.
Terrorist tactics win the day and the plains of abraham
By Paula Arab, Calgary Herald February 19, 2009
.
Chalk one up for the separatists. They may have lost the Plains of Abraham in less than half an hour, but 250 years later, Quebec nationalists won their petty battle to cancel the reenactment. Felicitations!
The real shameful defeat belongs to the National Battlefields Commission for capitulating to the demands of a few radical separatist groups. The commission finally relented and cancelled the controversial re-enactment of the pivotal British victory that was planned for this summer, on the famous battlefield in the heart of Quebec City.
The Plains of Abraham belong to all Canadians. The park is the site of one of the most exciting moments in our modest Canadian history. It's a place all citizens should visit at least once in their lives.
In the bigger picture, though, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham was just one of numerous fights during the Seven Years' War, between Europe's colonial powers.
And contrary to what must have been taught in Quebec history classes, it was not the reason why French rule ended in North America. More on that later.
The separatists need to understand that every battle has a winner and a loser. Re-enactments occur all the time, and every time, the outcome is still the same, no matter how badly one might want to change, ignore or erase the ending.
Re-enactments are about history, not politics or revisionism. This series was organized by American military buffs, not federal politicians.
A number of other battles have already been restaged without controversy, to mark the 250-year anniversaries of the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). Some are misrepresenting the restaging of the battles as celebrations. There's nothing festive about war. The re-enactments are to honour the memory of soldiers on all sides who lost their lives in the battles.
The cowardly retreat by the commission--a federal agency that runs the Plains --has left re-enactors scratching their heads.
"It's kind of mind-boggling," says Horst Dresler, president of the Quebec Historical Corps.
"I just can't believe that this handful of people are patting themselves on the back, feeling very proud of themselves. They have no idea what they're doing for the province."
What they've done is bring disgrace upon themselves, and killed an event that would have been a significant boon to Quebec tourism. It would have been a windfall to an economy that's being battered by a global recession.
Dresler, who lives in Vermont, has been planning this for 11 years. He had 3,000 people lined up, including 2,100 who were to play soldiers on the Plains.
Quebec can bid adieu to those thousands of volunteers, actors and tourists who were expected to flock to their city and province this summer, as they did in celebration of last year's 400th anniversary.
But never mind. Let's just pretend the Battle of the Plains of Abraham never happened, if that will please those who have a lesser grasp on their roots. Let's just silence the noisy few militants, for whom revisiting the battle, they believe, would be a humiliation to Quebec.
In reality, the French lost New France because France withdrew its support, stopped sending troops and sacrificed it for another colony, Guadeloupe. If separatists want to be mad at anyone, they should point their paintball guns across the Atlantic to the mother country.
The lesson in all of this, sadly, seems to be that threats of violence sometimes pay off. The federal commission's decision to cancel is akin to meeting the irrational demands of terrorists.
Andre Juneau, commission chairman, defends his decision by saying it was impossible to ensure public safety: "Given the excessive language and threats we have heard in recent days, we can't as responsible managers risk compromising the safety of families and children who might attend the event."
Responsible managers would have forged on and hired enough police and security to ensure the radical militants were arrested and charged should they break the law.
La bonne Surete du Quebec can certainly handle a few troublemakers armed with paintball guns, as the separatists reportedly vowed to bring.
Responsible managers would have insisted the show must go on. People have already spent money on airfares and hotel rooms, all of which now must be cancelled.
What's next? The same separatists opposed to the re-enactment have also demanded control of the Plains. They want it taken from the federal government, and transferred to the province.
And if that's not egregious enough, they also want the removal of "all monuments dedicated to the memory" of British General James Wolfe in Quebec City.
Make no mistake, the real loss goes to Quebec, and the biggest losers are the sovereigntists --tainted by the brush of their militant brothers.
Educated sovereigntists like Louis Valiquette not only welcomed the re-enactment, but planned on participating in it. He was going to play a French military leader on the front line. "It is a way of saying, as a sovereigntist, I am still here as a francophone," he said. "My family was there before, during and after, and we have survived."
The show won't go on, but the battle between the French and English Canada unfortunately will.
Chalk one up for the separatists. They may have lost the Plains of Abraham in less than half an hour, but 250 years later, Quebec nationalists won their petty battle to cancel the reenactment. Felicitations!
The real shameful defeat belongs to the National Battlefields Commission for capitulating to the demands of a few radical separatist groups. The commission finally relented and cancelled the controversial re-enactment of the pivotal British victory that was planned for this summer, on the famous battlefield in the heart of Quebec City.
The Plains of Abraham belong to all Canadians. The park is the site of one of the most exciting moments in our modest Canadian history. It's a place all citizens should visit at least once in their lives.
In the bigger picture, though, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham was just one of numerous fights during the Seven Years' War, between Europe's colonial powers.
And contrary to what must have been taught in Quebec history classes, it was not the reason why French rule ended in North America. More on that later.
The separatists need to understand that every battle has a winner and a loser. Re-enactments occur all the time, and every time, the outcome is still the same, no matter how badly one might want to change, ignore or erase the ending.
Re-enactments are about history, not politics or revisionism. This series was organized by American military buffs, not federal politicians.
A number of other battles have already been restaged without controversy, to mark the 250-year anniversaries of the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). Some are misrepresenting the restaging of the battles as celebrations. There's nothing festive about war. The re-enactments are to honour the memory of soldiers on all sides who lost their lives in the battles.
The cowardly retreat by the commission--a federal agency that runs the Plains --has left re-enactors scratching their heads.
"It's kind of mind-boggling," says Horst Dresler, president of the Quebec Historical Corps.
"I just can't believe that this handful of people are patting themselves on the back, feeling very proud of themselves. They have no idea what they're doing for the province."
What they've done is bring disgrace upon themselves, and killed an event that would have been a significant boon to Quebec tourism. It would have been a windfall to an economy that's being battered by a global recession.
Dresler, who lives in Vermont, has been planning this for 11 years. He had 3,000 people lined up, including 2,100 who were to play soldiers on the Plains.
Quebec can bid adieu to those thousands of volunteers, actors and tourists who were expected to flock to their city and province this summer, as they did in celebration of last year's 400th anniversary.
But never mind. Let's just pretend the Battle of the Plains of Abraham never happened, if that will please those who have a lesser grasp on their roots. Let's just silence the noisy few militants, for whom revisiting the battle, they believe, would be a humiliation to Quebec.
In reality, the French lost New France because France withdrew its support, stopped sending troops and sacrificed it for another colony, Guadeloupe. If separatists want to be mad at anyone, they should point their paintball guns across the Atlantic to the mother country.
The lesson in all of this, sadly, seems to be that threats of violence sometimes pay off. The federal commission's decision to cancel is akin to meeting the irrational demands of terrorists.
Andre Juneau, commission chairman, defends his decision by saying it was impossible to ensure public safety: "Given the excessive language and threats we have heard in recent days, we can't as responsible managers risk compromising the safety of families and children who might attend the event."
Responsible managers would have forged on and hired enough police and security to ensure the radical militants were arrested and charged should they break the law.
La bonne Surete du Quebec can certainly handle a few troublemakers armed with paintball guns, as the separatists reportedly vowed to bring.
Responsible managers would have insisted the show must go on. People have already spent money on airfares and hotel rooms, all of which now must be cancelled.
What's next? The same separatists opposed to the re-enactment have also demanded control of the Plains. They want it taken from the federal government, and transferred to the province.
And if that's not egregious enough, they also want the removal of "all monuments dedicated to the memory" of British General James Wolfe in Quebec City.
Make no mistake, the real loss goes to Quebec, and the biggest losers are the sovereigntists --tainted by the brush of their militant brothers.
Educated sovereigntists like Louis Valiquette not only welcomed the re-enactment, but planned on participating in it. He was going to play a French military leader on the front line. "It is a way of saying, as a sovereigntist, I am still here as a francophone," he said. "My family was there before, during and after, and we have survived."
The show won't go on, but the battle between the French and English Canada unfortunately will.
No comments:
Post a Comment