-Caveat Lector- Friday 20 April 2001 Woman denies terrorist label Group 'didn't plan to hurt anyone' The (Montreal) Gazette "We are not terrorists," a young woman claiming to speak for a Montreal anti-globalization group calling itself Germinal said yesterday. Seven young men who belong to the group have been charged with conspiring to commit life-endangering mischief at the Quebec City Summit of the Americas this weekend. "We were ready to assume responsibility for our actions, but not to assume responsibility for the accusations which were made against us," she said. The woman, in her 20s, did not want her name published, but said she was a political science student at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal. Her statements were made from an apartment, on Rosemont Blvd., formerly occupied by Mario Bertoncini, 23, one of the seven men charged. A female occupant of the apartment, who did not want to be identified either, said Bertoncini no longer lived there, but she and the other woman were both members of the group that has allegedly planned for several months to break through the security fence at the summit. "We didn't plan to hurt anyone," the occupant said. "None of the materials seized by police were dangerous. They were only intended to help us break through the fence. The charges have been grossly exaggerated." Police seized smoke bombs, "thunder flash" grenade simulators, baseball bats, slingshots and bags of steel balls, as well as motorcycle helmets and anti-globalization literature when they nabbed two members of the group on Highway 20 as they were nearing Quebec City Tuesday night. Police arrested four men in the Montreal area hours later, seizing two timing devices, fire accelerants and home-made body shields. They issued a warrant for the arrest of another member, Pierre David Habel, 21, who surrendered to RCMP in Quebec on Wednesday night, accompanied by his lawyer. Habel was taken to Orsainville prison. He and the six other young men have pleaded not guilty to plotting mischief likely to endanger life. In Montreal, the woman claiming to be the Germinal spokesman said 15 group members were sent to Quebec City. "There are eight more who have already arrived in Quebec," the woman said. She would not say whether the other members also carried tools to help them break through the fence. The woman said the group planned the operation for months in advance. "All the members were acting after much political reflection. It was obvious to us that peaceful demonstration wasn't the answer. Nobody listens." Even so, the group planned to respect those who were demonstrating peacefully. "We planned to break through the fence outside areas of peaceful demonstration. There were areas where more militant groups would welcome what we were intending to do." The woman said most of the group members were well-educated - university students of history, political science and economics. She said the group was founded "around a table one night." Of the seven men arrested, Serge Vallee was a Canadian Forces reservist and Alex Boissoneault was a former soldier. "Normally," the woman said, "a reservist wouldn't get in trouble for being in possession of military equipment like the grenade simulators that were seized. Reservists take those things home all the time." However, she said, the group was infiltrated about two months ago. "He called himself Nicolas. He helped buy materials for shields. He supplied us with cell phones. He participated in meetings and he even brought us wine. "It was his car that was stopped on the way to Quebec - and he was in the car. It was his car that contained the materials that were seized." The woman said the infiltrator, who claimed to be a young entrepreneur in his late 20s, joined the group after making friends with one of its members. She wouldn't say who, but she did say it was one of those arrested. Police refused to confirm or deny her story. "The details of our investigation, which was jointly conducted by the RCMP, the provincial police and the Canadian Forces, will come out during the trial," Staff Sgt. Mike Gaudet of the RCMP said yesterday. And Lt. Pierre Babinsky of the Canadian Forces said reservists are not normally allowed to take home pyrotechnics such as the grenade simulators. "Reservists are required to return pyrotechnic training devices before leaving the field," Babinsky said. One of those arrested, Roman Pokorski, 22, was a candidate for the Bloc Pot in the 1998 Quebec election. 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