-Caveat Lector- 6 arrested, arsenal seized in Summit security move <http://www.thestar.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=987616833318&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News&col=968793972154> Police haul includes crude explosives, smoke bombs QUEBEC (CP) - In a pre-emptive strike against possible troublemakers at the Summit of the Americas, police have arrested six people, including a Canadian Forces reservist, and seized a vast array of explosive materials. The police haul netted several crude explosives, four smoke bombs, shields, bags of steel balls, baseball bats, helmets, hammers and spray paint. The six men belonged to a group that planned to strike at this weekend's global trade meeting in Quebec City, officers from the RCMP, Quebec provincial police and two municipal forces told a news conference Wednesday. Potential terrorist attacks have dominated preparations for the summit, which will feature 34 leaders from the Western Hemisphere. "They planned precise acts at precise times in precise places," said provincial police Insp. Robert Poeti. The six were charged with various counts including conspiracy to commit mischief likely to endanger life; possession of an explosive substance with intent to use it; and theft and possession of military devices. Two of the six were arrested near Quebec City on Tuesday night as they drove in from Montreal. Four others were arrested in the Montreal area on Wednesday morning. Army reserve member Serge Vallee, 21, is accused of stealing military equipment and supplying it to members of a Montreal-based group that police described Wednesday as made up of "activists." The suspects planned to wade into a throng of protesters and, once in the crowd, launch attacks that could endanger security officers and other protesters, police said. Also facing charges is former Canadian Forces member Alex Boissonneault, 22. Police were also looking for a seventh suspect. Found among the weapons were red flags and a helmet emblazoned with Communist emblems like the hammer and sickle of the former Soviet Union. However, police refused to say whether the group had a political motive. The arrests came after an investigation that began last fall, said police, adding that other people are under surveillance. In an unrelated incident, an American minor was arrested in Quebec City for allegedly being in possession of a knife and pepper spray. He was freed Wednesday on $200 bail. Police believe that between 10,000 and 20,000 protesters will flock to the city for the summit where leaders will negotiate an extended free-trade pact. Organizers of protests in Seattle in 1999 and members of anarchist fringe groups are expected to be among the demonstrators. About 6,000 officers from the RCMP, Quebec provincial police and two municipal forces will be on hand, as well as 1,200 military personnel. Meanwhile, a judge ruled Wednesday that a giant security fence placed around downtown Quebec City for the summit will remain in place. Justice Gilles Blanchet, in a 30-page judgment, said the metal fence is a reasonable limit to impose in a free and democratic society considering the importance of the event and past violence at similar meetings. The fence can stay "because of the violent incidents during similar summits held around the world over the last several years," Blanchet wrote. However, he added that the fence does impose some restrictions on individual freedoms. "The security measures place significant restrictions on two fundamental liberties guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly," Blanchet wrote. Blanchet said the size of the summit - which he called "the largest international political event ever organized by the government of Canada" - makes such security necessary. Montreal lawyer Marc Tremblay, who went to court to get the fence dismantled, said he doesn't agree with the judgment. "Obviously, I'm disappointed with the decision," Tremblay said. Tremblay plans to appeal the verdict even if it's too late to have the fence torn down before the summit, said an intervenor in the case. "The fence is a symbol of the destruction of our rights," said Clara Fogal, a director at the Defence of Canadian Liberty Committee. "The summit is only here today, gone tomorrow. We are defending the rights of Canadians." The committee and one of its constitutional experts argued the case alongside Tremblay. Fogal said the case may one day end up before the Supreme Court. Fogal said Canada has no rights to impose such drastic security measures unless the federal government invokes special legislation. "We have mechanisms in our system on how to apply such security," she said in an interview. "There are steps that have to be taken that guarantee the protection of citizens." <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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