MARGUERITE Laurent, chairperson of the Haitians Lawyers Leadership
Network is scheduled to meet today with ousted Haitian president, Jean-Bertrand
Aristide as well as a group of Haitian refugees in Portland.
Laurent yesterday declined to comment on the planned discussions with
Aristide, but said that in the meeting with the refugees she will make
them aware that there is a "process for political asylum here".
"We heard that to date, no one has applied (for asylum)," she told
journalists at a press briefing at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston
yesterday. "We are going to try and get them representation."
Laurent, along with Alina Sixto of Ajoupa - a Haitian charitable organisation,
said the trip to Jamaica is a "mission of appreciation"" to personally
thank the Jamaican Government and its people for assisting the Haitians.
She said thank you letters were already delivered to the Office of
the Prime Minister, the secretary-general of the Caribbean Community
and the Ministry of Finance and Planning.
"We thank Jamaica for standing firm in the face of enormous pressure
and intimidation, in not recognising the un-elected government that
replaced the constitutional president and government of Haiti through
the bloody coup d'etat of February 29, 2004," said the letter, which
was released to the media.
Meanwhile, she vowed that her group will continue the fight for the
reinstatement of the Aristide government and said they will also push
for the pay over of the US$21 billion restitution allegedly owed to
the Haitians by the French.
"[We are going to] to see that the rule of law is applied which include
seeing Aristide finish his mandate," she said yesterday.
Aristide's departure, she said, was a coup d'etat and has landed the
almost nine million Haitians back into dictatorship.
"There's a lot of evidence that this was no rag tag coup," she noted.
"[It] was orchestrated by the same people that orchestrated the [first
one]."
Meanwhile, a teary-eyed Sixto lamented that "Haitian oppression is
real", noting that even 200 years after they broke themselves free from
the shackles of slavery, they continue to pay dearly with their lives
for the bravery of their ancestors.
"As black people we struggle, we are paying a big price with our blood
because our sisters decided to break out of slavery," she sobbed. "They
want to destroy our colour, but we're standing. we will let no one put
us back in slavery."