Quebec Provincial Police investigators look at graffiti left overnight on the tomb of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, in St. Remi, Quebec, Saturday April 26, 2008. Vandals have defaced the tomb of former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau with the words "FLQ" and "traitor." THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Peter McCabe
SAINT-REMI, Que. - Even in his eternal resting place, former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau is haunted by his past.
Vandals crept into a quaint cemetery in rural Quebec and scrawled "FLQ" and the French words for "traitor" and "bastard" in black spray-paint on his family's crypt.
A woman in the tiny farming community of Saint-Remi, south of Montreal, noticed the graffiti and alerted Pierre Sauriol, the president of the local parish.
"It's very sad," Sauriol, whose organization maintains the graveyard, said Saturday.
"He made errors and good decisions like everyone, but he was one of the prime ministers of Canada, and he should rest in peace."
Trudeau, who served as Canada's prime minister from 1968-79 and 1980-84, was a controversial figure in Quebec.
He made enemies in the province in October 1970 during the FLQ crisis. Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act after a British diplomat and a provincial cabinet minister were kidnapped.
The minister, Pierre Laporte, was killed.
The former prime minister also enraged separatists when he unilaterally repatriated the Canadian Constitution without the province's approval.
Trudeau, who died in September 2000 at age 80, is entombed in the grey-stone mausoleum with his parents and 11 other family members.
The family hails from Saint-Remi and the neighbouring community of Saint-Michel.
Sauriol said this was the first time vandals have left their mark on the vault.
Police believe the tomb was vandalized overnight Thursday night.
On April 26, 1963, five bombs exploded in Westmount, an upper-class, mostly anglophone town on the island of Montreal, according to an FLQ website.
Saturday marked the 45th anniversary.
Orange police tape was tied to tombstones Saturday, creating a perimeter around the imposing Trudeau crypt, which stands taller than any monument in the cemetery.
Provincial police investigators checked garbage cans and under shrubs in hope of unearthing a clue.
Officers also snapped photos and measured the writing on the vault.
The messy writing was applied to every wall of the building. The letters "FLQ," which stand for Front de liberation du Quebec, covered a pair of names on a plaque posted by the door.
As of Saturday afternoon, there had been no arrests and provincial police had no suspects.
Trudeau family members could not be reached for comment.
"I don't think this is right," said Jeannine Turcotte, who lives a few doors away from the cemetery.
"Nobody has the right to do that."
The crypt is only a few metres from a major road and many curious residents from the town of 6,000 slowed to see the damage as they passed by in their vehicles.
Carole Larocque stopped to take photos of the markings.
"I don't agree with the graffiti, whether it's Mr. Trudeau or any other monument, but I think I understand the sentiment of the people who did this," she said.
She believes some sovereigntists are frustrated because their political option is in the doldrums. Larocque said this may have been a way for them to be heard.
"I don't agree with this, but I can understand the gesture," she said.
Meanwhile, the head of a prominent nationalist group called the vandalism "extremely deplorable."
"It isn't acceptable," said Jean Dorion of the Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montreal.
"Of course we disagree with the Constitution that has been imposed forcibly on Quebec - this is not acceptable. But it's not a reason to desecrate a burial place."
Environment Minister John Baird, who is responsible for Parks Canada, said in a statement Saturday his department would remove the graffiti.
"It is important to protect the historic resting places of former prime ministers, and these places should at all times be given the respect and honour they deserve," Baird said.
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Article online since April 26th 2008, 0:00
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