website. It's dated August 21, the day after the "arrests" of the "protesters", and the day before the story really gained traction, but it didn't mention any arrests other than the four that had already taken place. It also heightens my suspicion that more than the SQ was involved in this, as it goes to great lengths to talk about the "unified" police agencies all working together on security for Montebello. It says (in part):

Unified Police Agencies Report Positively on Security at Montebello Summit

"Papineauville, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - The unified police agencies, which include the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), report positively on the security measures implemented to ensure public order and security during the North American Leaders’ Summit.

At the end of the two-day event, the police have arrested four demonstrators. Charges of obstructing a peace officer and assault could be laid against these individuals. The clashes caused little damage. Five police officers suffered minor injuries. Although the Summit ends on August 21, the police resources will remain on site until the next day, August 22." [...]

"RCMP, SQ and OPP troops were deployed to prevent any outburst and ensure that demonstrators expressed their views peacefully while respecting the law, people and property. The actions of the crowd dictated the actions of the police.

The unified police services worked closely together to provide the best possible security services during this meeting of the three North American Heads of State." (emphasis mine)

It goes on to add the Coast Guard and the Army to the list of "unified police agencies" in addition to the three mentioned above. (And I suspect it goes further than that.) If these police agencies were all working together as a unified force, shouldn't they all have been aware of any covert policing activities?