A mysterious anti-English group says it is behind a series of increasingly violent incidents of vandalism and arson in Montreal, the latest one an attempt Wednesday to torch a church where anglophone activists were to meet.
The group, unknown till now, calls itself La Brigade d'Autodéfense du Français (The French-Language Self-Defence Brigade) or BAF.
The self-described French-language activists previously claimed responsibility for a series of incidents ranging from spraying shops with a paint gun to trying to set a restaurant on fire with a gasoline bomb.
It is not known who or how many people are behind the campaign, which BAF called in one communiqué "Operation Linguistic Cleansing." Although damage has been minor, police are worried about the increasing violence in the attacks, an investigator said this week.
"They went from mischief, which is using paintballs and spray paint, to using incendiary devices, and once you get into incendiary devices, you step into a whole new crime," said Commander Douglas Hurley, head of the Montreal Urban Community police arson squad.
St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church was to have been the site of a fundraiser Wednesday night to help lawyer Brent Tyler's court challenges to Quebec's French-language laws.
Around 2:30 a.m., someone broke into the church, cut the phone lines, tapped into the furnace's fuel line and spilled heating oil, Rev. Peter Shportun said.
The arsonist lit the oil, but a neighbour spotted the flames quickly enough for firefighters to limit the damage, Father Shportun said.
The fundraiser was moved to another location, under heavy police surveillance. "This is an attempt by terrorists to intimidate us and we will not be intimidated," Mr. Tyler said. "It's extremely cowardly."
BAF said in a terse statement sent by e-mail to local newspapers and radio stations that it wanted to target Alliance Quebec, the anglophone lobby group with which Mr. Tyler is associated.
"From now on, hall owners who rent to Alliance Quebec must know that by associating themselves with those anti-Quebec racists, they expose themselves to reprisals," the statement said.
"The church is not a political entity. We had simply rented our hall to a parishioner of ours," Father Shportun said. "We rent the hall to many people to help pay our bills."
Previously, BAF sent a series of communiqués to the newspaper La Presse, claiming responsibility for incidents beginning last November.
The communiqués list six incidents where stores with English names or the homes or offices of federalist figures such as Mr. Tyler were hit with paintballs.
They mention arson attacks against a bargain shop and a restaurant, which was last hit three weeks ago with a bomb made of gasoline and a propane canister.
Quebec secessionists condemned the actions of the arsonists, saying they don't reflect the mainstream of their movement.
"We know nothing of that group, and usually we know what's going on in sovereigntist circles," said Robin Philpot, a spokesman for the Société St-Jean Baptiste.
"There are other ways to meet your goals. Our government is against the use of violence," said Martin Roy, a spokesman for Louise Beaudoin, the provincial minister responsible for language.
One of the group's last communiqués says that the aronists might attack Second Cup franchises in Plateau Mont-Royal.
Language of terror
The following are excerpts from communiqués from La Brigade d'Autodéfense du Français (The French-Language Self-Defence Brigade). Nov. 22, 1999: "This time, the ammunition consisted only of paintballs. Next time, it could be lead." Nov. 30, 1999: "Some could think that this is in the style of 1930s Chicago but, because of the inaction of the Quebec government, what other means do we have to let the anglophone racists and the federalist riffraff know that the time of the counteroffensive has come?" Sept. 7, 2000: "Operation Linguistic Cleansing in the Plateau Mont-Royal is entering a new phase. Now that our credibility is established, we can consider attacking a more important target or more targets. We have to admit that the three Second Cup coffee shops on Mont-Royal street are very tempting. Our minds are not set yet.
"But let's be clear that, when it comes to companies that use their English trade names to violate the sign law, their days are numbered.
"The task is immense but the people are patient." Sept. 21, 2000: "From now on, hall owners who rent to Alliance Quebec must know that by associating themselves with those anti-Quebec racists, they expose themselves to reprisals, material damage and other things, as much before as after the events."
Tu Thanh Ha