REFLECTIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARMED STRUGGLE I N CANADA The q u a l i t y o f t h e r e s p o n s e t o t h e a r t i c l e , " J u l i e R a t s Out", i n R e s i s t a n c e no. 10, and t h e r e c e n t d i s c u s s i o n s u r r o u n d i n g t h e l e t t e r t o Open Road, i n d i c a t e t h e d e g r e e t o w h i c h we, a s a movement, h a v e not a d d r e s s e d even t h e most b a s i c i s s u e s r a i s e d by t h e a c t i o n s o f D i r e c t A c t i o n and t h e Wimmin's F i r e B r i g a d e , o r t h e s u b s e q u e n t a r r e s t and t r i a l s o f t h e V a n c o u v e r 5. I t h a s been o u r t e n d a n c y t o t r e a t t h i s example o f armed r e s i s t a n c e w i t h i n t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f t h e C a n a d i a n S t a t e a s i f i t were an i s o l a t ed, u n p r e c e d e n t e d , and w h o l l y a h i s t o r i c a l e v e n t . A f t e r a l l , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f t h e FLQ i n Quebec between 63 and 70, Canada h a s no mode r n e x p e r i e n c e w i t h homegrown armed r e s i s t a n c e - i n f a c t , v e r y l i t t l e h i s t o r y o f m i l i t a n t r e s i s t a n c e of any s t r i p e . I t i s our weakness t h a t we f a i l t o r e c o g n i z e t h a t i n t h i s way Canada i s n o t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f West European s o c i e t i e s , b u t i s , i n f a c t , u n i q u e . V i r t u a l l y e v e r y o t h e r West E u r o p e a n s o c i e t y h a s d e v e l o p e d and s u s t a i n e d an armed movement s i n c e t h e e a r l y 7 0 s . I f we a r e t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e D i r e c t A c t i o n - Wimmin's F i r e B r i g a d e - V a n c o u v e r 5 e x p e r i e n c e , i f we a r e t o c r i t i c a l l y a s s i m i l a t e and b u i l d upon i t , we must look a t i t i n t h i s b r o a d e r c o n t e x t o f West European - A m e r i c a n r e s i s t a n c e . Why Armed
Struggle?
I f we a r e t o l o o k a t armed s t r u g g l e a s a s e r i o u s o p t i o n w i t h i n t h e C a n a d i a n S t a t e , we must e s t a b l i s h what we b e l i e v e t o be t h e o b j e c t i v e g o a l s o f armed s t r u g g l e . C l e a r l y s t a t e d armed s t r u g g l e h a s t h r e e p o t e n t i a l p u r p o s e s i n t h e s i t u a t i o n i n w h i c h we a r e c u r r e n t l y l i v i n g : (1) armed p r o p a g a n d a . (2) s a b o t a g e - c a u s i n g r e a l m a t e r i a l damage t o t h e S t a t e a p p a r a t u s and c a p i t a l i s m . (3) pose t h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y o p t i o n ; l a y t h e b a s e f o r a f u t u r e p o p u l a r armed r e s i s t a n c e . (1)
Armed Propaganda "The c o o r d i n a t i o n o f u r b a n g u e r i l l a a c t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g e a c h armed a c t i o n , i s t h e p r i n c i p a l way o f making armed propaganda. T h e s e a c t i o n s , c a r r i e d out w i t h s p e c i f i c and d e t e r m i n e d o b j e c t i v e s , i m e v i t a b l y become p r o p aganda m a t e r i a l f o r t h e mass c o m m u n i c a t i o n s s y s t e m . " - C a r l o s M a r i g h e l l a , "Minimanual o f t h e Urban G u e r i l l a "
A l l g u e r i l l a a c t i o n s a r e i n e v i t a b l y armed p r o p a g a n d a . The s u c c e s s of s u c h a c t i o n s a s propaganda t o o l s , however, depends on a v a r i e t y o f factors. The g r e a t e r t h e d e g r e e t o w h i c h t h e t a r g e t of t h e a c t i o n i s a s s o c i a t e d i n p o p u l a r c o n c i o u s n e s s w i t h some a s p e c t o f o p p r e s s i o n , the g r e a t e r t h e ease w i t h which i t can f i n d broad-based support. I f t h e t a r g e t h a s been a c l e a r f o c u s f o r ongoing work on t h e p a r t o f t h e l e g a l movement, t h e r e a s o n f o r t h e a c t i o n w i l l be i m m e d i a t e l y c l e a r , a t l e a s t t o t h o s e comrades aware of t h e i s s u e . T h i s w i l l be e s p e c i a l l y t r u e i f t h e a c t i v i t i e s of t h e l e g a l movement h a v e f a i l e d t o