http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2013/04/daniel_mcgowan.php
We deserve to know why police shot Bennis
The Gazette, Editorial
Friday, July 27, 2007
It is instructive to read in sequence the Gazette headlines about the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis:
Dec. 3, 2005: "Knife attack on constable remains a mystery: Police officer recovering from wounds. Quebec City investigators question relatives of man shot to death."
Dec. 10, 2005: "Burial clouded by questions ... Attempts to speak with officer involved in shooting rebuffed: family."
Dec. 12, 2006: "Islamic relations council seeks inquiry into death."
Jan. 8, 2006: "Protesters push for probe into police shooting."
Jan 10, 2006: "Details of shooting by cops to be held till after probe: 'No interest in hiding anything.' Community demands Quebec set up inquiry into death of devout Muslim man."
Nov. 7, 2006: "Police officer cleared after bizarre shooting: Investigation cloaked in secrecy."
Nov. 8, 2006: "Dead man's family still in the dark."
April 12, 2007: "Family demands answers in 2005 slaying."
Now it's July, and the victim's sister and other relatives are still asking in vain for answers. As Khadija Bennis explained in a powerful appeal for public support on our Opinion page yesterday, police and the Quebec Public security department have silently stonewalled the family's requests for an end to secrecy. Our columnist Henry Aubin endorsed that request yesterday, and today we add our voice to the chorus.
A citizen was shot and killed by police on no obvious provocation; what little evidence we do have is a poor match for what little the police have said. Justice must be done, and must be seen to be done. This secrecy should be seen as offensive and alarming not only by those who knew Mohamed Anas Bennis, but to everyone in Quebec society.
If the police continue to stonewall, then it will be up to their bosses, Mayor Gérald Tremblay and executive committee member Claude Dauphin, who is responsible for public security, to reassure us all. Can police really kill without public accountability? Surely not. And if city hall thinks Montrealers don't care about that question, then the Quebec government needs to get involved.
What's needed is a proper public inquiry. We can imagine numerous scenarios in which the shooting might have been well justified; we can also imagine many ways the shooting might have been utterly wrong. But a man is dead at the hands of the police: Why does the public have to imagine what happened? The people need to know.
From Thursday's Gazette: The appeal by Khadija Bennis, and Henry Aubin's column on the subject, are still available at montrealgazette.com
Justice for Anas website: www.justicepouranas.ca
Police frustrated by inability to speak up about probe
Secretive system forbids them from discussing inquiry into case of man killed by cops in '05
MICHELLE LALONDE, The Gazette
Published: Friday, July 27
A Montreal police spokesperson expressed frustration yesterday with the province of Quebec's secretive system for investigating incidents in which civilians are killed by police officers.
"In some cases, it would be to our advantage to be able to (make public) our version of events, but because of concerns about transparency and fairness, the law says we can't say what happened," Sgt. Ian Lafreniere said in interview.
Lafreniere was reacting to a call by family members of Mohamed Anas Bennis, shot to death by a Montreal police officer in December 2005, for a public inquiry into the killing.
Bennis, 25, of Montreal, was on his way home from morning prayers at a C?te des Neiges mosque when police allege Bennis attacked officers with a kitchen knife, an accusation the family contends is absurd.
"It was completely out of character that suddenly, one morning, my brother would attack a police officer, or anyone, with a knife after his morning prayers just steps from his house," Khadija Bennis, twin sister of Anas Bennis, wrote in an opinion piece published in yesterday's Gazette.
Appeals by the family to Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis for access to a report produced by Quebec City police investigating the incident have gone unanswered, she wrote.
She referred to community concerns that "racial profiling might have played a role in the police shooting of my brother, an identifiable and practising Muslim."
Dupuis was unavailable for comment yesterday, but his aide Philippe Archambault said the minister is "very sensitive to the concerns and demands of the family in this case, but the law prevents us from commenting or giving (the family or the media) access to the report,"
When a police officer in the province is involved in an incident that results in death or severe injury, an outside police service is called in to investigate.
In the Anas Bennis case, Quebec City police investigated and found nothing to warrant charges against the Montreal officer. Since no charges were laid, no details of the incident were made public.
Ontario is the only jurisdiction in Canada where an independent civilian agency has the power to investigate and charge police officers with a criminal offence.
Created 17 years ago in response to public outcry over police shootings of unarmed black men in that province, the Special Investigations Unit probes incidents involving police in which civilians are killed or severely injured.
SIU spokesperson Rose Bliss said the agency has not satisfied all calls for transparency, as it must still work within restrictions imposed by privacy laws, considerations about protecting witnesses and preserving the integrity of the investigation.
Investigative reports are not rendered public, but the agency produces news releases that provide summaries of evidence.
"I would argue that our news releases are the most detailed of any information on police investigations made available by any law agency in our country right now," she said.
mlalonde@thegazette.canwest.com
Mohamed Anas Bennis,
shot dead by Montreal's killer cops
on December 1st 2005
Montreal's Collective Opposed to Police Brutality have released the following document summarizing the past year's bullshit whitewash of the police killing of Mohamed Anas Bennis. This killing, the brazen secrecy and disrespect on the part of the government, and the "mum's the word" complicity of the media are all scandals, and threats to take seriously.
There is a vigil organized by COBP this Friday December 1st at 5pm, and another one organized by the group Justice pour Anas on Saturday December 2nd at noon...
Translation provided by yours truly...
******************************************
Communique from the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality - (514) 859-9065 - cobp@hotmail.com - www.cobp.ath.cx
The Case of Mohamed Anas Bennis, Eleven Months Later:
No charges are to be laid against the killer cops Bernier and Roy, and none of the questions have been answered...
Montreal, November 13th 2006: On November 4th 2006, the government of Quebec released a brief statement to the effect that “no criminal charges will be laid as following the death of Mr Mohamed Annas Bennis” as “a thorough examination of the evidence did not lead us to conclude that a criminal act had occurred.” (1)
More than eleven months after the incident where an officer from the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM – Montreal Police Department) shot Mohamed Anas Bennis twice, once in the heart killing him, a brief review of the facts is in order.
What Happened and What the Police Say Happened
On December 1st 2005, at around 7:20am, on the corner of Kent Street and Côte-Des-Neiges, the twenty-five year old Mohamed Anas Bennis was killed, shot twice by an SPVM officer from Neighbourhood Station 25. Mohamed was killed in the midst of a joint police operation involving the SPVM, the Quebec Provincial Police, the RCMP and even perhaps the FBI. “Operation Glory,” which ended up not to be so glorious after all, targeted a network of alleged Algerian scam artists who were suspected of ties to “international terrorism.” But although he was a young bearded Moroccan on his way home from Mosque wearing a skullcap and djellabah, Mohamed had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.(2)
The next day, the police version of events was published in the Journal de Montreal: Mohamed, described as “unbalanced,” was said to have jumped on a police officer with a kitchen knife, for no reason, stabbing him in the neck and in the leg. The officer then fired the two fatal shots, apparently in “justified self-defense.” (3) This version of events was challenged by Mohamed’s friends and family, who described him as an easy going young man who had never had any problems with the police, or any psychological problems. Furthermore, as his sister pointed out, “The idea of Mohamed Anas walking around with a kitchen knife as he left Mosque on the morning of December 1st, there is no way we’re going to swallow a story like that. We’d do better to believe in Santa Claus!”(4)
The Service de Police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ – Quebec City Police Department) was charged with investigating the case, as according to the “policy of the Public Security Minister of Quebec, that when a death or serious bodily injury which might result in death occurs during a police operation or period of detention” no police force can investigate itself or events in which its own officers caused someone to die.
The community mobilizes
Mohamed Anas Bennis’ father, Mohamed Bennis, as well as the Atlas Media Group, set up the Association for Truth Regarding the Death of Anas, which quickly received support from many people and organizations concerned with civil rights. On December 2nd it was reported that the police officer in question was “treated for superficial injuries which did not require hospitalization.” On December 5th, the SPVQ officer in charge of the investigation confirmed that there was a video tape of the incident. On December 6th, the father hired the lawyer Luc Trempe to expose what he referred to as a “bavure policiere.” [A term which means “police error,” but which is used to refer to police killings. - translator] The father traveled to Quebec City and met with Lieutenant-Detective Jocelyn Bélanger, who told him that the investigation was now in the coroner’s hands. On December 8th a source confirmed that on the police radio one could hear police shouting “Show us your hands!” to Mohamed. The police also claim that the video recording is of poor quality and “cannot be used.”(5)
On December 11th 2005, the Atlas Media Group devoted a radio show to the Anas affair, inviting a member of COBP to speak about police brutality. On December 15th, there was a special report on the case in the Atlas Media newspaper, with a circulation of 10,000 copies; other articles would be published in January and November 2006. Mohamed’s father denounced the bavure policiere, suggesting that his son was the victim of racial profiling, killed because of how he looked and the stereotype of Muslim terrorists. The fact that the killer cop was only 25 years old and has only been on the job for four years added to suspicions that Mohamed Anas Bennis was in fact a victim of racial profiling. (6) The family also denounced the investigators’ lack of transparency and the lack of communication from the police authorities. In an interview with La Presse, Mohamed’s brother Mohamed-Labri Bennis said “They refuse to tell us why” Mohamed Anas was killed. Even if the police were telling the truth, he asked “Is this the only way that two police officers with firearms can immobilize a man with a knife?” (7)
On January 7th 2006, a day when the temperature dropped to minus seventeen, roughly 2000 people participated in a demonstration called by the Association for Truth Regarding the Death of Anas. The vast majority of the demonstrators were from the Moroccan, Arab and Muslim communities. In fact, the Imams had put out a call to participate through the Mosques. Chanting “Justice and Dignity, We Want the Truth!” the demonstrators denounced the slow pace of the police investigation and demanded a public inquiry to shed light on the case. Speeches by family and organizers asked people to be patient and have faith in the police and the system. They even thanked the SPVM for having escorted the demonstration, and when someone shouted out “Killer Cops!” he was quickly told to be quiet by the protest marshals... Speeches called for “Montreal police to be better educated about Islam and the Muslim community, as many police officers are ignorant about how Muslims dress and their religious practices,” because without this “members of the police force will be influenced by the islamophobic and stereotyped media propaganda regarding Muslims.” (8)
Representatives of the Muslim Council of Montreal and the Black Coalition of Quebec also took part in the march, as did the former Liberal Minister of Immigration, Denis Coderre. Many people were justifiably shocked that this man, nicknamed “Mr Security Certificate,” had been invited to a demonstration for Mohamed Anas Bennis. Indeed, a campaign had just been launched to “Vote Against Coderre” and “deport him from parliament.” Amongst other things, Coderre had been responsible for signing three security certificates, one of which was for Adil Charkaoui (who was also present at the march). Coderre also oversaw almost 18,000 deportations, lifted the moratorium on deportations to Algeria, and had police brutalize undocumented Algerians in his Ottawa office, amongst other things. (9) Right in the middle of an election campaign and the sponsorship scandal, Coderre’s appearance at the demonstration was nothing but a disgusting attempt to get some political capital out of a man’s death by pretending to denounce police brutality and posing as a “friend” of the community... “Mr Security Certificate” was also invited to speak on the Atlas Media radio show the Sunday following the demonstration.
The cover up and clearing the police
Three days after the march, Katherine Wilton of the Gazette reported that the police “promised yesterday all the facts in the bizarre case will be made public once their work is complete.” She quoted Constable Hugues Lavoie of the SPVQ as saying “We are professionals and we have no interest in hiding anything.” (10)
According to officer Jean-Sébastien Roy of the SPVQ (we do not know if he is related to the officer Roy of the SPVM who was implicated in the incident on December 1st 2005), “our report was finished in March and we sent it to the Crown Prosecutor in Rimouski.” In late September 2006, Mohamed Anas Bennis’ sister Najilaa told the Journal de Montreal that “They are trying to hide something from us. We want to know the truth, whether my brother was a victim or was the one to blame. Yet we have no news. It is not normal.” Prosecutor James Rondeau, who had received the file on April 13th, claimed to “understand the concerns” of the Bennis family, but blamed “a heavy workload before the summer” and “sick leave following surgery on his arm” for the time it was taking. Trying to be reassuring, he explained that “I am not the kind who only does half the job. I spent some time on this file. I even went to Montreal to see where it happened. (...)” He said that it would be known before December 1st whether or not charges would be laid in the case. (11)
And so it was more than eleven months after the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, on November 4th 2006, that the “substitute associate chief of the Attorney General of Rimouski” James Rondeau released his decision in the form of a press release. No criminal charges would be laid against the police officer who killed Mohamed Anas Bennis. Apparently “a thorough examination of the evidence did not lead us to conclude that a criminal act had occurred.” (12) And yet the report of Coroner Rafaël Ayllon, signed on January 31st 2006 in Montreal, left no room for doubt: he concluded that this was a “violent death” caused by a “hemorrhagic and cardiological shock which resulted from one bullet in the thorax and one in the abdomen which struck several vital organs including the heart.” The autopsy conducted by Dr André Bourgault on December 2nd 2005 showed that “Mr Bennis’ death is due to hemorrhagic and cardiogenic shock which resulted from two bullet wounds in the thorax and the abdomen. These wounds perforated several vital organs including the right lung, the stomach, the spleen, the left kidney and the heart, which caused serious hemorrhaging.” The report explained that “There were two wounds in the thoraco-abdominal area caused by two bullets shot from a firearm. The first wound was situated in the second intercostal space and the left clavicle measuring .9 cm in diameter and the second on the posterior surface of the left arm measured .7 cm in diameter.” The external examination confirmed that Mohamed also had cuts on his nose, mouth and forehead and “a superficial third wound (...) on his left hand at the base of the thumb measuring 3.5 cm in length.” (13)
The coroner’s report also revealed the names of the two SPVM officers implicated in the incident, without saying which one fired on Mohamed: officers Bernier and Roy of Neighbourhood Station #25.
This is how the coroner explains the circumstances surrounding Bennis’ death: “In the police report from the SPVM’s Station 25, officers Bernier and Roy were heading towards (...) Kent Street in order to join personnel participating in an operation headed by the Quebec Provincial Police that had been going on since 6:30am. The two officers were walking on the sidewalk towards the building when Mr Bennis headed southwest in their direction; when he reached the police he stabbed one of the officers in his neck and in his right leg for no known reason. The officer fired on him with his revolver and the individual fell to the ground.” Ambulance services took Mohamed to the Jewish General Hospital and “tried to revive him,” but he was in a “critical condition when he arrived,” and “at 8:04am his death was declared by the doctor in charge.” As for the police officer, he was brought to the Montreal General Hospital. (14)
Unanswered Questions
On December 7th 2006, the Bennis family’s lawyer Pierre Pâquet met with Prosecutor James Rondeau at his office. Rondeau read him a legal opinion which stated that “there is no reason to lay charges against the police officer involved,” but he refused to hand a copy of this opinion over to the lawyer! Rondeau also told him that he would have to fill out an Access to Information request in order to receive a copy of the SPVQ’s report. As the victim’s father said, “We have waited almost a year for information, and still we have received nothing official.” He added, “Everything is verbal, nothing is concrete” and “what they have told us is very contradictory.” (15)
In the November 9th 2006 edition of their newspaper, Atlas Montreal denounce “a press release which hardly says anything, which is empty, and almost anonymous as it comes from an information agency and not from the office of any authority.” Noting that the Coroner’s Report “did not say anything that the police press releases in December 2005 were not already saying a year ago,” they asked “What was the point of having fifteen investigators work for twelve months if it was for such meager results?” They also noted that “All of the questions that were being asked last December 2nd remain unanswered, and there are new questions too, such as why was the Bennis family’s lawyer denied access to evidence in this case, forcing him to rely on Access to Information requests to get around this bizarre ‘secrecy’, having to wait eight months to see if this would work.” In conclusion, “Let us speak plainly: what is there to hide in the Anas Bennis affair? Who has an interest in hiding these things, and why?” (16)
A spokesperson from the Minister of Justice told the Gazette that there would be no other statements beyond this press release. Prosecutor Rondeau from Rimouski could not be reached for comment, perhaps due to his “heavy workload” or another “sick leave”? As to the SPVM, they did not respond to any requests for interviews... the Bennis family’s lawyer Pierre Pâquet stated that “it has been a year that the family has not been told anything (...) So far all I have encountered are closed doors. I have been refused access to anything having to do with the investigation, as if it were all secret. It is very strange, because if it is as simple as they say I don’t see why the family cannot be told what happened.” Even some sources within the SPVM say they are frustrated as the lack of transparency in this investigation, but not for the same reason: they say they are certain the police officer shot to defend himself from an unprovoked attack... (17)
On November 8th 2006, La Presse quoted Montreal Police Brotherhood president Yves Francoeur as also denouncing the “abnormally long procedure” saying that the duration of the inquiry for an incident “as clear as a mountain stream” is “aberrant and sends the wrong message to police officers.” While he insisted he “sympathizes with Anas Bennis’ father’s pain,” Francoeur thinks it is especially hard on “the young police officer who was stabbed and forced to fire and who has to wait all this time. He started having doubts.”
As for Mohamed Anas’ father, he “questions the entire investigation” and has stated that “when a citizen is in a conflict with a police officer, there is another law which is applied. This decision may not sit well with the Arab and Muslim community.” (18)
In an interview with Atlas Montreal, Pierre Pâquet notes that if Mohamed had survived, he would have been charged with armed assault on a police officer, and would have access to any evidence and would have the chance to cross-examine witnesses. “So,” he asks, “why, when he is dead, should these rights which all citizens enjoy cease to apply? Why can’t his family get a hold of the file?” He explains, “There are a few possibilities that I can think of; I have heard 27 different versions of what happened in this case; I have a lot of unanswered questions in my head; but all of this does not measure up to one document, written in black and white, but they tell us we cannot have access to anything written and this is difficult to accept because I have this horrible feeling that the basic rights of the victim and his family (...) have not been respected.” (19)
Atlas Montreal asked these questions : “The public would have liked to know why a copy of the report, sent to the victim’s father and not to the family’s lawyer as it says in the press release (“I was never contacted,” says Pâquet), is dated January 2006 yet was only released to the concerned parties several months later (“a typo” was the official explanation given to the Bennis father). We would have also liked to know why the final report contains no mention of any video recording; why, despite Mr Pâquet’s expressed request, this recording was not safeguarded...” They conclude that “In the final analysis, we have the overwhelming feeling that someone, somewhere, is deeply embarrassed by this case, for reasons which remain to be made clear and which ‘they’ certainly do not want to see made clear...”(20)
The Moroccan newspaper Le Reporter also asks some pertinent questions: “How is it that a young quebecois, known for his easy going personality, came to attack a police officer for no reason? (...) How is it that a young man who weighed only 66 kilos, with no police record, constituted a serious threat to an entire team of police? To immobilize the aggressor, could the police not have fired anywhere but in his heart? The refusal to produce the so-called knife and video recording of the incident make one think that this is an attempt to cover up a police mistake just like what happened in the London subway.” (21)
Finally, one of the main questions (perhaps the most important one) which remain to be answered is that which the father asked back in December 2005: “Anas left the Mosque at 6:30am, and was killed at 7:20am. But nobody has been able to tell me what happened in those fifty minutes. Everything else comes after this. So the truth remains to be seen.” (22)
Mass Media Complicity
On his blog, Kersplebedeb has also criticized the role of the media in this affair: “If the tables were turned – if a cop ended up shot dead by someone claiming self defense, that the cop had a knife and wanted to stab them – you can bet the shooter would have already been tried and found guilty by the media, and certainly would not be walking the streets. But in this case not only was the shooter never identified in the media (so we are left guessing as to whether or not he has a known record of violent or racist behaviour) and the police version of events uncritically repeated, but the Montreal Gazette (to give one example) essentially tried to bury the story (pages A7 and A10).” (23)
He adds that “Again: this is a case where the police version of events was initially the only version presented in the media, and is still the main version. It is a case where protests by the community have been downplayed, and reassurances by the authorities have not been questioned. It is also a case where no reporters have done any real investigating of their own.” He notes that in actual fact “The Gazette tried to downplay this too – reporter Ann Carroll, who later admitted not even attending the march, simply wrote that ‘as many as 200 people rallied’ – while other media reported that ‘hundreds” (CTV) or even ‘a thousand’ (Journal de Montreal) people showed up.. None of them gave it the coverage that it deserved,” as it was “the largest demonstration against a police killing in years (...) and this on the coldest day in winter.” He asks “following the mass protests that surrounded the police killings of young Black men like Anthony Griffin and Marcellus Francois in the late 80s/early 90s, and after the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality and other groups managed to repeatedly call attention to police killings throughout the 90s… why are reporters so keen on not challenging the police and not actually reporting? Why are the papers burying these stories so much more than they did twenty years ago? Why are we no longer told the name of the cop who kills someone – shit, looking through the Gazette archives I note that in many cases we are not even told the name of their dead victims! Is there some new media protocol for how to handle police killings? Now that’s something that someone should report on…” (24)
Another interesting fact: an unofficial, or at least “plainclothes”, spokesperson for the SPVM, “Freezbee”, posted a text on the Centre des Médias Alternatifs du Québec (CMAQ – the Quebec indymedia – translator) on November 5th 2006 in which he quotes (without revealing from where): “The SPVM administration feels it is necessary to make the results of the investigation public in order to maintain a sense of trust between citizens and police. While we remain sympathetic to the family of the deceased, the SPVM is satisfied with the conclusion reached by the Substitute Prosecutor. The Service would also like to note that the police officers concerned have returned to work and are doing well.” It must be pointed out that there is no official statement on the SPVM website, and so this unofficial “statement” from the SPVM on the CMAQ website seems to be another attempt by the SPVM or one of its officers to convince people who denounce this police killing that “the police acted appropriately in this case,” according to one of Freezbee’s comments. (25) It is worth noting that another “Anonymous” made the same kind of comment on Kersplebedeb’s blog, stating that “The reason the Gazette is ignoring this police related death is that it was 100% justified”... (26)
As the people at Atlas Montreal note, what is at stake here is the confidence people have (or do not have) in the police and the government. In effect, “The community is greatly disappointed, and this fragile and vulnerable community may even lose confidence in those that govern and are charged with protecting citizens and safeguarding our rights and freedoms. Never mind the cynicism of this administration which didn’t pass up an opportunity to bill the Bennis father ten dollars for a copy of the Coroner’s Report and two hundred dollars for transporting Anas’ body from the site of the incident to the hospital where he died!” (27) Already last December the stated that if this turned out to be a case of racial profiling “It would be serous, very serious (...) It would mean that, as in other country’s which we will not name, xenophobia is rearing its head and that the violent death of the younger Bennis will not be the first, nor the last, case of racial profiling which we will have to endure and which will bring tragedy to our lives. If it turns out that this is the case and that the dramatic events on Kent Street were the result of cultural differences, then punishment – either administrative or penal – for the police officer concerned will be less important than making sure that no firearm meant to keep the peace is ever again used to sow death and disturb the lives of citizens.” (28)
Stop Police Brutality and Racism!
As for us, COBP denounced the decision of Prosecutor James Rondeau, the result of eleven months of what we expected: a cover up of a police killing that resulted from racial profiling, plain and simple. Everybody in Montreal should have the right to know if officers Bernier and Roy have in fact returned to work, and if so in what capacity (desk work or on the street) and if they are on the street, in what neighbourhood are they with their guns? It is impossible for us to have any trust in the SPVM which gets away with murder, the SPVQ which covers up the truth or the Quebec Minister of Justice which protects killer cops. The death of Mohamed Anas Bennis is certainly not the first case of its kind in Montreal: we remember Anthony Griffin, Martin Suazo, Richard Barnabé, Jean-Pierre Lizotte, Rohan Wilson and far too many others... We also remember that on February 17th 2006 SPVM chief of police Yvan Delorme released a statement in which he said he was “satisfied” with the decision to not lay any charges against the police who shot a man to death on July 4th 2005. (29)
The attitude of Yves Francoeur, president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood, certainly does nothing to make us trust the police. In an opinion piece he wrote after the January 7th 2006 demonstration he complained that, “We find it difficult to accept that people are trying to make Montreal – a city with hardly any racial tensions, compared to other big cities in North America – look like a banana republic where the police shoot citizens on sight because of their clothing or race.” (30) He also stated in August 2006 that “accusations of racism (...) are unjustified. The Montreal police are not racist.” (31) And yet even Alain Kashama, a football player with the Montreal Alouettes who was arrested last week in Little Burgundy, has said that “Yeah, it’s racism” (which led to their arrests) and that “That’s what happens when Black people drive nice cars...” (32)
It is past time to set up an independent public inquiry into the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, before any more people fall victim to the SPVM. One week after Mohamed’s death, the president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood stated that “banning handguns is an excellent idea” and that “for years the Brotherhood has supported attempts to control firearms and impose longer sentences for criminals who use firearms.” (33) COBP thinks that it would be an excellent idea for the SPVM to lead by example by no longer using firearms and condemning killer cops.
One thing is for sure: the fight against police brutality is far from over! What’s more, this struggle knows no borders, for police everywhere kill people: in Oaxaca in Mexico, in Colombia, everywhere... As they say in Colombia: For the victims of State violence, nor a moment’s silence, but a lifetime of struggle!
NOTES
(1) "Aucune accusation criminelle ne sera déposée à la suite du décès de monsieur Mohamed Annas Bennis": http://communiques.gouv.qc.ca/gouvqc/communiques/GPQF/Novembre 2006/04/c8616.html
(2) For more details, see the January 5th 2006 statement from COBP published on CMAQ, "Affaire Mohamed Anas: Un policier tue un jeune marocain à Côte-Des-Neiges": http://www.cmaq.net/fr/node/23288
(3) Fabrice de Pierrebourg, "Abattu par la police en pleine avenue Kent, il venait de poignarder le policier", Journal de Montréal, 2 décembre 2005.
(4) "L'affaire Anas: Un marocain tué par la police au Canada": http://www.lereporter.ma/IMG/_article_PDF/article_186.pdf
(5) "Le fil des événements", Atlas.Mtl, No 30, janvier 2005-décembre 2006, p. 4: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal30page4.pdf
(6) "Mais que s'est-il réellement passé rue Kent ce matin-là?", Atlas.Mtl, No 30, janvier 2005-décembre 2006, p. 5: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal30page5.pdf
(7) Hugo Meunier, "Jeune homme abattu par la police à Montréal, La communauté marocaine se mobilise", La Presse, 29 décembre 2005, http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20051229/CPACTUALITES/512290416/5155/CPACTUALITES
(8) "Communiqué de presse sur la mort de Mohammed Anass Bennis, abattu par un policier à Montréal", Bel Agir, Montréal, 10 décembre 2005: http://www.belagir.ca/fr/images/stories/Communiques/manifestation_report_e.pdf
(9) "Votons contre Coderre! Déportez Denis Coderre, alias 'monsieur certificat de sécurité', du parlement": http://indaily.net/?p=133
(10) Katherine Wilton, "Details of Shooting by Cops to be Held Till After Probe", Montreal Gazette, 10 janvier 2006: http://www.caircan.ca/mw_more.php?id=P2231_0_7_0_C
(11) Fabrice De Pierrebourg, "Enquête/Des questions, La famille gardée dans l'ignorance", Le Journal de Montréal, 25 septembre 2006: http://www.canoe.qc.ca/infos/societe/archives/2006/09/20060925-093710.html
(12) "Aucune accusation criminelle ne sera déposée à la suite du décès de monsieur Mohamed Annas Bennis": http://communiques.gouv.qc.ca/gouvqc/communiques/GPQF/Novembre 2006/04/c8616.html
(13) "Rapport du coroner", copie conforme, Noël Ayllon, Montréal, 31 janvier 2006, publié dans Atlas.Mtl, No 44, 9 novembre 2006, p. 4: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal44page4.pdf
(14) Ibid.
(15) "Family not given a copy of report on son's death", Montreal Gazette, 7 novembre 2006: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=582e28dd-d13a-4718-af48-b2f836fec169&k;=89680
(16) "Affaire Anas Bennis, Un an après...", Atlas.Mtl, No 44, 9 novembre 2006, p. 4: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal44page4.pdf
(17) Paul Cherry, "Police officer cleared after bizarre shooting, Investigation cloaked in secrecy. No criminal charges will be laid against cop after he fatally shot man who stabbed him", Montreal Gazette, 7 novembre 2006: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=81c23a51-28fe-41f1-b472-ea647e71438b
(18) Fabrice de Pierrebourg, "Mort d'Anas Bennis, La thèse de la bavure policière écartée", La Presse, 8 novembre 2006: http://www2.canoe.com/infos/societe/archives/2006/111108-063107.html
(19) "Affaire Anas Bennis, Les questions qui se posent encore, Entretient avec Maitre Pierre Pâquet, avocat de la famille Bennis", Atlas.Mtl, No 44, 9 novembre 2006, p. 5: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal44page5.pdf
(20) Ibid.
(21) "L'affaire Anas: Un marocain tué par la police au Canada": http://www.lereporter.ma/IMG/_article_PDF/article_186.pdf
(22) "Un appel du père de la victime", Atlas.Mtl, No 30, p. 4: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal30page4.pdf
(23)"Kersplebedeb", "Protesting the Police Killing of a Young Mulsim in Montreal", 7 janvier 2006: http://sketchythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/01/protesting-police-killing-of-young.html
(24) "Kersplebedeb", "The Police Insist: "We are Professionals And We Have No interest In Hiding Anything", 10 janvier 2006: http://sketchythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/01/police-insist-we-are-professionals-and.html
(25) "Freezbee", "Montréal: Résultat de l'enquête sur une personne arabe abattue par la police" et "réponse", 5 novembre 2006: http://www.cmaq.net/fr/node/25922
(26) "Anonymous", 6 février 2006, 12h20AM: http://sketchythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/01/lying-with-numbers-at-montreal-gazette.html
(27) "Affaire Anas Bennis, Les questions qui se posent encore", Atlas.Mtl, No 44, 9 novembre 2006, p. 5: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal44page5.pdf
(28) "Mais que s'est-il réellement passé rue Kent ce matin-là?", Atlas.Mtl, No 30, janvier 2005-décembre 2006, p. 5: http://www.atlasmedias.com/Atlas/journal30page5.pdf
(29) « Deux policiers exonérés à la suite de la politique ministérielle du 4 juillet 2005 », SPVM, 17 février 2006 : http://www.spvm.qc.ca/fr/documentation/3_1_2_communiques.asp?noComm=325
(30) Yves Francoeur, « Restons calmes! », Fraternité des policiers de Montréal, 13 janvier 2006 : http://www.fppm.qc.ca/intro/intro.html
(31) « Les accusations de racisme contre les policiers de Montréal : la Fraternité en a ras-le-bol », Fraternité des Policiers de Montréal, 7 août 2006 : http://www.fppm.qc.ca/flute/docs/2006/CommuniquedemissionPhilip.pdf
(32) François Ferland, « Kasnama et Estelle s’en sortent sans accusations », Le Journal de Montréal, 9 novembre 2006.
(33) « Bannir les armes de poing est une excellente idée… », Fraternité des policiers de Montréal, 8 décembre 2005 : http://www.fppm.qc.ca/intro/intro.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Collectif Opposé à la Brutalité Policière
Collective Opposed to Police Brutality
(514) 859-9065
cobp@hotmail.com
http://www.cobp.ath.cx/
Montréal, Québec, Canada
(In fact the comlpete schedule is now up as a pdf....)
Some interesting looking selections, though i must say that i could do with less Canadian and Quebec content, and more from other places… this is the second year in a row that the festival seems to have an inordinate number of Made In Canada movies, which i find unnecessary and even unfortunate. While i am only dimly aware of the politics of it all, my impression is that this is a part of the squabble which has been going on between the FFM and SODEC and Telefilm – with far less money, it’s probably easier to get local stuff, and also i imagine there is the hope that in doing so he FFM will rally some local support.
(Don’t ask me why there is this squabble – i have no handle on it – though it seems bizarrely bitter, the kinda thing you’d expect more from leftists; and there seems to be this penchant for political metaphors in describing it too – last year the FFM accused the Quebec government of being “Stalinist” and this year they’re saying the chances of the FFM and Telefilm making peace are about the same as Hezbollah and the Zionist State. Bizarre!)
The long and short of which is… far less African movies than in past years, far less queer content, far fewer documentaries from around the world, and seemingly far less politics.
But then again – not being plugged into the movie world – maybe it’s just that films are less interesting and more conservative? Could it be?
In any case, caveats aside i’m glad the FFM is almost here. From what i know of other cities, this is one of the most affordable and “regular-person-friendly” festivals of its kind, and i look forward to it all year long. If it is going down hill, it is certainly still far better than the regular offerings at the movies - especially now that Cinema de Parc has closed.
The following is a list – with the Festival’s descriptions (don’t blame me for their weird politics!) – of some entries which jumped out at me:
GYMNASLAERER PEDERSEN (COMRADE PEDERSEN) (PI) Norway / 2006 / 35 mm / Colour / 110 min / Dir.: Hans Petter Moland, Cast: Kristoffer Joner, Ane Dahl Torp, Anne Ryg, Jan Gunnar Røise, Jon Øigarden, Stig Henrik Hoff, Silje Torp Færevag, Fridtjov Såaheim In 1968, it seemed as if all of European youth was infected with revolutionary fever. When young high school teacher Knut Pedersen arrives in a small Norwegian town he discovers that Maoism and sex are uncomfortable bedmates.
RUIDO (NOISE) (PM) Puerto Rico / 2006 / 35 mm / Colour / 100 min / Dir.: César Rodríguez, Cast: María Coral Otero Soto, José Rafael Álvarez, Blanca Lissette Cruz, Francisco Capó, Teófilo Torres Franchi, a teenaged girl suffering from a rare hearing disorder, is sexually harrassed by the man who suddenly enters her mother's life. She decides to fight back. No holds barred.
LA CATHÉDRALE (THE CATHEDRAL) (PI) Mauritius - Switzerland / 2006 / Video / Colour / 78 min / Dir.: Harrikrisna Anenden, Cast : Ingrid Blackburn, Darma Mootien, Geeta Mootien, Gaston Valayden, Ashwin Anenden, Yves Herman A day in the life of Lina, a working-class girl in Port-Louis, capital of Mauritius, as seen by the local cathedral.
OMARET YACOUBIAN (THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING) (PC) Egypt / 2005 / 35 mm / Colour / 165 min / Dir.: Marwan Hamed, Cast : Adel Imam, Nour El Sherif, Yousra, Isaad Younis, Hind Sabry, Somaya El Khashab, Ahmed Rateb, Ahmed Bedeir, Mohamed Imam When the Yacoubian Building was built in downtown Cairo in 1934 it housed the city's upper crust -- pashas, diplomats, tycoons. These days the tenants include all social classes. This epic paints a portrait of secular Cairo society, warts and all.
DIA DE FESTA (HOUSEWARMING PARTY) (PI) Brazil - France / 2006 / 35 mm / Colour / 77 min / Dir.: Toni Ventura, Pablo Georgieff A documentary on four strong women who lead a social movement for the homeless in São Paulo, Brazil. Non-fiction documentary.
EL COMITÉ (THE COMMITTEE) (PC) Ecuador / 2005 / Video / Colour / 93 min / Dir.: Mateo Herrera On a visiting day in Penal Garcia Moreno, the main penitentiary in Quito, Ecuador, a riot breaks out among the inmates and 360 people are held hostage. The situation is resolved, but not before many appalling truths emerge. Non-fiction documentary.ESTRELLAS DE LA LÍNEA (THE RAILROAD ALL-STARS) (PNA) Spain / 2006 / 35 mm / Colour / 90 min / Dir.: Chema Rodríguez A group of prostitutes in Guatemala start a soccer team to publicize their fight for respect and an end to violence, but getting into a local tournament proves a lot harder than they imagined. Non-fiction documentary.
LES ANNÉES MAO (THE MAO YEARS) (PI) France / 2005 / Video / Colour / 54 min / Dir.: Bernard Debord French Maoists never numbered more than 10,000, but in the politically turbulent years of the late 1960s and early 70s, they monopolized the street and the media. Non-fiction documentary.
GUAN CHA MOSUO (MOSSO, THE LAST MATRIARCHY FAMILY) (PI) Chine / 2005 / Vidéo / Colour / 60 min / Dir.: Weijun Chen In a remote region of southwest China, there lives the Mosso ethnic group who have a matriarchal and matrilineal society. A young Mosso girl wants to liberate herself from the primitive Mosso social system. Non-fiction documentary.
SALVADOR (PUIG ANTICH) (SALVADOR) (PNA) Spain - United Kingdom / 2006 / 35 mm / Colour / 138 min / Dir.: Manuel Huerga In 1974, Salvador Puig Antich, a violent revolutionary, became the last political prisoner to be executed in Spain. This is his story. [Fictionalized - what they don't mention is that Antich was a member of the anti-authoritarian communist Movimiento Ibérico de Liberación group...]
BREAKING RANKS (PM) Canada / 2006 / Video / Colour / 66 min / Dir.: Michelle Masson A small number of American soldiers seek refuge in Canada in objection to the war in Iraq. Non-fiction documentary.
EN EL HOYO (IN THE PIT) (PC) Mexico / 2006 / 35 mm / Colour / 85 min / Dir.: Juan Carlos Rulfo Workers battle to give the traffic-bogged, smog-ridden Mexico City ring freeway an upper level. A beautifully-observed tribute to the men who keep “progress” moving. Non-fiction documentary.
MARIO'S STORY (PI) United States / 2006 / Video / Colour / 98 min / Dir.: Jeff Werner, Susan Koch As a teenager in East Los Angeles, Mario Rocha was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he did not commit. Family and friends spend over ten years fighting for his freedom. Non-fiction documentary.
SHAMELESS, The ART of Disability (PM) Canada / 2006 / Video / Colour / 71 min / Dir.: Bonnie Sherr Klein A group of artists with diverse disabilities decide to turn the tables on Hollywood stereotypes; they make a pact to meet a year later at the KickstART! Festival with the intent of creating their own images of disability. Non-fiction documentary.
WABAN-AKI: PEUPLE DU SOLEIL LEVANT (WABAN-AKI: PEOPLE OF THE RISING SUN) (PM) Canada / 2006 / Video / Colour / 104 min / Dir.: Alanis Obomsawin Filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, one of Canada's most distinguished documentarists, returns to Odanak, the village were she grew up, in order to craft an illuminating and lyric account of her own Abenaki people. Non-fiction documentary.
Remember, it’s only affordable if you buy tickets in lots of ten (or 30 if you have a lot of friends!). Go here for more details!
********
So far i have seen and reviewed these movies:
Guan Cha Mosuo - the Last Matriarchy Family
Gymnaslaerer Pedersen (Comrade Pedersen)
As the Israel Air Force continues to investigate the air strike, questions have been raised over military accounts of the incident.
It now appears that the military had no information on rockets launched from the site of the building, or the presence of Hezbollah men at the time.
The Israel Defense Forces had said after the deadly air-strike that many rockets had been launched from Qana. However, it changed its version on Monday.
The site was included in an IAF plan to strike at several buildings in proximity to a previous launching site. Similar strikes were carried out in the past. However, there were no rocket launches from Qana on the day of the strike.
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