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US congresswoman Maxine Waters claims US is backing Haiti coup
by brian • Wednesday February 18, 2004 at 05:21 PM
The US government is at it again, overthrowing another fine, upstanding, democratic govt in order to replace it with a US compliant undemocratic regime.
MARK DAVIS: Congresswoman Waters, thanks very much for your time. The US is proclaiming its neutrality in Haiti, but you've been making some very powerful accusations against your own government. Is their neutrality plausible to you?
MAXINE WATERS, DEMOCRAT, CALIFORNIA: Well, I have been concerned about the State Department's position on Haiti for quite some time. And I've been very worried about Mr Noriega who is a former chief of staff to Mr Jesse Helms, the senator who was very, very tough and harsh on Haiti. So I've not liked what I've heard in the past but I am today a bit more optimistic. Once I got in touch with Secretary Colin Powell it appears that the statements coming out of the State Department are much more directed toward ensuring that there is no support for a coup d'etat. MARK DAVIS: Well, the claims you made against Roger Noriega, a senior US official, were incredibly serious. You are saying that he'll be held responsible for the bloodshed that's now unfolding. It's a very serious charge, what was that charge based upon? MAXINE WATERS: Well, the history of the senator that he worked for and the connections that he has to some of the opposition leaders in Haiti. I believe that not only is he close to some of the opposition leaders, I think that he has supported their position and what they're doing. What I was trying to do, and I continue to try to do, is to say to the State Department, "Don't make the mistake of supporting an opposition whose hands are not clean." You have to take a look at Mr Andy Apaid, the opposition leader, the one that's the head of the group 184 and understand his background and his history. MARK DAVIS: What sort of support are you implying though? Are you suggesting that this official was supporting what you say is a coup or was given financial support from the US Government? MAXINE WATERS: Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, when you spend time in Haiti and you understand that many of the opposition leaders, and Mr Andy Apaid, is connected to Mr Noriega and to some of the members, the conservative members of Congress, and you understand that even some of our agencies, non-government agencies, that are funded through USAID are supporting the opposition, you can't help but be concerned. MARK DAVIS: You seem to have a very dim view of the opposition who are being painted by some people as freedom fighters. I don't think you quite see them that way. Are they interested in democracy, or is this a coup, as you are suggesting and what is the end game? MAXINE WATERS: Well, let me suggest to you that this is a power grab. I have examined as much as I possibly could, some of the accusations that were made about President Aristide. I do not find those accusations to be true. I have not found any real support for some of the accusations that are being made. I find that, when I look at the history of Mr Andy Apaid, a man that essentially is behind this so-called opposition, I find that he's been involved in the past in supporting the coup d'etat. MARK DAVIS: Well, in your opinion, why are there elements of the US Government covertly supporting them? MAXINE WATERS: You have to understand the history of my own government. As you know, we occupied Haiti for many years and we have had people, members of the CIA and others, who have had their hands in Haiti business for a long time. I really do believe that some of the people who are interested in control of Haiti have made profits in Haiti. As you know, there are only a few families, the rich, rich families that are in control of all of the economics of Haiti. And these families are well connected with people who will keep them in power, both in the United States and in France. MARK DAVIS: In the past, Aristide was broadly seen around the world as a heroic figure, but now he's just as often seen as a failed ideologue. Has he changed and is he worthy of international support? MAXINE WATERS: Oh, by all means. President Aristide is still the same person today that was elected when he first came into office. This is a man who cares deeply about poor people. This is a man who is desirous of doing a job that will open up the opportunities and change the status quo. There's an embargo against Haiti that my own government has participated in. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are not participating there. I don't know how he's expected to be able to manage without the kind of support that those people deserve to have. MARK DAVIS: Congresswoman Maxine Waters, thanks again for joining us. MAXINE WATERS: Well, you're very welcome.
http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/#
Liberal fascist Canadian gov't is Bushist in nature
by Canada participates in anti-Haiti embargo • Wednesday February 18, 2004 at 07:43 PM
Due to their ideological affiliation with the sycophants of the Washington consensus philosophy, the Canadian neoliberal party has fully participated with the US regime to maintain an aid embargo on Haiti. This embargo has cost Haiti $500 million dollars, plus $140 million in loans, in order to damage the economy of Haiti and destabilize the democratically elected popular government of President Aristide. The Martin Paulite neoliberals are proto-fascist imperialists, partners of the US imperialist regime, represented by Skull and Bones satanists Bush Jr and Senator Edwards, hell bent on global fascist domination. "The subsequent freezing of some $500 million of economic aid to Haiti by the US, in addition to some $140 million in loans that have been withdrawn by the World Bank, have functioned to cripple Haiti economically. This has prevented President Aristide from implementing Haiti’s desperately needed social and democratic reforms. This, in turn, has undermined the stability of his government. In spite of this, Aristide to this day carries a plurality of support from the impoverished masses who still see him as their only chance for democratic survival."
In response to ANSWER statement on Haiti
by Claudio • Thursday February 19, 2004 at 11:40 AM
[ home | email | lists | calendar | directories ] [ login | about us | apply for services | help ] In response to ANSWER statement on Haiti (see attachment at the end), I think a word caution is necessary as the situation in Haiti is not as black and white (no offence) as some portrait it to be, but a very murky situation where the people's movement, the students, peasants and exploited workers face an orchestrated, USA sponsored and financed right wing militia on the one hand and on the other a corrupted and also brutally repressive government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, hardly "the threat of a good example." as stated by ANSWER. Lets make it clear that, of course we need to demand from USA, the European powers and international financial institutions Hands off Haiti. We also need to demand immediate reparation not only from France and its illegal forced "loan" which stole over $20 billion from the poorest nation of Latin America but we also need to demand reparation from the USA and the international corporate capitalists who have continued the pillage one hundred times over. Immediate and total "forgiveness" of the badly called foreign debt would be a good start. Which is no the same as demanding more loans from the bankers of the world. For a better analysis on Haiti, please read the following article and follow the links bellow for more analysis on Latin America. In Solidarity,
Claudio **************************************************** Haiti - Which Way Forward Against Imperialism?
By Rob Lyon Haiti celebrated the 200th anniversary of its independence on January 1, 2004. As the US ambassador to Haiti said last month, Haitian independence is 'an event which still resounds today as a symbol of victory over oppression.' This is undoubtedly true. The ambassador went on to say that 'it is regrettable to note the deplorable state of human rights in Haiti'. What the good ambassador failed to mention however, was the role that the US government, particularly his office, has played in in the development of this deplorable state of human rights in Haiti. Imperialism The history of Haiti is a long history of colonial struggle against imperialism. By the end of the 17th century the island had been carved into two colonies - Saint Domingue, now Haiti, in the West, which was a French colony, and Santo Domingo, now the Dominican Republic in the East, which at the time had been a Spanish colony. Saint Domingue became an extremely profitable colony during the 17th and 18th centuries. The native population had been decimated during the European conquest of the 17th century, and Saint Domingue became highly profitable due to the plantations and the slave trade. By 1790, escaped slaves and freed blacks had become well organized and began to offer resistance to their colonial masters. Heroically, under the leadership of such heroes like Toussaint L'Overture, these revolutionaries defeated the colonial armies of France, Spain and Britain, and on January 1, 1804, Haiti became the first independent black nation, and the first country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery. Obviously, the European imperialist states, and the US saw this new country as a direct threat to their system, and were concerned about the reaction the slaves in their own countries and other colonies would have to this independent black country. They therefore attempted to do everything in their power to undermine the small island nation. France sent troops over in 1825 and demanded 150 million francs in compensation for 'lost property'. Haiti could offer no real resistance and was forced to pay - in fact they could not pay up front and were crippled with debt. US President Thomas Jefferson imposed sanctions which would remain in place until 1862. For the remainder of the 19th century, Haiti would be a besieged state, and was repeatedly invaded by European powers throughout the century. The Growing Dominance of the US By the turn of the 20th Century, particularly after the American-Spanish war of 1898, the US had become the dominant imperialist power in Latin America and the Caribbean. Although Haiti was formally an independent country, it was in reality a US satellite. Haiti's bourgeois had come onto the scene of history too late, and was incapable of developing the country along classical bourgeois lines and could not compete with the major imperialist powers - namely Britain, France and the US. The US recognized its dominance in Latin America as crucial in its strategy for world domination of markets and trade. The US invaded the island in 1915 and ruled the country with a brutal military dictatorship for 19 years. The US propped up a puppet regime and ruthlessly controlled Haiti's resources in much the same way as in Cuba. Haitian peasants were used as forced labour to build roads from the sugar mills and plantations to the ports. By 1934, the Haitian opposition to the US occupation had become a mass movement and the US was forced to withdraw its military forces - although they left behind a large portion of Haitian civilians who had been trained by the US army, allowing US corporations to ruthlessly dominate the country. The Cold War In 1957, Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier came to power on a populist programme based on black power rhetoric. Railing against the predominantly lighter skinned ruling class he was able to establish a vicious military dictatorship. As President, in a similar fashion to Batista in Cuba, he was able to protect the interests of US imperialism and keep the local population under control by using terror tactics. Duvalier even established the 'Tonton Macoutes', a ragtag secret police outfit, which actually functioned as his plain-clothed proto-fascist gang of thugs, used to intimidate and murder political opponents. He clearly demonstrated the rotten nature of the nascent bourgeois in the colonial and ex-colonial countries. The bourgeois in these countries were entirely dependent on investments and bribe money from the imperialist powers, and were incapable of solving the most basic tasks of the bourgeois and national revolutions exploding all throughout the colonial world at that time. Duvalier proved to be a useful ally for the US. He championed US corporations and, after the Cuban Revolution, he served as a solid 'anti-communist', and anti-Castro ally. After the US lost their interests in Cuba, Haiti's sugar and other resources became even more important in the region. Haitians themselves though weren't getting anything out of the deal. Wages were of course kept extremely low in order to attract US corporations and investments, and Haitians, particularly those fleeing political persecution and state violence were refused entry to the US. In fact, the US maintained a policy of forced repatriation for Haitian refugees, which was a virtual death sentence. By the 1980s, a mass movement known as 'Lavalas' (which means a wave or flood of cleansing in Haitian Creole) had arisen. By now, Duvalier's son, Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier was in power. He was forced to flee in 1986. Of course it was a US military aircraft that picked him up and took him to France (perhaps the US was still enforcing its policy of not allowing any political refugees from Haiti into the country). In 1990 a priest influenced by 'liberation theology', Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president in a landslide victory based on his programme of major social reforms. Although no longer a priest at the time of his victory, he was extremely popular with the population for his political speeches at the pulpit and his 'special' relationships, which were supposed to be direct lines of communication with both God and 'his' people. For a time Aristide enjoyed some moderate success. He cracked down on the drug trade to the extent that street drug trafficking dropped, he brought the looting of the treasury and corruption in general under control and cut the state bureaucracy left over from the dictatorship by 20%. It may not have been a genuine socialist programme, but it was enough to provoke a coup after just seven months. Shortly after the coup some 38,000 Haitians sought asylum in the US. The US even relaxed its old immigration policy for Haitians - they allowed less than 5% of these asylum seekers to enter the country. A Shift in US Foreign Policy By the time Bill Clinton had ascended to the presidency of the US, there had been a marked shift in the foreign policy of the imperialist powers. During the Cold War, the Western powers would take any allies they could get, but they generally found it easier to control countries and their rulers if they were under a military dictatorship. But by the end of the 1980s, this position was proving untenable. Many former allies, such as Saddam Hussein or Manuel Noriega had begun to develop minds of their own. They began causing problems for the Western Powers and proved to be a bit of a financial drain. Given the revolutions in Eastern Europe and the apparent triumph of 'democracy', and the illusions people both at home and abroad had in this, along with the fact that many former dictator-allies of imperialism such as Suharto would eventually be overthrown, the US and its allies could not very well continue to support and prop up brutal dictatorships. As a result the US for a time seemed to move to a position of supporting fragile 'democracies', which would give them the breathing room and finishing shine on their policies they needed in order to continue their imperialist adventures. For this reason the Clinton adminstration launched 'Operation Restore Democracy' in 1994, which was in reality another US invasion of Haiti. We were told this was a 'humanitarian' intervention to re-establish democracy. But the US was in a bit of an awkward position. They had always been hostile to Aristide, and while he was really the only person they could count on, they also knew they couldn't necessarily count on him forever. So while they publicly sent the troops in to restore Aristide's presidency the CIA was at the same time supporting paramilitary outfits that had been used against the population during the years after the coup. During this US occupation, the workers' and peasants organizations were repressed and the former coup leaders and members of the old Duvalier regime were funded and aided. The US returned Aristide to power on the condition that he drop his rhetoric, his planned reforms, and that he come in line with US interests and accept IMF and World Bank policies and conditions. Aristide of course, being a reformist, and a weak one at that, accepted the conditions of the deal and sold out Haiti and the workers and peasants ('his' people) to the interests of US imperialism. Aristide finished the remaining two years of his term and then stepped aside, in what was Haiti's first peaceful transfer of power. In 200 years, 21 of Haiti's leaders have been overthrown and only 8 have lasted a full term in office. The Opposition In 2000, much to the horror of US imperialism, Arisitide ran again in the presidential elections on a programme that called for rural clinics, literacy campaigns, improved public works and land reform. The people of Haiti looked to Aristide and his government as a way out of the crushing poverty in the country. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Haitians have a life expectancy of just 53 years, and the country has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate outside of Africa. An estimated 80% of the country is living below the poverty line. Due to these conditions, and his promises to solve some of these problems, he won the election again in a landslide. The US government completely turned on him, eventually putting an embargo on aid, mainly because the US's own chosen successors had been defeated by Aristide's 'Fanmi Lavalas'. Aristide responded with criticisms of the US's 'neo-liberalism' etc ... which couldn't have won him many friends in Washington. Aristide has not done much by way of implementing his programme. In fact he has done the very opposite. He travels around with his own armed thugs and champions the low wage, non-unionized export processing zones along the border with the Dominican Republic. These are centres of extremely exploitive work for Haitians. Under the Bush administration we have again seen a shift in US foreign policy. Given the mounting contradictions in the world economy, and the resulting ferocious struggle for markets between the imperialist powers, US imperialism will not stand for a renegade leader in a country anywhere in the world, let alone in its own backyard. In desperation the US will do anything now to rein these countries and their leaders in - whether it be through overt military action as in the case of Afghanistan and Iraq, or covert operations designed to bring about coup d'états as in the case of Venezuela and now Haiti. Since his coming to power in 2000, Aristide has faced a severely aggressive opposition, which has now culminated in several strikes, demonstrations, and street clashes. Since September 2003, 47 people have died and more than 100 have been injured in clashes between the opposition and government supporters. The opposition is centred around the Association of Haiti's Industries (ADIH), the Chamber of Commerce and of Industry in Haiti (CCIH), as well as the US funded Democratic Convergence. These organizations called for a general strike and demonstrations against the government for December 3 and 4 of 2003. In a situation where one can see some similarities with Venezuela, the opposition was expecting thousands to go on strike and demonstrate. In reality the general strike was an absolute failure, with only a few large stores, gas stations, and banks actually shutting down. The counter demonstration was approximately twice as large as the so-called general strike. This is all that has really been reported in the Western Media. The only thing they report is that there is some sort of 'democratic' movement building up to oust a hated dictator. But there is much more going on than the mouthpieces of imperialism would ever like to admit. For example, Washington has redeployed troops and given a massive military aid package to the Dominican Republic. This is correctly interpreted in Haiti as preparation for a new US military intervention. It is not guaranteed that this will come about, but depending on events US imperialism may feel it necessary to invade. The media claims that the government is violently repressing the opposition (which is true), but this is a little bit one-sided. Store owners who were a part of the opposition attacked others store owners who didn't shut down their businesses for the general strike in early December. The National Popular Party, a 'radical' leftish grouping who had previously been quite critical of Aristide, has come to his defence and is warning Haitians against the '(Tonton) macouto-bourgeois coalition', adding that 'a number of organizations have involved themselves with Macoute politicians and Dominican soldiers so as to make little fires burn until (President) Bush has a road to send in US marines to come humiliate the Haitian people. It is a big plot by former Haitian army officers mixed with Macoutes and opportunist (Democratic) Convergence politicians, with the support of certain reactionary media, so they can return to power' (quoted from the Haiti Progres, No. 39, December 11-17). As these
quotes show, the so-called Democratic Convergence doesn't really seem to be so democratic. Throughout the entire campaign of the opposition there have been attacks on Haitian media outlets and police stations by masked commandos, who are apparently coming over from the Dominican Republic. Likewise, the government has recently been attacking opposition media outlets. Kidnappings and political murders are on the rise from both sides. The government was forced to initiate tighter controls on demonstrations. Police have attacked anti-government guerilla and commando bases. The situation is quickly getting out of control, just the type of situation the US is looking for in order to have an excuse to invade or commence a coup. Disruption Tactics With oil prices rising over the past few years along with a general slide in the value of Haitian currency, we have witnessed the classic tactics of disruption. Last year saw a transport strike, which was coupled with a shutdown of schools, banks and large businesses. Several reactionary unions such as the CTH, COH and SOS transport, called on the opposition and bourgeois to 'show solidarity with the Haitian syndical movement by closing their commercial, industrial and service enterprises'. Only one transport union, The Federation of Haitian Public Transporters (FTHP) did not support the strike call of early last year. They opted to meet with the Commerce Minister and work out fixed rates for various transport routes. Along with these tactics the US now never fails to mention that Haiti is a major staging post for Columbian drug smugglers, and the Western media constantly calls him the 'Mugabe of the Caribbean' in an attempt to ready the home population for another military invasion. In the last period, new combative and independent trade unions have been organized. In one such case, workers at an orange tree plantation owned by the French liqueur company, Marnier-Lapostolle, successfully struggled for improved pay and conditions. This is the beginning of a new direction in the class struggle on the part of the Haitian workers, and shows the way forward. Another such group is Batay Ouvriye, which has begun organizing independent unions. The Haitian masses should not trust either side of the bourgeois, neither Aristide nor the Opposition. Haiti's first union movement developed in the 1940s and 1950s, but was eradicated by Duvalier family's reign. The working class in Haiti and its organizations have been decimated not only by the dictatorship, but also by sanctions imposed by the imperialists under the guise of the UN. According to the International Centre for Trade Union Rights, in a country of 8 million people, there are still only approximately 100,000 regular, paid jobs. Fuel prices have doubled over the past eight years, and in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere that means a lot. Over the past several years the Haitian government has nearly drained its treasury subsidizing fuel prices. At one point the treasury only had $50 million US left to work with. Fuel distributors and gas companies have been hoarding gasoline and developing the black market causing chaos. The National Association of Petroleum Product Distributors has laid all the blame on the government, when in reality they were hording fuel. This outfit, which is comprised of such multinationals such as Shell, and Exxon have made millions on selling gasoline in Haiti, and want to keep it that way. The rise in fuel prices has caused the price of food to rise. The government is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The government desperately needs foreign aid and investment. In fact $500 million US has been allotted to the country, but in order to receive it the government must drop its fuel subsidies. If the government does that, they will have a massive revolt on their hands, as most people would not be able to afford the cost of fuel. The government also needs to declare a moratorium on the nearly $5 million US monthly payments it has to make on debts to the US. Forty percent of the Haitian population is under 18 years of age. Students have been hit very hard during the crisis. As a result they are at the forefront of the mass movement, which has picked up now that parliament has been disbanded. One student was quoted in the media as saying 'we have no future, we are not afraid'. It is not yet clear what the outcome of the situation in Haiti will be. Aristide could be overthrown by the opposition, and/or the US may very well invade, or he could remain in power for a time. The US is currently supporting the idea of a conference of Bishops that had the idea of suspending parliament and replacing it with a small committee representing all sides of the conflict. This will also show no way out and will give the US and its interests a foot hold on state power. The crisis seems to be coming to a head. Either way there will be no solution to the problems facing the island nation along bourgeois or reformist lines. The example of the recent events in Venezuela could help point a way forward, if only for a while. As in Venezuela, opposition demonstrations and strikes calling for a return to 'democracy' actually represent the forces of imperialism and dictatorship, and have been met with even larger demonstrations of workers and government supporters. What is needed though, is an independent mass workers organization that could truly show the way forward, pushing for a genuine socialist revolution. The workers and peasants in Haiti cannot trust or rely on the government or the opposition, but rather only on themselves. The struggle of the poor workers, peasants, and students in Haiti is obviously justified, but they must be careful not have any illusions in the so-called 'democratic opposition', or 'Democratic Convergence', which will only return them to an even more brutal Duvalier type dictatorship, which would in fact be run by many of these same hated figures against whom Haitians have already overthrown. At the same time Haitians can have no illusions in Aristide, who has fallen from grace as a populist reformer and is now himself a corrupt dictator. The workers and peasants of Haiti can only rely on themselves to solve the problems they face. They must move forward and take power, institute a socialist programme beginning with the nationalization under workers' control of all major industries and production centres, as the only means to bring the country out of its crushing poverty and destitution, and link up in a voluntary federation of socialists states in the Caribbean and Latin America.
It is the only way forward. See also: Faced with the threat of a coup: mobilisation of the people to defend and deepen the revolution! By Miguel Campos (November 15, 2003) "Workers' control is the only way forward" Interview with Hermann Albrecht of the Bolivarian University Front in Caracas (August 2003) The Venezuelan people responds - Here is your referendum! By Hermann Albrecht (August 2003) Venezuela: the revolution faced with economic sabotage By Miguel Campos
(June 28, 2003). A year after the coup - The red tide floods Bolivar Avenue once again By Jorge Martín. (April 21, 2003). The defeat of the bosses lock out and the sabotage of the oil industry deepens the revolutionary process. By Jorge Martín. (February 26, 2003) Opposition "strike" or bosses lock out?- An eyewitness account by Jorge Martín (January, 2003) Venezuela between revolution and counterrevolution By Alan Woods (December 10, 2002) The Venezuelan Revolution in Danger By Alan Woods in Buenos Aires (December 6, 2002) ****************************** SUPPORT THE HAITIAN PEOPLE New York City: See below for details about the demonstration against a new coup d'etat in Haiti taking place Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 *Statement from the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition* 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! * * * * * There are a number of excellent sources to learn more about recent events in Haiti. Here are a few: - The Black Commentator http://www.blackcommentator.com/73/73_haiti_pina.html - Haiti Progres http://www.haiti-progres.com/eng02-04.html * * * * * 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 Jiikri - Haiti Action Committee - Haiti Support Network - Ajoupa OBNH - Plusieurs Organisations Rigionales - Leve Kanpe - Komite Sipr 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 --------------------------- Email circulated by: A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
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