SUPPORT THE HAITIAN PEOPLE
Statement from the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
February 12, 2004--The A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Caolition denounces any intervention by the Bush Administration against the democratically elected government of Haiti and its President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. We oppose the financial embargo of this Caribbean country by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank at the instruction of the U.S. government. We condemn any CIA support for the anti-democratic opposition and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) programs it has in Haiti to funnel money to the opposition.
Today Haiti faces a serious threat to its nascent democracy. Armed gangs led by disbanded military officers, right-wing FRAPH coup makers who overthrew President Aristide in his first term and then conducted a reign of terror, and the death squad Ton Ton Macoutes movement loyal to the old Duvalier regimes, are invading cities, burning police stations, killing and beating Lavalas Movement supporters, and attempting to violently remove the elected government from office.
The whole world (except the CIA and some business interests) took hope when the Haitian people, through the Lavalas Movement headed by former priest Jean Bertrand Aristide, came to office with a landslide victory in 1990. The whole world (except the CIA and some business interests) mourned when a military coup overthrew Aristide in 1991. Aristide is now serving again as elected president and the same forces that opposed him before continue their efforts to overthrow him.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. President Aristide's efforts to respond to the desperate needs of Haiti's poorest citizens has been crippled from the beginning by U.S. government manipulation of aid and international loans, and by a complete cut-off of international aid and loans since 2000. In a country as poor as Haiti, whose riches were looted by its colonial masters, cutting off international assistance has had a corrosive effect on society, opening the way for a re-emergence of the violent, right-wing forces of the past. A.N.S.W.E.R. demands that the U.S. government release all aid money appropriated by Congress for the Haitian government and to remove its block on international loans and grants.
Despite being crippled by the aid cut-off, Haiti has implemented admirable literacy campaigns and a Universal Schooling Program, has defended children's rights, and has worked to find alternatives to corporate globalization. Like Nicaragua of the 1980's and Venezuela today, this makes Haiti "the threat of a good example."
Two hundred years ago the Haitian people established the second oldest republic in the Americas. For sixty years the U.S. government refused to recognize the Haitian Republic, which resulted from the only successful slave insurrection in history. From 1849-1913 the U.S. threatened Haiti 26 times by anchoring warships in its harbors to protect U.S. business interests. The U.S. invaded Haiti in 1915 and occupied it until 1934. U.S. marines robbed $500,000 from the National Bank of Haiti in 1915. These stolen monies were then deposited in the National City Bank--now part of the trillion dollar Citibank octopus. The U.S. government supported some of the hemisphere's bloodiest, most repressive governments including "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier in the latter half of the 20th century. The U.S. invaded Haiti again in 1994 to return Aristide for the remainder of his first term, but dictated that his term could not be extended to make up for the three years denied him by the coup. U.S. soldiers remain in Haiti today.
The reason why Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere is that it made so many other countries so rich. It was Haitian sugar--the product of slave labor--that fueled the industrial revolution in Britain and France. French bankers and big business alone owe Haiti at least $21 billion in reparations for a forced loan that took Haiti 120 years to pay off. Over the past few centuries, the Haitian people have also been punished for having the audacity to overthrow their slave masters. This heroic country opened its arms to Simon Bolivar, supplying the liberator with two ships and supplies needed to overthrow Spanish colonial rule. The only thing that Haiti asked in return was freedom for all the enslaved people in Latin America.
For all its problems, the majority of Haiti's eight million people will not support a return to colonial servitude. The aim of the right-wing insurrectionists is to provoke military intervention against the Haitian government, possibly under disguise of a United Nations "humanitarian mission." A.N.S.W.E.R. demands that the U.S., France, and the United Nations keep their hands off Haiti. With the reparations owed Haiti by France; with international aid directed by sovereign Haiti, Haitians can solve their own problems and chart their own destiny.
A.N.S.W.E.R. demands: Hands off Haiti! Stop the financial embargo of this heroic country!
NEW YORK CITY: Demonstrate Against a New Coup d'Etat in Haiti Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 12 Noon Dag Hammarskjold Plaza 47th Street between 1st & 2nd Avenues Manhattan Respect for the people's vote Respect President Aristide's five year mandate Respect for Haiti's constitution and Democracy U.S. & France: Stop Supporting Subversion in Haiti Election, Yes! Coup d'Etat No! For more information contact the Committee to Respect President Aristide's 5 Year Mandate (includes Fanmi Lavalas - Patisan Jéikri - Haiti Action Committee - Haiti Support Network - Ajoupa OBNH - Plusieurs Organisations Régionales - Leve Kanpe - Komite Sipò pou PPN - International Action Center) at 917-337-6702, 347-262-1818, 516-489-4365, 718-693-8286, 718-856-3186, 718-771-3703, 203-847-5487
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