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British diplomat kidnapped
Broadcast Date: Oct. 5, 1970
On Oct. 5, 1970, armed kidnappers force British Trade Commissioner James Cross into a taxi as he leaves his Montreal home for work. His wife Barbara says four men, three with machine guns and one with a revolver, showed up at the couple's home about four hours earlier. Security tightens around government offices as the Association for the Release of Political Prisoners sets up a news conference for this afternoon.British diplomat kidnapped
• A French Canadian nationalist group Front de libération du Québec was responsible for Cross's kidnapping.• The day of the kidnapping was Cross's birthday.
• For Cross's ransom, the FLQ made seven demands: broadcast and publication of the group's manifesto, $500,000 in gold, a plane to Cuba or Algeria, the reinstatement of Lapalme postal workers, the release 23 "political prisoners" from police custody, an end to searches for the group and the identities of informers.
• Cross's captives never revealed their faces to him.
• In a letter to his wife while in captivity, Cross purposely made a spelling error, hoping to convey that the FLQ had dictated the note.
• Cross's captives gave him a wide selection of revolutionary material to read.
British diplomat kidnapped
Medium: Radio
Program: CBC Radio News
Broadcast Date: Oct. 5, 1970
Guest(s):
Reporter: Ken McCreath
Duration: 1:34
Last updated:
Dec. 4, 2008
Radio
1:42
Yesterday, kidnappers with machine guns pulled up to Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte's home and shoved him into the backseat of their car.
British diplomat kidnapped.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: Dec. 4, 2008.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]