QUÉBEC CITY:

ANTI-MILITARIST DEMONSTRATION:

Here is the NEFAC (North Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists) report on their recent anti-militarist demonstration in Québec City. Seems like a success.

Quebec city: anti-militarist demonstration
About 300 anti-militarists took the streets Friday, March 28 in Quebec city. In a rare showing of unity, the main anti-capitalists groups of the city marched together, along with delegations from other cities, such as Montreal and Sherbrooke. The marchers commemorated the 90th anniversary of the riots against conscription and took the occasion to again express their opposition to the war in Afghanistan.

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Anti-militarist Quebec city
"Quebec city is not only a garrison town, it also has a proud anti-militarist past" said Mathieu, of the Northeastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists (NEFAC). It’s not on the agenda of the insipid 400th anniversary of the city, but 90 years ago, the city inhabitants rose against conscription. Five days of rioting occurred downtown, which ended in a bloodbath when the army opened fire on a crowd of civilians, leaving 4 dead and 35 injured. "It’s this popular history that we want to take out of oblivion" added the anarchist militant.

Resistance to war
Today, Canada is still involved in an imperialist war. It is remarkable that, despite a propaganda campaign by the military, the popular opposition to the war remains, poll after poll. Unfortunately, this opposition to the war has found little space to express itself. "Many people in Quebec city are opposed to the use of their taxes in this war, Let's stop it!" Said Antoine, of Gauche socialiste. "They make war in our name, without asking us our opinion. The opposition to the war must be able to express itself, which is why we participated in the demonstration Friday "
Gathering in Saint-Roch
The event began at 5PM with a rally in Saint-Roch, in front of the Gabrielle-Roy Library. After a few speeches and slogans, the anti-militarists took the streets to go to the district of Saint-Sauveur, at the corner of Saint-Vallier and St. Joseph, where there’s a memorial to the dead of 1918. The march ended at the Parc Durocher and was followed by an anti-militarist conference organized by Alternatives at the AgitéE.

The organizers
The demonstration was an initiative of the Northeastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists (NEFAC). It was organized jointly by the Collectif anarchiste La Nuit, the Collectif Piranhas and Gauche socialiste. The following groups formally endorsed it and mobilized: Québec Solidaire Capitale-Nationale, Regroupement autonome des jeunes, PCR-Québec, Personne n’est illégal-Montréal, Bloquez l’empire-Montréal, l’Association des Étudiantes et des Étudiants en Histoire, Convergence l’Autre 400e and PCQ-Québec. This large anti-capitalist diversity probably make this event one of the largest open mobilisation of the political far-left in the city since the Summit of the Americas.