(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
Nov. 25, 1998)
Kidnappers should not be heroes
By Leo Knight
CANADA'S
most infamous socially conscious tourists have finally been
returned to this country.
Whoopee.
Please
excuse me if I'm underwhelmed by the gushing welcome given to
Christine Lamont and David Spencer after nine years in a
Brazilian jail.
Lamont,
from Langley, and Spencer, from Moncton, travelled to Brazil in
the late '80s taking with them their own brand of left-wing
lunacy to that politically troubled country. They got involved
with a leftist guerrilla group and were subsequently arrested
following the botched kidnapping of a member of the Brazilian
bourgeoisie.
The
merry band of loonies held Abilio Diniz, the wealthy owner of
Brazil's largest supermarket chain, captive for six days while
demanding a $30 million US ransom to fund the leftist guerrillas
fight against the government.
When
the police broke up the plan, Lamont and Spencer, showing the
courage of their convictions, bleated to all who would listen
that they were also victims of the gang. They claimed they were
innocent and had nothing to do with the kidnap plot. The
Brazilian court didn't agree and handed them a 28-year sentence
to consider the folly of their ways.
What
followed was a concerted effort at deceiving the Canadian
government and the Canadian public to try to win their release.
For over six years they maintained their innocence. Their
parents, especially the Lamonts in Langley, lobbied hard to get
External Affairs to pressure the Brazilian government to return
their wayward kids.
In
1996, after some exhaustive investigation, it was determined the
pair were not the sweet and innocent tourists they claimed to
be.
Evidence
of forged passports and substantial pre-planning involving the
couple showed the depth of the conspiracy they were intricately
involved in.
After
more than six years of perpetrating a slick deception of our
government, media and citizenry, the truth was finally out. They
were guilty of conspiring to kidnap Diniz, threatening to kill
him and holding him hostage for six days.
These
weren't kids arrested in a foreign country holding signs in a
protest for human rights, innocent of anything except being
idealists.
Hardly.
They got involved with terrorists. Killers of the most vile
sort. They gave their active assistance to the planning and
execution of a cold-blooded scheme to kidnap a man guilty only
of being wealthy.
When
they were imprisoned in Brazil, bleating their innocence, they
coerced the Brazilian government to get special treatment,
something that caused their fellow inmates to riot three years
ago in protest.
Now
they have been returned to Canada and placed in Canadian jails,
ostensibly to complete their sentences. But they won't.
Our
laws have provision for early release after completion of one
third of the sentence. This means Lamont and Spencer will be
eligible for parole before the year is over.
When
they arrived at Abbotsford airport on Saturday morning, all the
media were there to film the tearful reunions with friends and
family members. Warm and fuzzy quotes were broadcast and printed
about how happy everyone was for their return to Canada.
Well,
isn't that special.
But,
for this pair of convicted terrorists -- and that's what they
really are -- to be given almost hero status is more than we
should bear. The "misguided youth" argument just
doesn't wash here.
They
left Canada fully intending to get involved in the political
causes of the left in South America. With eyes fully open, they
actively assisted in planning and co-ordinating the kidnap
scheme. Once caught, they deceived this country about their true
actions and involvement, showing clearly, no remorse whatsoever.
And
somehow we're supposed to feel sorry for them and accord them a
type of hero or martyr status?
There
are a great many causes that deserve our attention and concern.
The strange case of Christine Lamont and David Spencer is not
one of them.
Spare
me the tears, please.
*
* *
The
resignation of Solicitor General Andy Scott will no doubt focus
the spotlight on APEC commission chairman Gerald Morin, also
under the spectre of suspicion for having pre-judged the APEC
situation.
Scott
didn't decide by himself that a few Mounties, including Staff
Sgt. Hugh (Hughie) Stewart, would take the "hit" for
the government.
Neither
did Morin conclude, all on his own, the statements attributed to
him in the Prince Albert gambling joint. On the contrary, the
reek of the spin doctors is all over the words of both Scott and
Morin.
The
RCMP Public Complaints Commission was never the forum to get at
the truth of the involvement of the Prime Minister's Office. The
commission has neither the authority nor the mandate to look at
anything other than the actions of the RCMP.
Let's face it, both Scott and Morin are prime ministerial lackeys. Yes-men, dependent on the good graces of the PM for their daily crust.
They
were both spouting the stories they were given. Given, I'll
wager, by the backroom boys in the PMO. The people who are
really running this country, lest anyone think it is the elected
Members of Parliament who are in charge.
It
is those people whose actions need to be examined thoroughly by
a commission with the authority and mandate to look into the
corruption of the Prime Minister's Office. Those who would seek
to make police officers like Hugh Stewart patsies.
Scott's
resignation was inevitable. So, too, is that of Gerald Morin. As
is the disbanding of the APEC commission. Whether an effective
commission is subsequently struck to actually get at the truth
depends entirely on how much pressure can be brought to bear on
the prime minister and whether he wants to consider the
potential suicide such action would trigger.
From the outset, I have said the issues of pepper spraying of the protesters and the involvement of the PMO are two entirely separate things. It seems the matter is finally starting to unfold as it should.
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