Global Action: 56 actions in 47 cities for Haiti on or around Feb. 29
City-by-city Calendar of Events
END the foreign military occupation!
FREE the political prisoners!
RETURN Aristide and democracy to Haiti!
America, the Caribbean, Europe and North America -- are
organizing for the International Day in Solidarity with the Haitian People on
or around February 29th. They are planning street protests and marches, vigils,
film showings and public meetings -- all in support of the Haitian people's
struggle for self-determination, democracy and justice. Everywhere, new people
are becoming involved, inspired by the resistance of the people in Haiti. Many
cities and towns in Haiti will be taking part in activities marking the 4th
anniversary of the Feb. 29, 2004 coup d'etat in Haiti.
47 cities with 1 message:
"Self-determination for the Haitian People!"
Activities planned as part of the Feb. 29th
International Day of Solidarity with the Haitian People include:
Durban, South Africa -
Abahlali baseMjondolo, the South African shack dwellers movement, will be
hosting a film screening of the new short film What's Going on in Haiti? at
the Kennedy Road shack settlement, 5:30 pm Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, as part of
the International Day in Solidarity with the Haitian People. Followed by a
discussion in English and isiZulu. All welcome. www.abahlali.org
Last year's action, in the Kennedy Road shanty town,
was held in February 2007 "in support of Haitian shack dwellers," in
particular those living in "the massive shack settlement of Cite Soleil
(Sun City)," according to their statement. The meeting was well planned.
Four days before, Abahlali held an all-night meeting "at which this small
gesture of solidarity was discussed with representatives from all of the 34
settlements affiliated to the movement. There was tremendous enthusiasm and a
hope that ongoing networks of solidarity could be developed between shack
dwellers under pressure in different countries."
Here is a participant's description of last
year's event in Durban [held at Kennedy Rd because no other settlement had
electricity]: "Just got back from an amazing event in the Kennedy Road
settlement. Taxis don't run after the commuter rush but the hall, which
takes 300 people, was close to full. People came from all over the city
although most had to spend the night in Kennedy Road because there was not
transport home." Organizers commented on people's reaction on seeing
video footage of two UN attacks in Cite Soleil -- the July 6, 2005 massacre in
Bois Neuf/Drouillard and an Aug. 24, 2006 raid in Simond Pele: "The
visuals of the [UN] soldiers moving into the settlements [in Cite Soleil],
blocking the exits etc are images that look strikingly like what has happened
in settlements here [in South Africa] last year in response to mass
mobilisation, although of course people are very rarely killed here. When the
films were finished there was a forest of arms up for people wanting to discuss
the films. The discussion was excellent and very enthusiastic and focused on
how democratic national democracies could actually be in this world, why local
and international agencies supposed to be 'on the side of the people'
(from local NGOs to the UN) so ruthlessly and relentlessly stigmatize the
politics of the poor as criminal. A few people in the hall had, despite a lack
of access to all electronic media, been managing to follow the situation quite
closely since Aristide was removed from office. People were tremendously
excited to have been able to be part of the global day of action. Although the
Haitian story is very depressing there is something encouraging in knowing that
you are not alone and that the long fight back continues elsewhere." [For
photos of the 2007 event in Durban, go to www.haitisolidarity.net ]
Montreal, Quebec - Demonstration in
downtown Montreal at 5 pm Friday, Feb. 29 in front of the Guy Favreau complex,
200 Boulevard Rene Levesque Ouest (metro Place des Arts), called by Baz Fanmi
Lavalas Montreal, which issued the following communique: "The objective of
this demonstration is to remind the three kidnapping countries (the US, France
and Canada) that the odious and dishonest act that they committed in Haiti four
years ago, has never been accepted by the Haitian people, and will never be
accepted by them. On February 29, 2004 the US, France and Canada kidnapped the
democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Feb.
29th demonstrations are an opportunity for all Haitians and friends of Haiti
living in Canada to contribute to the resistance struggle of the people in
Haiti against the foreign occupation." Info: 514-572-8916
Berkeley, California -
Protesters will gather 7:30 AM on Friday, Feb. 29 at the Marine Recruiting
Station, 64 Shattuck Square, Berkeley, to "shine a light on the role of US
Marines in Haiti." The flyer for the protest, sponsored by the Haiti
Action Committee, states: "Four years after the Feb. 29, 2004 US/French
coup in Haiti...Four years after US Marines seized Haiti's capital and
installed a US-appointed coup regime -- Haiti is still under foreign military
occupation, marked by rapes and wanton killings of the poor. Since the coup
Haiti faces growing hunger, unemployment and a spiraling cost of living.
Haiti's jails are still filled with political prisoners and the poor --
while the coup plotters & paramilitary death squads enjoy impunity."
Protesters will pass out information about the US Marines' earlier invasion
and occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934. They will also highlight how US
Marines conducted a midnight raid on the home of Haitian people's leader
and singer So' Anne in May 2004, two months after the coup. So' Anne
had been a key organizer for the upcoming Flag Day demonstrations against the
coup and occupation, and for the return of kidnapped President Aristide. The
Marines shot off the lock on So' Anne's gate, shot dead her dog, and
arrested So' Anne and some small children; So' Anne spent the next two
years in prison.
See Fact Sheet on US Marines in
Haiti, below.
New York City - Picket line Friday, Feb.
29 from 2 to 6 pm at the Consulate General of Haiti, at 271 Madison Avenue
(between 39th & 40th Sts.) in Manhattan, in support of the 7 demands of the
February 29th day of action for Haiti. In addition, the demonstration will
"demand that the diplomats appointed by the 2004 coup regime, who are
mostly still in their posts, be replaced immediately. These include first and
foremost NY Consul General Felix Augustin and Ambassador to the US Raymond
Joseph, who were both officers and founders of a certain 'Committee to Save
the Country' which called on Colin Powell to militarily intervene to remove
Aristide from power (which was in fact finally done), as well as Duly Brutus,
Ambassador to the UN." Sponsors: Fanmi Lavalas, Haiti Support Network,
KAKOLA, Internat'l Action Center, Answer Coalition-NY, December 12th
Movement. Info: 718-421-0162 or 347-697-9234 or 917-251-6057. In addition,
there will be a New York City screening of two DVDs documenting with live
footage the UN massacres in Cite Soleil (location and time TBA).
Georgetown, Guyana - The
Red Thread women's organization in this South American country will
organize an event in the capital as part of the Feb. 29th global day of action
for Haiti, for the second year in a row.
Here is a report on last year's demonstration in
Guyana: "On Feb. 7, 2007 Red Thread women organized a vibrant, noisy lunch
time picket across the street from the office of the United Nations Development
Programme in Georgetown in solidarity with Haiti. We were Afro-Guyanese,
Indo-Guyanese and mixed race; the oldest was in her 70s. Representatives of two
political parties, a trade union grouping and an African-Guyanese cultural
organisation joined us. Our banner read 'International Day in Solidarity
with Haiti, UN Forces out of Haiti'. Placards said 'Grassroots women in
Guyana in solidarity with grassroots women in Haiti' and 'Guyana in
solidarity with Site Soley'. They chanted: 'Stop the massacres/
now', 'Stop sexual abuse/ now', 'Free political prisoners/
now'. Later we crossed the road in single file, stopping traffic, and stood
directly on the pavement in front of the entrance of the UN office. As we
reached the entrance, participants got more excited and the chanting was even
louder: 'UN troops/ out of Haiti!' " [For photos of the 2007 event
in Guyana, go to www.haitisolidarity.net ]
"Why we should always act in solidarity with the poor
majority in Haiti" was the headline on flyers passed out by the Red Thread
women's organization at last year's protest. The flyer said:
"Every time we hear news about Haiti we hear that it is the poorest
country in the Caribbean, a country where there is always fighting. No one
tells us why Haiti is poor and what the fighting is about. Here is the basic
truth:
"The fighting in Haiti is part of a 200-year fight
for freedom. The Haitian people were the first to abolish slavery. They won the
first successful slave revolution in history, defeating France, Britain and
Spain. Haiti also gave direct aid to other people fighting for their freedom.
For example, it supplied Bolivar, the liberator of Venezuela and other South
American countries, with ships and supplies to overthrow Spanish rule and
helped train some of Bolivar’s soldiers. All Haiti asked was that Bolivar
fight to free the slaves in South America. The 2004 coup against elected
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was the latest action in the 200-year-old
effort by the old and new colonial powers to defeat Haiti’s struggle to
be free.
"Haiti is poor because it has always been punished
for fighting for freedom. This started when the colonial powers, furious about
the Haitian people’s victory over slavery, made them pay those who had
owned and exploited them in order for their new government to get international
recognition. Backed by the US, France forced Haiti to pay 150 million francs in
gold as “reparations=94 to former plantation and slave owners, as
well as for the costs of the war. It is estimated that French bankers and big
business alone owe Haiti at least 21 billion US dollars for the forced debt it
took Haiti 120 years to pay off.
"The old and new colonial powers have always been
determined to defeat the Black people of Haiti...But the Haitian grassroots
have never given up the fight against foreign powers and the local exploiters
and dictators these powers support. The organization calling for the February 7
protests - Fondasyon Trant Septanm - is an example of their unbreakable spirit;
it is an 11-year old organization of victims of the 1991 and 2004 coups in
Haiti who have chosen the anniversary of the overthrow of one Haitian dictator,
“Baby Doc" Duvalier, to march to demand respect for
Haiti’s sovereignty. We picket in solidarity with them."
Dublin, Ireland -
Solidarity picket Feb. 29 at the Brazilian Embassy, initiated by the Latin
American Solidarity Centre, for the second year in a row. This focus was chosen
because Brazil's military commands the 9,000-soldier United Nations
military force still occupying Haiti.
At last year's protest, people held up a large photo
of a pregnant woman who lost her baby when she was shot in the stomach by UN
bullets during the December 22, 2006 'Christmas massacre' in Cite
Soleil. They said, "We are sending a clear message: that no one is
forgotten. Coming from the working class, our sympathy will always lie with the
workers and the poor who struggle for freedom and equality." The Irish
picketers passed out a Workers Solidarity Movement leaflet: "On the 7th of
February 1986 the Haitian people, after years of revolt against the rich and
powerful, toppled one of the most brutal dictatorships that history has
recorded, the one led by the Duvalier family. Not only did they put an end to
the US-backed reign of terror of the Duvaliers, but as well, the people were
pushing forward a series of popular demands that were meant to radically change
the face of Haiti: this was a truly revolutionary struggle. Today, Haiti is
again under the yoke of oppression - this time under a UN military occupation
called MINUSTAH, headed mostly by subservient Latin American governments, but
engineered from the US and France, the main imperialist powers controlling
Haitian affairs. [The UN] took over after the kidnap and coup on President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. Don't let us have false illusions on the
true nature of MINUSTAH: they are an occupation force that protects the
sympathizers of the Duvaliers and other human rights violators. They are the
only support for the corrupt Haitian elite....So MINUSTAH have been efficient
in fulfilling their role:...to protect the privilege of the 3% of Haitians that
control over 80% of the wealth of that country. End the UN and all foreign
occupation of Haiti!," the leaflet said.
London, England - On Friday Feb. 29, 8-10
pm, the new short film "What's Going on in Haiti" about Haiti in
2007 under US/UN occupation, will be screened at the Crossroads Women's
Centre, 230-A Kentish Town Road, London NW5 [entrance Caversham Rd], as part of
the global day of action. Wheelchair accessible. Near Kentish Town Tube on the
Northern Line. Sponsored by Global Women's Strike and Women of Colour in
the Global Women's Strike.
London, England -
Ongoing weekly vigil and fast for abducted Haitian human rights advocate
Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine every Wednesday from 5 to 6 pm outside the Brazilian
Embassy, 32 Green St., London W1 (near Marble Arch Tube). [Brazil heads the UN
military mission occupying Haiti.] The vigil on Feb. 27 was part of the 3rd
international mobilization in solidarity with Haiti.
Atlanta, Georgia - Screening of the
Nicolas Rossier film Aristide and the Endless Revolution, 7 pm, Friday, Feb. 29
at Project South, 9 Gammon Ave SE, Atlanta. Info: 770 469 9102. Presented by
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.
Roanoke, Virginia - Haitian community
showing of a film about Haiti on Saturday, March 1st at a Haitian Caribbean
restaurant in the community, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of
action.
Moneta/Huddleston, Virginia - Evening
film showing on Monday, March 10 of the new short film, What's Going On in
Haiti?, about Haiti in 2007 under US/UN occupation, at Resurrection Church,
Moneta, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action.
Fremont, California - Teach-in about
Haiti 7:00-8:30 pm Monday, March 3rd, at the Dominican Sisters of Mission San
Jose, 43326 Mission Blvd, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action
for Haiti. Presentations by Sister Stella Goodpasture and the Haiti Action
Committee. Info: 510 657 2468
Rochester, New York -
The Rochester Committee on Latin America will hold its annual Rice & Beans
Dinner for 150 people on Friday, Feb. 29. They will "observe the 4th
anniversary of the US-backed coup against President Aristide by writing our
congresspersons to support immediately the House Resolution to cancel the
Haitian debt."
Los Angeles, Calif. -
Film showing 7pm Saturday, March 1st, Eastside Cafe, 5469 Huntington Drive
North (at Maycrest), in El Sereno. Screening the Kevin Pina film Harvest of
Hope. The film, about the rise of the Lavalas movement leading up to the
December 1990 elections that swept Jean-Bertrand Aristide into the presidency
-- and the 1991-94 coup that followed -- is a primer for understanding the
roots of the current crisis in Haiti. Also showing: a new short film What's
Going on in Haiti?, about Haiti in 2007 under US/UN occupation. Event
coordinated by Women of Color in the Global Women's Strike and Global
Women’s strike.. Co-sponsored by CISPES, Answer-LA, and International
Action Center. Info: 323-276-9833
Toronto, Ontario -
Demonstration and street theater outside the Canadian Broadcasting Company
(CBC) building, 250 Front St West 11:30 am-1:00 pm Friday Feb. 29, to protest
media support for the US/French/Canadian coup in Haiti and current UN
occupation. Sponsored by Toronto Haiti Action Committee "as part of a
worldwide day of mobilization and solidarity with the Haitian people."
People in costumes (UN official, Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer,
Canadian government official, etc.) will sell 'mud cookies' to
passersby over the lunch hour. [To stave off hunger in this time of high
unemployment and spiraling cost of living in Haiti, some Haitians have been
forced to resort to eating so-called 'mud cookies' made of mud, salt
and oil.] "The poor majority in Haiti faces an unprecedented social and
economic catastrophe that is steadily worsening," said the committee's
statement. "Basic human rights such as jobs, clean water, health care and
education are unavailable and misery, poverty, hunger and diseases are on the
rise. Haitian jails remain filled with political prisoners and pro-democracy
activists, and the Haitian poor still face political persecution.
"Canada's assistance in Haiti to date has been to
apply brute strength, superior firepower and a development program that
dictates the best way to help the poor is to empower the rich," the
statement continued. "Despite the election... of Rene Preval, the reins of
power are effectively in the hands of the foreign occupation forces."
Demonstrators will "condemn Canada's criminal role in Haiti and call
for an end to the destructive UN occupation."
Brooklyn, New York - Screening of the
powerful feature-length film Bitter Cane, shot clandestinely in Haiti during
the Duvalier era, and the new short film What's Going On in Haiti?, about
Haiti in 2007 under US/UN occupation, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day
of action for Haiti. For more info, including time and location of the
screening, go to www.myspace.com/haitisolidarity2008
Vancouver, Canada - Haiti Solidarity
British Columbia will sponsor a public meeting at 7 pm, Tuesday, March 4th, 319
West Hastings St., Vancouver, on the situation four years after the coup and
occupation of Haiti.
Detroit, Michigan -
Michigan Emergency Committee against War & Injustice (MECAWI) held a
meeting in solidarity with Haiti on Feb 27th at 5920 Second Ave, Detroit, just
north of Wayne State University.
Calgary, Alberta -
Picket line 4 pm Friday, Feb. 29 at the Harry Hays federal building in downtown
Calgary. Last year's demonstration at the same building called for "an
immediate end to the Canadian/US/UN occupation of Haiti and cancellation of the
so-called Haitian debt", in supporting "Haiti's sovereign right
to self-determination."
Jacksonville, Florida -
Northern Florida Haitian community meeting will screen the new DVD What's
Going On in Haiti as well as a video of the Haiti Workshop at the first United
States Social Forum held in Atlanta, Georgia last July.
Kigali, Rwanda - On Friday, Feb. 29 the
radio station Contact One in Rwanda will air a program in the French language
devoted to the Feb. 29th International Day in Solidarity with Haiti.
Oakland, California -
The Niebyl-Proctor Library will sponsor a Haiti film showing 2 pm Saturday,
March 8, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action, at the library,
6501 Telegraph Ave. (at 65th St), Oakland. Benefit for the Commemoration
Committee for the Black Panther Party. Screening of the powerful feature-length
film Bitter Cane, shot clandestinely in Haiti during the Duvalier era, and the
new short film What's Going On in Haiti?, about Haiti in 2007 under US/UN
occupation. Info: 510 595 7417
Miami, Florida - Father
Gerard Jean-Juste, the Haitian community and friends will gather 7pm Friday,
Feb. 29 at Veye Yo, 32 NE 54th St, in the heart of Miami's Little Haiti,
for a rally in support of the demands of the popular movement in Haiti.
Macon, Georgia - Showing
of the Nicolas Rossier film Aristide and the Endless Revolution in Macon,
sponsored by the Haitian Hope Committee of the St. Francis Church, in
solidarity with the Feb. 29th global day of action for Haiti. (Date and
location TBA)
Sault Ste.Marie, Ontario, Canada -
Showing of the powerful film about the US/UN occupation, Haiti: "We Must
Kill the Bandits" 7 pm at Algoma Community College. Filmmaker Kevin Pina
in person to lead the discussion.
Minneapolis, Minnesota -
Vigil from 4:30-5:30 pm Friday, Feb. 29 at Hennepin County Government Center
Plaza, at the light rail station downtown, "to commemorate the shameful
overthrowing of Haitian democracy in a coup against President Aristide and the
Lavalas government." In addition, a house meeting in the Twin Cities will
screen the powerful Kevin Pina film, Haiti: 'We Must Kill the Bandits',
which tells the story of the US invasions and occupations of Haiti, from
1915-34 to 2004 and the ongoing UN occupation.
Johannesburg, South Africa (Auckland
Park) - During the week of March 3, the radio station Channel Africa,
affiliated with the South African Broadcasting Corporation, will air a program
in the English language devoted to the Feb. 29th International Day of
Solidarity with the Haitian People.
Richmond, California -
The mayor of Richmond will dedicate her weekly 'Meet the Mayor' session
to the people of Haiti, in conjunction with the 3rd International Day in
Solidarity with th Haitian People. Richmond Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza,
Richmond on Friday, Feb. 29 at 5 pm.
Notre Dame, Indiana - Caribbean Diasporas
Film Series, 7-9 pm Thursday, Feb. 28 in Debartolo 126 at the University of
Notre Dame, will feature two films about Haiti, Legacy of the Spirits, about
Haitian immigrants' religious practices in New York, which inspire
non-Haitians to join them, and Haitian Song, an intimate portrait of life in a
small Haitian village. A second event will take place about 9 pm, following the
films: A reflection and vigil for Haiti in the Great Hall of O'Shaughnessy
on the Notre Dame campus, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action.
Sponsored by the campus Haiti Working Group.
San Francisco,
California - Black History Month forum on "The Struggle in
Haiti" 7 pm Friday, Feb. 29 at 2489 Mission St, Rm 28 (at 21st St),
sponsored by Party for Socialism and Liberation. "Since carrying out a
successful slave rebellion in 1804, the Haitian people have fought fiercely for
their right to determine their own destiny. French, British and US
imperialists, seeing Haiti as a source for profit, have consistently undermined
this right. Feb. 29 marks the 4th anniversary of the illegal ousting of
Haiti's popular President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the struggle
continues today. Hear a report about the Haitian Revolution and recent
developments." Also showing of a film, Struggles in Steel, documenting the
heroic struggle of Black steel workers for equality on the job.
Prince George, BC,
Canada - Roger Annis, Canadian writer and trade unionist who has
written extensively about the Canadian role in the 2004 coup and occupation of
Haiti, spoke at a public meeting held Feb. 22 in Prince George, in solidarity
with the Feb. 29 global day of action.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- The Canada Haiti Action Network is organizing three events in
Winnipeg, in solidarity with the Feb. 29 global day of action for Haiti, each
featuring Roger Annis of the Canada Haiti Action Network (CHAN). The first will
be 2:30-4:00 pm Thursday Feb.28 at University of Winnipeg (Department of
Politics). The second event will be 1:30-3:00 pm Friday, Feb. 29 at 407 Tier
Building, University of Manitoba., on “Haiti Today: Life Worsens
under UN Occupation.=94 The third event will be 7-9 pm Friday Feb. 29 on
Canadian policy in Afghanistan and Haiti, also featuring David Camfield, at the
Bulman Centre, University of Winnipeg.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - "Four
years later - Eyewitness Reports on Haiti Today" : Panel discussion 7pm
Friday Feb. 29 at the Haitian Community Centre of Ottawa, 876 Montreal Road
(betw.Aviation Hwy & Blair Rd., 2nd floor of shopping plaza bldg - On OC
Transpo Bus Route #2).Featuring Darren Ell, journalist and photographer;
Raymond Dubuisson, radio journalist and organizer with the CHORHA Haitian
community organization; and Jean Saint-Vil, independent radio and print
journalist and co-founder of the Canada Haiti Action Network. Presentations in
English and French. Discussion in Kreyol, French and English.
San Diego, California - Film showing of a
new DVD What's Going On in Haiti - Haiti in 2007 under US/UN Occupation, 7
pm Saturday, March 1st, 5350 Trojan Avenue. Sponsored by San Diego
International Action Center. Info: 619 692 0355.
San Jose, California -
Speakout and leafleting 5:00-6:00 pm Friday Feb. 29 at south end of Cesar
Chavez Plaza, corner Market and San Carlos streets, downtown San Jose, as
people passing by on foot and in cars signaled their support. Among the signs
were "US military kidnapped Aristide", "Stop UN
'peacekeeper' massacres", "Free Rene Civil and all political
prisoners" and "End foreign occupation of Haiti." Info: Donna
Wallach 408-569-6608.
New Orleans, Louisiana - Film showing of
the new short film What's Going On in Haiti?, about Haiti in 2007 under
US/UN occupation, in solidarity with the Feb. 29th global day of action for
Haiti. (Date and location TBA)
Joseph, Oregon - Late
afternoon vigil for Haiti on Friday, Feb. 29
San Rafael, California - Vigil and press
conference at the Fourth Street Plaza, Courthouse Square, 5-7 pm on Friday,
Feb. 29th "to recognize the 4th anniversary of the military coup
d'etat in Haiti." The Task Force on the Americas (formerly Marin
Interfaith Task Force), sponsor of the vigil, issued this statement:
"Thousands of Haitians were killed during the invasion, coup and
subsequent occupation by US and UN forces which drove the democratically
elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power....Aristide's
policies did not go along with the privatization model that is offered poor
countries in exchange for help with development loans. Aristide's plan for
'Poverty with Dignity' did not include the selling off of the resources
which he believed belonged to the Haitian people. The coup heralded the return
of the bad old days in Haiti where the lack of human rights and the control of
Haiti's future are in the hands of a small number of wealthy elite, who
have strong ties with the authors of the coup and the Duvalier
dictatorships...." www.mitfamericas.org
North Minneapolis, Minn. - Conference on
the role of the African diaspora in the ongoing political and social ferment in
the Americas, 1pm-9pm Sat. March 1, at Phyllis Wheatley Park Center, Olson
Highway and I-94, North Minneapolis. Haiti and the Feb. 29th global day of
action will be part of the presentation and discussion.
Santa Cruz, California -
Radio program devoted to Haiti and the Feb. 29th global day of action on pirate
radio station Free Radio Santa Cruz 101.1 FM from 6-7 pm on Saturday, March 8.
www.freakradio.org
Boston, Mass. - A screening of the new
16-minute film What's Going on in Haiti?, which describes Haiti in 2007
under US/UN occupation, will take place in the bus yard of the Boston school
bus drivers, who are predominantly Haitians and Haitian Americans.
Sonoma, California - A
photo exhibit by Haitian news reporter and photographer Wadner Pierre will open
Monday, March 3 at Sonoma State University, in the Center for Culture, Gender
and Sexuality, open 9-6 through March 7th. "This is an occasion,=94 said
Wadner Pierre, "to show people what really happened in Haiti from 2004-06,
and the consequences of the Feb. 29, 2004 coup against our democratically
elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. I will tell them why President
Aristide must be back in his country, and why we need the departure of UN
troops from Haiti. The UN mission in Haiti has never told the world the truth.
They have never talked about the crimes that their troops have done against the
population of Haiti, particularly people living in the poorest districts like
Cite Soleil or Bel Air. I also am in solidarity with you all as we commemorate
this dark day in Haiti's history. One love, one heart together let us fight
for Peace, Justice and real Democracy in the world." The exhibit, titled
"The Haitian Experience: A Struggle for Liberty," features photos and
written excerpts from Wadner's chronicle of the political struggles and the
lives of Haitians since the 2004 coup. Reception Wed. March 5th at 4 pm, same
location, with Wadner Pierre, who is currently visiting from his home in Port
au Prince, where he writes for Inter Press Service and other independent news
outlets.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Film showing of the new short film What's Going on in Haiti,
about Haiti in 2007 under US/UN occupation, in a screening organized by the
organization Workers' Fist.
Berkeley, California -
The city's Peace & Justice Commission passed a resolution on Haiti,
which goes before the City Council on March 11th. The resolution states, in
part: "...WHEREAS, since the February 29, 2004 coup d’etat that
overthrew the elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti, even
though an election was held on February 7, 2006 in which Rene Preval was
elected President, Haiti remains under United Nations occupation, and the
constitutional government and judicial system still remains under the control
of coup forces, and many Aristide supporters remain imprisoned and subjected to
inhumane conditions without due process; and WHEREAS, the citizens of Berkeley
have voted for impeachment of President Bush, and the sponsoring of a coup
d’etat against Haiti is an impeachable offense committed by the Bush
Administration; and WHEREAS, in a press release dated December 20, 2007, a
representative of Amnesty International stated, "The Haitian authorities
have a responsibility under international law to protect the legitimate rights
of human rights defenders to organize and take action without restrictions or
fear of reprisals," and the organization has mobilized its global network
of activists on behalf of two human rights defenders in Haiti, one abducted and
the other facing physical threats, and is calling on the Haitian authorities to
redouble efforts to find [human rights advocate] Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, who
was abducted in August, and to protect [his colleague] Wilson Mesilien, who has
recently been threatened with physical harm; and WHEREAS, Haiti, the most
impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere, owes over one billion dollars
to multilateral financial institutions, much of which was accumulated during
the oppressive rule of the United States-supported Duvalier regime, which did
not use the money to benefit the Haitian people; and WHEREAS, H.Res.241
introduced by Representatives Maxine Waters [CA-35] and Barbara Lee [CA-9]
among others, urges the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), and other multilateral
financial institutions to cancel Haiti’s debts completely and
immediately. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of
Berkeley...call on all authorities in Haiti, the UN Mission to Haiti, and the
United States, Canada, France, and Brazil, who call themselves the friends of
Haiti, to work for rapid implementation of the following:
1. Release all political prisoners,
2. Guarantee freedom of speech and assembly,
3. Bring about the safe return of Human rights
activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, and
4. Compensate victims of United Nations raids in
Cite Soleil and elsewhere as well as victims of rapes and sexual exploitation
by United Nations troops.
5. Withdraw all foreign occupying forces, including
the UN and US forces..." [Resolution awaiting City Council approval.]
Washington, D.C. - The Latin America
Solidarity Coalition (LASC) issued a statement endorsing "the call by the
Haiti Action Committee for widespread actions in the US and abroad on February
29, 2008, the fourth anniversary of the US-orchestrated, US Marine-led coup
that overthrew the democratically elected government of President Jean Paul
Aristide resulting in a continuing brutal occupation by a UN
=91peacekeeping’ force enforcing US government interests in Haiti while
repressing democratic forces.
"The UN occupation force, known by its French acronym
MINUSTAH, is shamefully commanded by Brazilian troops. The LASC supports
progressive forces in Brazil which are demanding that their government not be
complicit enforcer of the US government's imperialist policies in Haiti.
Brazilian activists are particularly angry that the Lula government would play
a leadership role in the occupation of a sovereign country in this hemisphere.
The LASC condemns the United Nations, Brazil, and the other countries which
have provided troops for the military occupation of Haiti. Those troops allow
the US war machine to enforce strategic goals over the Caribbean and Latin
America while freeing US forces for the continued war against the people of
Iraq and Afghanistan"
"Under UN occupation, conditions in Haiti continue to
deteriorate: recent headlines exposed that 10% (110 men) of an entire Sri
Lankan MINUSTAH unit were expelled for sexual exploitation of young Haitian
women and girls in a food for sex, prostitution scandal. Recently the
Associated Press exposed the shameful fact that 4 years into a US-sanctioned,
UN -backed military occupation, Haiti's poor are now resorting to mud
cookies for food. Documentary film maker Kevin Pina and others have documented
several massacres by UN troops seeking 'bandits' in Haiti's vast
slums. The LASC recognizes the 19th century use of the word =91bandits’
as a label put on those who take up arms against US imperialism.
"MINUSTAH presides over an occupation that favors US
government interests in collaboration with the wealthy elite of Haiti. A
program of repression against Fanmi Lavalas, the political party founded by
Aristide and supported by a strong majority of Haitians when they have the
opportunity to vote democratically, is underway, evidenced by over 1,000
political prisoners still in prison, and in the kidnapping of human rights
advocate Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine. Haitian activists liken Lovinsky's
disappearance to the operations of the old ton ton macoute (Duvalier era
death/terror squads)"
"MINUSTAH operates with an annual budget of $500
million. Haiti's entire annual budget under Aristide was $300 million. Yet
despite leading the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, the elected
democratic government of Aristide/Fanmi Lavalas undertook a progressive social
agenda that gave schools, markets, health care, infrastructure, hope and
progress to Haiti's poor while still being forced by the US and Europe to
pay off the odious debts of Papa Doc's dictatorship. MINUSTAH expenditures,
in contrast, strengthen US hegemony over Haiti's affairs, bolster
military/security forces, and finance monetary schemes and corruption that aim
to destroy resistance to the occupation. Just to view the obscene new
construction of a fancy new US Embassy and an enormous adjacent UN military
encampment is to understand that this occupation intends to stay.
"The other side of the coin is that Haiti's poor
successfully developed a ten-year experiment in democracy and social progress,
and the LASC supports their continued democratic struggle for sovereignty and
self-determination. They are not victims of history. They have a sophisticated
understanding of Western powers and a long history of resistance to foreign
occupation and slavery. The immediate situation for the grassroots movement is
difficult, yet there is both organized and popular resistance and dedicated
activists working under dire circumstances. If there were ever a moment when
international solidarity was critical, this is it.=94 http://www.lasolidarity.org/haiti/statementFeb08.html
Haiti - Many cities and towns in Haiti
will be taking part in activities marking the 4th anniversary of the disastrous
Feb. 29, 2004 coup, and expressing their determination to restore
self-determination, democracy and justice to their country. We will have a full
report during the first week of March 2008.
Fact Sheet on US
Marines in Haiti
While the fight to oust US Marine recruiters from Berkeley
has galvanized public opinion and sparked headlines, we in the U.S. hear little
about the US Marines in Haiti, a nation of 6.5 million people of African
heritage. Since 1914, US Marines have intervened repeatedly in Haiti to enforce
US strategic goals in the region. February 29th, 2008 marks the 4th anniversary
of the latest US intervention which overthrew Haiti’s
democratically-elected government. Consider these facts:
a.. 1914: US Marines seize 1/2 million dollars from
Haiti’s national bank, transferring the funds to the National City Bank
in New York for “safekeeping.” b.. 1915-1934: US Marines
invade Haiti and establish a 20,000 troop US occupation lasting 19 years which
featured martial law, dissolution of the Haitian legislature, and transfer of
the most fertile land to foreign ownership. Major General Smedley Butler, a
high-ranking US Marine, said, “I spent 33 years in active
military service as a high class muscle man for Big Business; I helped make
Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect
revenues in. c.. 1958: US Marines return to Haiti to support US-backed Duvalier
father-son dictatorship whose brutal rule, protected by the dreaded
“Ton Ton Macoutes, dominated Haiti for 27 years, killed 30,000
people and crushed political opposition. The US spent $3 million training
“Papa Doc’s Haitian army officers, many at the infamous
School of the Americas. d.. 2004: US Marines invade Haiti as part of the
overthrow of the elected democratic government of President Aristide and
install a US-appointed coup regime later buttressed by UN troops. They occupy a
medical school, kick out the teachers and students, and turn it into a Marine
barracks. US soldiers forcibly kidnap the President, and arrest dozens of
Haitian elected government leaders and grassroots activists. http://www.haitisolidarity.net/article.php?id=3D223
Contact the Feb. 29th Organizing Committee at
510-847-8657 feb29@sonic.net
