President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Pretoria, South Africa

Solidarity with Rev. Father Gérard Jean Juste


After more than a month in jail, the health of Rev. Fr. Gérard Jean Juste is deteriorating. Once again I join my voice to the voices of many calling for his release. His unlawful detention, alongside the unlawful detention of thousands of political prisoners in Haiti, demonstrates a clear determination to exclude Lavalas, or the huge majority of Haitian people, from participating in free, fair and democratic elections.

Again we must ask: In 1994, who could have expected free, fair and democratic elections in South Africa with Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Oliver Tambo and other leaders and members of the African National Congress in jail, exile or in hiding?

In Haiti, in order to have elections and not a “selection”, the following steps must be taken:

1. The thousands of Lavalas who are in jail and in exile must be free to return home.

2. The repression that has already killed over 10,000 people must end immediately.

3. Then, there must be national dialogue.

Fr. Jean Juste too has echoed this call for dialogue and peace. He must be freed.
All the political prisoners must be freed.

Dialogue leading to peace through the restoration of constitutional order – this is the will of the Haitian people. After 200 years of independence it is clear that from this dialogue will emerge a new Haiti.

5-Point Demands From the Grassroots
and Democratic-base in Haiti

5-point demands from the grassroots and Fanmi Lavalas-base in Haiti for
the majority of people in Haiti to participate in elections.

The US-backed Haitian National Police, U.N. troops (MINUSTAH) and their ex-army goons and "civilian attaches" are currently running loose in Haiti shooting and chopping people to bits with imported machete and turning Haiti into a butcher's house to attain the peace of the cemetery.

Waking up to over 10,000 dead and walking over corpses everyday, Haitians know indeed, there is no benign neglect of Haiti by the US or Western powers. For, Haiti was forced into this de facto US/UN protectorate on Feb. 29, 2004. But, threading through the blood of the slaughtered, pushing through starvation and sickness, retching away heart, nerve and sinew to hold on to dignity and hope for return to Constitutional rule and respect for their vote, the huge majority of Haitians continue to tell the world's most powerful countries and armies that, though they be materially poor, they are free, not slaves or Western "propery" and shall not accept the lost of Haitian sovereignty to be formalized either by a foreign-run election under this foreign-imposed Latortue government and UN occupation army nor through a UN/US official protectorate.

Since the coup d'etat the majority of Haiti's people have been under military rule, US/UN-backed state-sponsored terror and the reign of impunity. But this August, 2005, even while the killings and their manner reach horrific genocidal levels, even while all their leaders are in jail or in exile and the indefinite detentions and arbitrary arrests intensify, the grassroots movement for democracy and justice in Haiti continued to resist this Western imported tyranny and have issued the 5-point Haitian people's requirements that must be met before there may be free and fair elections, justice or peace in Haiti. They are as follows:

5-points from the grassroots Lavalas Movement and party-base in Haiti
in order for the majority and forces of peoples in Haiti they represent
to go to elections:

1. Liberation of all political prisoners including Father Gerald Jean-Juste who the Fanmi Lavalas grassroots-base in Haiti chose as their candidate for the presidency of Haiti.

2. The Latortue government must go.

3. The repression and killings in the popular neighborhoods must stop

4. Disarmament. Arms must be gone. There cannot be elections with all
these arms on the streets (even those in the hands of the "no-nationality" Haitian bourgeoisie, their "anti-poor" thug enforcers and former military).

5. President Aristide and all those in exile must be allowed to return to Haiti.These, as we understand them, are the conditions by which the people in Haiti have stated, through their grassroots pro-democracy representatives, they will go to elections.Stop the U.N. and Haitian police killing of Lavalas supporters;

 

Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network
(A network dedicated to institutionalizing the rule of law and
protecting the civil, human and cultural rights of Haitians living at home and
abroad)
Sept. 1, 2005

******

The Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network's Appeal for international support on the People of Haiti's right to
self-respect, self-determination and self-defense

We Haitian democracy activists have taken on ourselves a great task.
The Haitian people have been robbed again, not only of the wealth of our
country, and not only of the lives and livelihoods of our countrymen,
but of our sense of self-determination.

The very essence of being Haitian is the connection to those freedom
fighters of the revolution who would not lie down and obey the men who
claimed to be their masters. Today, Haiti is being ruled by a regime
that was selected by foreign powers. The legitimate officials are in exile,
in hiding, or in captivity.

All around, voices are telling us to suffer this indignity, to give up
on our quest for self-governance, that somehow we are unfit to choose our
own leaders or our own style of governance.

We utterly reject this pattern of thought. It is the mental slavery
from which Bob Marley calls us to emancipate ourselves. For the average
Haitian "This Song of Freedom" is truly all we have ever had. And now they
want to take that too.

It is with this sense of insistence and urgency that we set forth our
grievances and define our terms for reconciliation in the Haitian
Lawyers Leadership Haiti Resolution. We ask that all Haitian democracy
activists circulate this resolution, and address the issues and demands of the resolution to their own governments, and to the United Nations, which
has the responsibility for protecting the right of self-determination.

The Haitian Lawyers Leadership Haiti Resolution:

1. Demand the return of constitutional rule to Haiti by restoring all
elected officials of all parties to their offices throughout the
country until the end of their mandates and another election is held, as
mandated by Haiti's Constitution;

2. Condemn the killings, illegal imprisonment and confiscation of the
property of supporters of Haiti's constitutional government and insist
that Haiti's illegitimate "interim government" immediately cease its
persecution and put a stop to persecution by the thugs and murderers from sectors in their police force, from the paramilitaries, gangs and former soldiers;

3. Insist on the immediate release of all political prisoners in
Haitian jails, including Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, Interior Minister Privert
and other constitutional government officials and folksinger-activist Sò
Anne;

4. Insist on the disarmament of the thugs, death squad leaders and
convicted human rights violators and their prosecution for all crimes committed during the attack on Haiti's elected government and support the rebuilding of Haiti's police force, ensuring that it excludes anyone who helped to overthrow the democratically elected government or who participated in other human rights violations;

5. Stop the indefinite detention and automatic repatriation of Haitian
refugees and immediately grant Temporary Protected Status to all
Haitian refugees presently in the United States until democracy is restored to Haiti; and

6. Support the calls by the OAS, CARICOM and the African Union for an
investigation into the circumstances of President Aristide's removal.
Support the enactment of Congresswoman Barbara Lee's T.R.U.T.H Act
which calls for U.S. Congressional investigation of the forcible removal of
the democratically elected President and government of Haiti.

No Benign Neglect

**************
No Benign Neglect
*************
HLLN Note: Below is a letter to the Orlando Sentinel in reference to John C. Bersia's article "Time To End Benign Neglect of Haiti (also copied below). According to his bio, Mr. Bersia is also "special assistant to the President (Bush?) for global perspectives." His article advocates the "temporary suspension of Haiti's sovereignty" as if Bush's Feb. 29, 2004 regime change in Haiti and disenfranchisement of almost 9 million
Haitians hasn't already attained that goal.

Mr. Choisil's response outlines for this "special assistant to the president" a Haitian perspective on Western paternalism and constant repugnant interference in Haiti's domestic affairs and why this has kept Haiti's peoples contained-in-poverty, under a repressive U-S backed army and regimes and in constant Coup D'etat, although US/Euro interference is consistently explained and justified as benevolent, selfless and for bringing "democracy," "development" "free market", "law in order" and now
"protectorate" to Haiti. In response to J. Bersia's missionary point of view as stated in the Orlando Sentinel's "Time to End Benign Neglect of Haiti," Mr. Paul Choisil emphatically states: "...There is indeed, no (U.S.) benign neglect of Haiti.... some sectors pay full attention to the demise of that country."

HLLN
Sept. 1, 2005
****************
Forwarded Message
DATE: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 16:39:25 -0700
FROM: "Paul Choisil" <paulocho@telus.net>
To: jbersia@orlandosentinel.com, erzilidanto@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: TIME TO END BENIGN NEGLECT OF HAITI

Dear Mr. Bersia,

I am an expatriate Haitian who spent forty years in Canada and achieved a successful economic and social life in my adopted country. I, nevertheless, kept in touch with the development of events and the historic background that led and kept my native country in the desperate state in which it is now languishing.

I take exception to your paternalism and your dismissal of the causes
that brought about the situation we are facing.

Historically, the primary causes of the woes and miseries of Haiti lie in the policies of the colonial powers that forced, through blackmail and intimidation, to pay a fictitious debt in an amount that prohibited any development and plans for the future. It took Haiti one hundred years to pay this punitive debt, because the Haitian sense of honor forces its leaders to meet a commitment, however unjust. This policy was pursued by the newly independent but profoundly racist American governments that continued a boycott and refused to recognize and deal with the world's first black nation.

An independent Haiti was a threat to a USA that was prospering because of the free labor provided by slavery.

After that reluctant recognition, the struggling governments of Haiti, at the beginning of the eighteen century were the subjects of harassment by the USA until they finally decided to occupy that country militarily and administratively, for twenty years. This occupation did nothing to develop Haiti. It exploited its resources, established forced labor for American interests and set out to destroy Haitian culture, with the collaboration of the local elite. Monopolies were created for this collaboration which still exists today.

The legacy left by the USA is the creation of an army trained to protect the interests of that elite and to keep the masses in the background.

As a result, we have a society where a very small minority controls all the financial aspects of the country, while keeping the overwhelming majority in a state of destitution. This minority strives and prospers by representing goods and services sold by US multinationals.

In turn, they have only support corrupt governments which support their and US interests while suppressing the claims of the population.

The "dysfunctional past oppressive rule, poverty and environmental devastation" have their causes in the above.

There, clearly, is a large responsibility by the so-called international community.

Under these circumstances, poverty is inevitable considering the wages that are paid to the workers . Inadequate to obtain the basic foodstuff, these wages cannot cover clothing and fuel. Thus the cutting of trees to meet that need is the principal cause of that environmental devastation.

We can also mention the vast expanses of agricultural lands destroyed by US companies for the exploitation of rubber, sisal and export agro-industrial projects, as well as the dumping of Florida rice and cheap foodstuff that drive the Haitian farmers to the slums of the capital.

USAID shortsighted so-called employment producing projects that encourage the peasant to abandon his plantation for short term employment. This destroyed the capacity of the farmers to produce food for local consumption, as was the case in the past.

In the cities, the assembly factories are still paying a daily wage that is less than the hourly wage of a US worker, for luxury items intended for US consumption.

Your recommendations are erroneous because this experiment was already made and it is one of the causes of the present situation.

Who are you to suggest that the sovereignty of a nation, that fought so valiantly with its blood, courage and pride, be suspended? Don't you know that, actually, Haiti is under occupation with the UN acting as proxy for the US?

I would venture to say that if Haitians were left alone to decide what their future would be, we would not be corresponding, now. Since when does the international community concerns itself with the welfare and future of any nation?

How pretentious can you be to think that you can prescribe the tools to fix Haiti and, for that matter, the Dominican republic? If the gap between Port-au-Prince and Santo-Domingo is so great, why are there more Dominicans fleeing by boat than there are Haitians?

It is true that a better and closer relationship between Haiti and the Dominican republic would make for a better Hispaniola and more prosperity and happiness for their two populations. But what is dividing the two countries have their roots in the big multinational interests. E.g. the exploitation of haitian workers by the big agro-industrial and construction companies.

Can those countries not solve their own problems, if not interfered
with?

Please do not blame the victims. As a journalist you could divulge and publicize the horrendous crimes being committed right now by the US-backed interim government of Haiti, with the assistance of the UN and the International community.

There are numerous reports, documented by photographs and video pictures which are not published by the mainstream US media. If you are concerned about Haiti, you might look into them and perhaps, investigate their truthfulness.

There is, indeed, no benign neglect of Haiti.

Indeed, some sectors pay full attention to the demise of that country.
Paul Choisil

***
Time to end benign neglect of Haiti
BY JOHN C. BERSIA
The Orlando Sentinel

(KRT) - The size and scope of Haiti's problems demand at least 20 years of hands-on assistance by the global community. When nature raises its voice - as it did with Hurricane Katrina in recent days, the freak monsoon floods that struck India earlier in the summer and a tsunami of epic proportions late last year - one cannot help but listen. Such disasters, which suggest evidence of a planetary protest, typically send people scurrying to the assistance of the afflicted.

In more peaceful times, though, when no compelling threat - natural or human-made - looms, public concern often diminishes or disappears altogether. I am reminded of Haiti, which seems to find itself not only in a perpetual crisis but invariably marginalized. The rest of the world tends to pay attention and react only when Haiti's woes spill into the Caribbean and make their way to other shores, including those of the United States.

I would like to see that benign neglect end and encourage a chance for Haitians to enjoy stable, productive lives. To begin, the international community should take a more aggressive stance in helping Haiti separate itself from a dysfunctional past of oppressive rule, poverty and environmental devastation. In addition, a tighter bond should be established between Haiti and its neighbor on Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic.

The ideal opportunity to resolve the Haitian conundrum came in early 2004, with the departure of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Despite apparently good intentions, Aristide accelerated Haiti's plummet toward failed-state status. The international community dutifully expressed alarm and dispatched troops, but unfortunately its quick-fix technique has not succeeded in creating an environment that will allow free, fair and safe elections later this year.

Even a recent decision to boost the size of the United Nations stabilization force in Haiti falls short of the challenge.

The size and scope of Haiti's problems demand at least 20 years of hands-on assistance by the global community. Now, I suspect that such a proposal will resonate poorly among Americans who already clamor for the United States to withdraw from other nation-building enterprises, notably in Iraq. But if they desire long-term security for nations bordering the Caribbean, they would be unwise to handle Haiti hastily and fade away. That approach merely would guarantee a repeat of past failures.

The most promising solution lies in the temporary suspension of Haiti's sovereignty and in the imposition of a comprehensive plan that would remove the influence of past regimes, bolster the society, revamp education and training, and build a constituency for democracy and free markets.

At the same time, it would help for Haiti and the Dominican Republic to work more assiduously to reduce the historical tensions that plague them. They have a common interest in dealing with just about every issue, from hurricanes to economic development. Expanding critical discussions at the national leadership level would make a difference.

Beyond that, the two countries would stand to gain from establishing a permanent institute devoted to research on Dominican-Haitian affairs. I am not talking about a make-work, one-person office that would generate insipid trivia about the two countries. Rather, I envision a serious, public-private partnership that would produce ongoing, substantive assessments for the use of policy-makers and other interested parties.

In the panorama of worthwhile issues, fixing Haiti and narrowing the gap between Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo deserve a closer look and a proactive sense of urgency.
---
ABOUT THE WRITER
John C. Bersia, who won a Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing for the Orlando Sentinel in 2000, is also the special assistant to the president for global perspectives and a professor at the University of Central Florida. Readers may write to him at the Orlando Sentinel, 633 North Orange Ave., Orlando, Fla. 32801, or by e-mail at
jbersia@orlandosentinel.com.
---
© 2005, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at
http://www.orlandosentinel.com. On America Online, use keyword: OSO.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
**************************************************
Forwarded by the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network
http://www.margueritelaurent.com/law/lawpress.html
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"Men anpil chay pa lou" is Kreyol for - "Many hands make light a heavy
load."

_______________
The
Crucifiction of Emmanuel "Dread" Wilme,
a historical
perspective

Urge the Caribbean Community to stand firm in not recognizing the illegal Latortue regime: