Haiti rebels bring in reinforcements from Dominican Republic, fortify nort

[Judi Lynn]

Haiti rebels bring in reinforcements from Dominican Republic, fortify northern stronghold

IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, February 14, 2004

(02-14) 16:27 PST GONAIVES, Haiti (AP) --

Haitian rebels seeking to topple the president brought in reinforcements from the neighboring Dominican Republic, including the exiled former leader of 1980s death squads and a former police chief accused of fomenting a coup, witnesses said Saturday, as police fled two more northern towns.

Twenty commandos arrived, led by Louis-Jodel Chamblain, a former Haitian soldier who headed army death squads in 1987 and a militia known as the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti, or FRAPH, which killed and maimed dozens of people between 1992 and 1994.

Guy Philippe, a former police chief who fled to the Dominican Republic after being accused by the Haitian government of fomenting a coup in 2002, also arrived in Gonaives to help the rebels prepare for an expected showdown with the government. It was unclear when the volunteers arrived.

Witnesses reached by telephone said the men were working with rebels in Gonaives but were massing in Saint-Michel de l'Atalaye, about 28 miles to the east.
(snip/...)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/02/14/international1927EST0581.DTL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edited to add:

(snip)
Sources assert that the US blocks investigation of coup crimes

Haiti Update, 8 November 1995
Despite United States government assistance to reform the judicial system, according to various sources the United States government has failed to adequately support prosecution of those who are responsible for 5,000 assassinations and massive human rights abuses. In an article in The Nation (October 9, 1995), Allan Nairn writes that a prisoner accused of the assassination of Justice Minister Guy Malary on October 14, 1993 informed investigators that he was receiving money from the United States Embassy at the tim e of the assassination. According to the article, those officials confirmed that Marcel Morisaint collaborated with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) while he worked as the attachi of the Chief of Police and coup leader, Michel Frangois. Subseq uently, US officials assisted in the prisoner's escape. Morrisaint was going to be one of the principle witnesses of the international criminal investigating team put together by President Aristide to investigate some of the crimes committed during the c oup. Along the same line, the New York weekly The Village Voice (October 10, 1995) in an article entitled "Aristide investigates crimes that the United States would prefer left unsolved" indicates that "...surrounding Aristide's attempts to enforce law and or der is a growing suspicion that the United States may be trying to stymie his efforts". The article cites a memo from Major John Shissler, Information Chief of the Commander of the Multinational Forces, in which he states that to investigate the crimes o f the de facto government of Cedras could be interpreted as an act of vengeance by the present government, and therefore could alienate members of the right wing and the economic elite. The Haitian Creole language newspaper Libhte (Liberty) in an article titled "Who is obstructing the judicial system?" (October 4-10 edition) asserts that the US government is responsible for impeding the prosecution of the principle authors of the coup s uch as Raoul Cedras, Michel Frangois, Emmanuel Constant, Louis Jodel Chamblain, Marcel Morissaint, Gros Fanfan, etc., thus preventing the events of the coup d'etat from being uncovered. Other news articles have frequently reported on the links between h igh-ranking members of the military dictatorship and members of the paramilitary organizations and the CIA (see for instance, New York Times, November 1, 1993.)
(snip/...)

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/194.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first of the 3 questions refers to a long string of CIA abuses and usurpations. The CIA formed an intelligence service in Haiti in the mid-80's which engaged in drug trafficking (NYT 11/14/93). Then the CIA secretly funded the Haitian junta which overthrew democratically-elected President Aristide when he was elected in 1991. When President Clinton cut off $1.5 million of US aid to the junta, the CIA secretly gave the junta the same amount. Then when Clinton wanted to re-install Aristide, the CIA undermined Clinton by publically calling Aristide violent and unstable. Who is in charge here? Is the tail wagging the dog? As we speak, a former CIA-paid death squad leader, Emanuel Constant, is given asylum in the US rather than either being prosecuted or extradited to Haiti to face justice (Sun 7/26/96).
(snip/...)

http://www.heyhon.com/CIA/cia-coke.html

[whatelseisnew]

1. Thankyou for putting this together, JudyLin.

Do you have a link to the last Haiti compilation you did a few days ago?

Thanks again, this stuff is as important as all the rest and has the
elements necessary to continue exposing the same Iran/Contra/Pnac cabal.

[Judi Lynn]

2. I've got the info, whatelseisnew.....

I'm so glad AP brought this up, as it got me off my duff and into starting to learan a little bit about what is actually the situation there.

One more time, the same pattern is playing out we have seen again and again, if we've started putting the pieces together, connecting the dots...... God knows we really have to be completely curious or we'd NEVER find out anything, right?

These are the two threads you may be thinking of:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=362052

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1116625

[AP]

13. You are really amazing.

You should get a column in a paper if you don't have one already.

[whatelseisnew]

20. Thank you

you rock!

[kskiska]

3. And the head of the CIA under Clinton was…

George Tenet, who wasn't even on speaking terms with Clinton most of the time.

[Cocoa]

8. even worse, James Woolsey

the creepy PNACer who probably wants Tenet's job now, was CIA director during Haiti.

[mobuto]

25. The US operation in Haiti was fine

Aristide then was democratically elected and its in America's interests to promote progressive democracy throughout the world. But Aristide's since done away with democracy - there hasn't been a free and fair election since - and relies totally on the support of criminal street gangs to maintain his grasp on power. Aristide's a dangerous man, and the rebel's may be even worse.

[bemildred]

4. Stan Goff on this (also up in Editorials):

Beloved Haiti

http://www.counterpunch.org/goff02142004.html

[Judi Lynn]

6. This is just great. I'm still reading the second article

and had to come back here to post this snippet from the first article:

(snip)
It is a tragic irony that this situation has developed this far on the bicentennial of the heroic Haitian Revolution, and that it is being led by an imperial power that wants to annihilate popular sovereignty wherever it raises its head.
(snip)

This is what quite a few of us have been thinking!

The second article, which he wrote some time ago, which is so keenly poignant at this very moment:

(snip)
The reactionary wing of the Republican Party will settle for nothing less than Aristide's political neutralization. Aristide needs to look at the history of the war on Iraq, at the Rambouillet Agreement. The demands will escalate until they are simply impossible to meet. They will ask for the keys, for the surrender of sovereignty.

The Administration of George W. Bush, Powell explains, will tentatively accept the grotesque capitulation of a wavering Aristide to reschedule the legitimate elections of several of his own party members in response to a US/OAS campaign of demagogy to discredit those elections. It is a breathtaking betrayal by

Aristide. Powell calls this acquiescent, nay, submissive posture "an appropriate road map to get started," but adds that the Administration can not rule out additional demands. No careful Clintonesque camouflage from this administration. The colonial relation will be naked and unashamed. U.S. policy, the Secretary of State-designee explains, always has been and always will be to keep Haitians from coming to the United States, and on their knees at home.
(snip)

(snip)
Even as we are inaugurating our own de facto regime--the idiot prince, Dubya, and the court of his father, the imanence grise--the Haitian "opposition" is swearing Aristide will never sit. February 7th is his inauguration, and they have not only denounced it as "illegal and illegitimate," they have formed their own "parallel" government. Some have claimed that "extra-Constitutional means" will be employed if necessary.
(snip)

This is almost unbearable! Thanks for posting it here.

[AP]

14. This is interesting. That skeptic the other day cited OAS and Carter Inst.

as critics of the Hatian election. When asked for links, conveniently none could be found for the relatively credible Carter Inst. But the skeptic was quick to provide the OAS links crticiziing Haiti.

The Washington DC address for OAS made me doubt their credibility right away. It's interesting to see so many of the articles you've provided criticize them as biased.

[Zhade]

58. OUTSTANDING article.

I never knew much about Haiti. Now I know quite a bit more than I would have hoped was true.

The pattern fits. Yet again, our government manipulates with others' lives in the balance.

[undergroundrailroad]

5. United States Travel Warning To Hati (February 10, 2004)

Hati Travel Warning

[Judi Lynn]

10. You may find this interesting, concerning travel warnings

from the outstanding Counterpunch link posted above by bemildred. This second article at the link refers to the time just before President Aristide was to be inaguerated:
(snip)
We have just heard on the radio that Dominican soldiers are occupying the Hotel El Rancho in Port-au-Prince for three days. How many we don't know. Anpil. A lot. They are ostensibly there to give President Mejia of the Dominican Republic security, but Mejia has now canceled. He has his army to think about, holding him in check, making him a partial president. And the Dominican Armed Forces work for the United States Department of Defense.
(snip)

Accounts are that the capital was quickened throughout the night with Lavalas parties and demonstrations. The U.S. State Department is warning Americans not to travel to Haiti. They are claiming extreme danger. I've seen this pre-conditioning before. The warning is not to protect, but to leave an impression--part of the set-up. Every U.S. Embassy has its Political Section. That's double-talk for CIA. The combination of macoute and CIA here is known as labwatwa, the laboratory. The whole place reeks of the laboratory's concoctions today.
(snip)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ton-ton macoute is the unspeakable death squad/police force utilized by the American-supported nightmare, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. It's horrifying seeing it spelled out that our own CIA actually works with this group, but it's no surprise by now.

[AP]

15. Jesus. All this just so that some rich people can have sweat shops with

profits fueled by low wages.

[Judi Lynn]

30. Took a quick look for Haitian sweat shop info., AP

This was the first thing I saw:

(snip)
There are numerous documentations of Sara Lee's sweatshop activities dating from 1995 to 1999; recent campaigns have focused more on big-name brands such as Nike and the Gap. There is, unfortunately, absolutely no evidence that anything has changed in the past two years. Indeed, a report published by Global Policy on April 4, 2002 specifically mentions Hanes and Sara Lee: "In Haiti, workers for these transnational corporations earn barely enough to cover 60% of their costs of living, relegating them to a life of abject poverty, while the top CEOs of the very companies they work for rake in salaries to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The Hanes/Sara Lee Corporation, Disney, Nike, Addidas, Reebok, JCPenney, Sears, and WalMart are just a few examples of U.S. companies that actually seek out Third World countries with high unemployment rates and weak environmental and labor laws in order to set up shop and maximize profits."
(snip)

But what is a sweat shop? Sure, they earn around 33 cents an hour, but isn't that a good wage in those countries?

The answer to that is no. Sweat shops do not pay a living wage - they do not pay enough for the workers to buy food and cover basic health care. According to the National Labor Committee, the approximate hourly wages for apparel workers around the world include:
China -- 23 cents (Living wage: 87 cents an hour)
El Salvador -- 59 cents (Living wage: $1.18 an hour)
Haiti -- 30 cents (Living wage: 58 cents an hour)
Honduras -- 43 cents (Living wage: 79 cents an hour)
Nicaragua -- 23 cents (Living wage: 80 cents an hour)

In many cases, sweatshop workers, employed by large multinational corporations, are trapped in a system of modern day indentured servitude comparable to slavery and denied basic human freedoms like the right to join a union, attend religious services, quit or marry. Menial wages and reports of physical abuse in addition are typical of a new economic world order in which the poor are getting poorer and the rich growing richer.
(snip/...)

http://www.she-net.com/nosweat/hanessweatshops.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Second article: it could make a maggot gag:

(snip)
Workers stitching clothing emblazoned with feel-good Disney characters are not even paid enough to feed themselves, let alone their families, charges the New York-based National Labor Committee Education Fund in Support of Worker and Human Rights in Central America (NLC). Haitian contractors producing Mickey Mouse and Pocahontas pajamas for U.S. companies under license with the Walt Disney Corporation are in some cases paying workers as little as 15 gourdes (US$1) per day -- 12 cents an hour -- in clear violation of Haitian law, said the NLC. Along with starvation wages, Haitian workers making clothes for U.S. corporate giants face sexual harassment and exceedingly long hours of work. Haiti does need economic development and Haitian workers do need jobs, but not at the price of violating workers' fundamental rights. Paying 11 cents an hour to sew dresses for Kmart is not development. It is crime, charged the NLC.

Over the past two decades, U.S. State Department officials have consistently prescribed development of the transformation industry as the antidote to Haitian poverty. In the early 1980s, about 250 factories employed over 60,000 Haitian workers in Port- au-Prince. The minimum wage then was US$2.64 a day. But many sweat-shops fled Haiti after the fall of the dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986. Others left shortly after the election of Jean- Bertrand Aristide in 1990, who campaigned with nationalist rhetoric, and still more left after the 1991 coup d'etat.

But Haiti's miserable condition today makes it an ideal competitor in the world labor market, say U.S. State Department officials, and the assembly zones are again at the heart of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) for Haiti now being peddled by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Still, the recovery of the assembly zones remains weak. Only 72 assembly firms employing some 13,000 people had been re- established by September 1995, according to a Haitian government agency. International financial institutions argue that Haiti must lower the other costs of assembly production like port, telephone and electricity fees. Hence, the World Bank is pushing for U.S. companies to take control of these key sectors through the privatization of Haiti's publicly owned industries. Meanwhile, SAP strategists argue, wages must be kept low and competitive.
(snip/...)

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/294.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By god, you're right. They need Haiti to remain poor for slave labor.

The citizens of Haiti didn't EVEN get rid of the slave owners when they claimed their own independence, after all. Too, too sad.

[mobuto]

32. Then why get rid of Aristide?

Aristide's certainly not getting the poor of Haiti rich in a hurry.

This is nothing more than a struggle of power between two groups of corrupt, murderous, armed street gangs.

Which is worse? I have no idea. Very possibly the rebels. But neither is good.

[Judi Lynn]

34. More disturbing info. on Disney sweatshops in Haiti

(snip) None of the sweatshop reforms would have happened without outside pressure from the National Labor Committee and other anti-sweatshop activists. The first anti-Disney protests came in 1995 because of the exploitation of workers in Haiti. Between 1983 and 1989, apparel exports from Haiti to the U.S. doubled, but the wages of the workers assembling goods for American imports declined 56%.

In September 1991, the day before President Aristide’s minimum wage increase (to 50 cents an hour) was to go in place, a coup overthrew the democratically-elected government of Haiti. Disney and other American companies used the coup to dramatically increase profits, as the repressive military dictatorship (which killed over 4,000 people) forced down wages to 14 cents an hour. Disney workers in Haiti were paid six cents per garment, 0.3% of the total price for 101 Dalmatians children’s outfits.

In response to the campaign, Disney, Cutler, Wal-Mart, Kmart, J.C. Penney and others sent representatives to Haiti for the first time asking to investigate their contractors. In Haiti, at least, companies began paying the minimum wage and conditions improved. In 1997, under public pressure, Disney amended its corporate Code of Conduct to include the workers right to freedom of association and to form independent unions.

But Disney, like its competitors, refuses to go further and allow independent monitoring or efforts to improve all of its factories. Instead, Disney is happy to dump the small number of sweatshops that can be exposed. Sweatshops are treated as a public relations problem, not a human rights problem.
(snip/...)

http://indy.pabn.org/archives/105disne.shtml

[Judi Lynn]

37. Would be good to find out more about the American Cutler Co.

(snip) H.H. Cutler (a division of VF Corporation, one of the world's largest apparel companies) has sewn clothing in Haiti for the last several years under contract with the Walt Disney Company and Nike. H.H. Cutler now says that, at the height of the busy season in September, it will pull production out of Haiti and relocate most of the work to Asia (China, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines). Wages there are even lower than in Haiti and their operations will not be bothered by human rights and religious organizations monitoring plant conditions, nor by labor unions.

Just six months ago, H.H. Cutler had subcontracts with ten assembly plants in Haiti, where more than 2,300 workers sewed clothing for export to the U.S. If H.H. Cutler is allowed to cut and run from Haiti, these desperately needed jobs will be lost.

Until we can pressure H.H. Cutler to clarify which of its U.S. contractors will be severed, we have no idea how many jobs will be lost in the United States. At present 75% of H.H. Cutler's production is already offshore. Over the last several years, H.H. Cutler has slashed its direct employment in the U.S. by 75%, laying off 2,550 employees.

According to a July 9, 1997, article in the Grand Rapids Press, H.H. Cutler closed its Grand Rapids, Michigan, plants (where workers made an average of $6.50 per hour) a few years ago to move to Haiti (where sewers earn an average of $0.30 per hour) and will now contract its garments in China (where sewers earn $0.13 per hour).
(snip/...)

http://www.sweatshopwatch.org/swatch/headlines/1997/disney_aug97.html

You notice, once again, as in many Latin American countries, labor union organizers, church figures, and peace activists get on the official enemy list.

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. Geez what a mess

Seems that the Haitian people lose no matter which side wins this one.

In the meantime, W is spending billions rebuilding Iraq and bringing democracy and freedom to the Iraqi people, but he could care less about the people of Haiti.

[CHIMO]

9. Only that we comply with International Law

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/03/1628209&mode=thread&tid=25

On Democracy Now from Feb. 3, 2004

Watch or listen to about a six minute segment.

Go to 19:30 for Randall Robinson on Haiti.

[Judi Lynn]

18. Thanks, Chimo, for the Randall Robinson information

My Real Player wouldn't let me see the clip you posted, but I heard the audio version, which starts around 48:30 or so. It's very, very good.

From the transcript with Amy Goodwin in interview:

(snip)
We haven't liked Haiti since Toussaint L’Ouverture defeated France. George Washington hated that. Thomas Jefferson said awful things. There's been no appreciation for Haiti’s role in making the Louisiana Purchase possible. Napoleon sold it after he lost that revolution. Since then, we have done every imaginable thing to Haiti, and are still doing it. (snip)

(snip)
AMY GOODMAN: Well, the U.S. has a history of that in Haiti going back to the coup. You write about Emmanuel Constant, the head of FRAP, the paramilitary terror organization in Haiti. It's interesting from Clinton to Bush. Bush is leading a so-called war on terror. This is a terrorist on U.S. soil.

RANDALL ROBINSON: In New York.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about it?

RANDALL ROBINSON: He's walking about freely. He led the organization in Haiti that terrorized the country when President Aristide was in exile in Washington. Every morning, bodies were found all about Port-au-Prince. The work of Toto Constant’s people: people hacked to death, shot to death, bludgeoned to death, all of that sort of stuff, was well known to us, but he had at the same time a very fast collaboration with the CIA. And so when Warren Christopher said that we cannot have a defensible relationship with a new democratic Haiti unless we return Constant to Haiti, Toto Constant warned that he knew things about the CIA that he would divulge were that the case. So, the U.S. has continued to host him here.
(snip)

Your link address, again:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/03/1628209&mode=thread&tid=25

[Judi Lynn]

11. Omigosh! This is from the Haitian newspaper, not A.P., Reuters, etc.

The newspaper is linked at the bottom of the 2nd article in the Counterpunch link bemildred posted by Stan Goff. Just click English at the top of the page, and you won't be reading Otto Reich spew this time!

This is amazing:

(snip)
On Feb. 10, popular organizations took up positions around the northern city of Cap Haïtien to prevent rebel attacks there. On Feb. 7, they burned down the local relay of Radio Vision 2000, a powerful USAID-spawned powerful opposition-aligned station. On Feb. 8, barricades went up at the city’s bottleneck entrance, and gunfire crackled during the day and night in its outlying suburbs. The armed opposition, in particular Dominican Republic-based former police chief Guy Philippe, has made no secret of their plans to capture Cap, Haiti’s second largest city. Presently cut off from the capital at Gonaïves, the city, UN aid workers are warning, faces a possible food crisis. Gas supplies have already dwindled.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher gave the first inkling that the Bush administration is preparing the ground for Aristide’s unconstitutional removal. “e recognize that reaching a political settlement will require some fairly thorough changes in the way Haiti is governed and how the security situation is maintained,” Boucher coyly responded when asked if Washington thought the elected president should remain in office until the end of his term.

Reuters also reported that a “senior State Department official said proposals for a resolution were under discussion which could involve Aristide’s departure from office, although he did not specify who was making the proposals.” The unnamed official then told Reuters: “It’s clear from the kind of proposals that have been made and the discussions that are being held that when we talk about undergoing change in the way Haiti is governed, I think that could indeed involve changes in Aristide’s position.”

On Jan. 30, the State Department authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency personnel and their families from the U.S. embassy in Haiti and issued a travel warning for U.S. citizens to “defer travel to Haiti” and, those already in Haiti, “to consider departing the country.”
(snip)

http://www.haiti-progres.com/eng02-11.html

[burrowowl]

12. Was LJC a shinning

alum of the School of the Americas?

[Judi Lynn]

19. Took a quick look, haven't seen anything yet, but found an oddity

you might see as completely vicious:

(snip)
HAITI: PEASANT GROUP MEMBER MURDERED AS VIOLENCE SPREADS

........ On Mar. 2 a car drove into a group of youths in Port-au-Prince's
Bel-Air neighborhood, killing five and wounding 10. Many say that
the driver was a man who used to drive for Louis Jodel Chamblain,
one of the leaders of the Front for the Advancement and Progress
of Haiti (FRAPH), a rightwing paramilitary group.
(snip)

http://www.tulane.edu/~libweb/RESTRICTED/WEEKLY/1995_0319.txt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interesting level of protection for Emmanuel Constant and his lieutenant, Louis Jodel Chamblain by the U.S. gubmint:

(snip)
In October 1994, a law was passed outlawing paramilitary groups though not naming any particular group, the most well-known being the FRAPH. The law prohibits the financing, organization and maintenance in whatever way of armed corps other than those permitted by the constitution and Haitian law. Upon arriving in Haiti, the MNF raided the Port-au-Prince headquarters of FRAPH, which at that time purported to be a legitimate political party. In late 1994, the Haitian authorities issued arrest warrants for the former FRAPH leader, Emmanuel Constant, and his deputy, Louis Jodel Chamblain, reportedly in connection with a judicial investigation into FRAPHs involvement in human rights violations. Both of them fled abroad. In March 1995, the Haitian Government sought the extradition of Emmanuel Constant from the USA. A US court ordered his deportation to Haiti in August 1995 but he appealed against the ruling. He later withdrew his challenge to the deportation order and at the time of writing the US authorities are said to be making arrangements for him to be returned to Haiti, where the Haitian authorities are reportedly preparing to bring him to trial on as yet unspecified charges.

Emmanuel Constant is widely alleged, and himself claims, to have been in the pay of, and under the orders of, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the coup period. As a result of a damages claim brought against Emmanuel Constant by Alerte Belance, a Haitian woman living in the USA, for an alleged assault by FRAPH in 1993, it emerged that the US authorities were in possession of some 60,000 pages of documents which had been removed from the FRAPH offices by the MNF in October 1994. As a result of subpoenas brought by US lawyers, the US Department of Defence admitted that it was in the process of reviewing the classification status of the documents. In October 1995 the Haitian Senate sought the assistance of international human rights organizations in their efforts to recover the documents which were considered essential to any prosecutions against FRAPH members as well as to the work of the National Commission of Truth and Justice (see below). In December 1995 a spokesman for the US State Department announced that the documents would be returned once they had been reviewed and the names of all American citizens removed, though he did not rule out that Washington would keep some of the documents.
(snip)

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR360011996?open&of=ENG-HTI

[Judi Lynn]

16. Hi, there, AP! I'm so glad you checked in tonight and saw these articles

It's really looking grim, isn't it, and THIS TIME, there are people on the internet watching _Bush do this.

I think we can assume if he gets his second term he's going after Cuba just this way.

Odd he's starting with Haiti, almost like saying "Haiti's so small, so unfamiliar to Americans, no one will notice, just like Grenada."

THIS TIME HE'S WRONG.

There's a mention in one of the articles in the Counterpunch article which says the U.S. forces are spread thin, so they've recently armed the Dominican Republic, which will attack Haiti as _Bush's proxy forces.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deconstructing the Myth of "Journalism."

As we have seen recently, the corporate media has continually provided distortions, misrepresentations and complete fabrications as "news" about current events in Haiti. Often, the same writers will cover demonstrations and intentionally distort the number of participants.

Even the smallest opposition demonstration is reported. The reported number of participants at opposition demonstrations will be overinflated—usually more than three times. Most pro-government demonstrations that show in large numbers don't get reported at all, or are reduced to one-fifth their size in number.

It is rare that even the most prestigious news organizations make any attempt to correct these errors. Most recently this letter from attorney, Ira J. Kurzban, Esq. was able to get a published retraction that was buried deep in The New York Times. As you can see in the following excerpt the NYT states that there was a "small" crowd. These two photos show the event that they were referring to.




..a "small" crowd?

"Looking at the capricous writing of Lydia Polgreen"
(This is the pathetic "journalist" whose scrawl and scribblings we've been seeing being foisted off on the unsuspecting public as "news.")


http://haitiaction.org/News/NYT.html

[AP]

17. People think Nov will be an easy Dem vicotry. You just have to see what's

undone by Bush and where this is all heading to know that there is a ton at stake, and that Bush is going to win badly in Nov. Nov is NOT going to be easy.

[Barkley]

21. Bush may invade Haiti

The situation in Haiti looks "ripe" for
a U.S. invasion for the following 'reasons':

1. Haiti does not have an army; so an invasion will only require a min. of U.S. troops

2. Haiti cannot retaliate

3. An invasion will distract attention from Iraq, missing WMD, Bush's AWOL

4. An invasion will divide Democrats & take attention from the primary elections

5. An invasion will rally Bush's conservative white voters

6. An invasion will help Bush win Fl. by saving the State from the "hordes of Blacks"
fleeing Haiti if the current violence produces refugees

[Judi Lynn]

22. Right Wing-Led Rebellion Convulses Haiti

Right Wing-Led Rebellion Convulses Haiti - Richard Dufour

2004-02-12 | The violent political conflicts which have shaken Haiti since the end of last year have now exploded into an armed uprising against the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
(snip)

Thus far, Port-au-Prince, where the bulk of the 5,000-strong national police force is deployed, has been untouched by the uprising. But for weeks it has been the scene of almost daily pro- and anti-government demonstrations—demonstrations that have led to clashes in which dozens of people have been killed. Opposition forces have called for a mass demonstration on Thursday, which they have billed as the “final blow” against an embattled and weakened Aristide government.

The Gonaïves rebel group has been widely portrayed in the press as a criminal gang, based in the city’s slums, that until recently enjoyed the patronage of Aristide and his Lavalas party. “But at its upper echelons,” reports the Washington Post, “the group appears to be led by former members of the Haitian military, dissolved in 1994 when Aristide returned to power, and the paramilitary group that opposed him.”

The paramilitary group to which the Post alludes was known as FRAPH. During the three-year rule of the military junta that deposed the first Aristide government in September 1991, FRAPH death squads carried out a campaign of terror aimed at stamping out support for Aristide, who because of his earlier opposition to the Duvalier dictatorship and promises of social reform enjoyed widespread popular support.
(snip)

http://www.unobserver.com/layout5.php?id=1435&blz=1

[DUreader]

23. kick

[mobuto]

24. Forgive me, but what does right-wing mean in this context?

It would appear that those leading the rebellion against Mr. Aristide are thugs and murderers, but how are they different from the thuggish, murderous street gangs who support Aristide?

Aristide's no democrat - certainly no liberal - why should we support him? You just have two groups of bad men trying to kill one another.

[Judi Lynn]

26. As Haiti’s Contras Launch Major Offensive:Washington Suggests Aristide’s R

As Haiti’s Contras Launch Major Offensive:
Washington Suggests Aristide’s Removal


Haiti’s “armed opposition” launched its most lethal offensive yet last week, creating the civil strife that many suspect Washington seeks to justify foreign military intervention in the country. On Feb. 10, State Department officials gave their first public hints that they would favor President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s resignation.

CARICOM representatives are flying to Washington this week to meet with Bush administration officials about the crisis in Haiti. A State Department official contacted by Haïti Progrès Feb. 10 would not comment on whether Aristide’s removal was on the meeting’s agenda. He would only repeat that “President Aristide is the democratically elected leader of his country.”

Meanwhile, in one of the largest mobilizations in recent years, hundreds of thousands of Haitians marched and rallied in Port-au-Prince on Feb. 7, the anniversary of the 1986 fall of the Duvalier dictatorship, to demand that Aristide fulfill his five-year term, which ends Feb. 6, 2006. Thousands more held similar anti-coup demonstrations in provincial cities. Pro-government popular organizations have begun setting up barricades and taking up arms in the capital and other cities like Jacmel, Cayes and Cap Haïtien to prevent the spread of the armed opposition’s attacks.
(snip)

On Feb. 10, popular organizations took up positions around the northern city of Cap Haïtien to prevent rebel attacks there. On Feb. 7, they burned down the local relay of Radio Vision 2000, a powerful USAID-spawned powerful opposition-aligned station. On Feb. 8, barricades went up at the city’s bottleneck entrance, and gunfire crackled during the day and night in its outlying suburbs. The armed opposition, in particular Dominican Republic-based former police chief Guy Philippe, has made no secret of their plans to capture Cap, Haiti’s second largest city. Presently cut off from the capital at Gonaïves, the city, UN aid workers are warning, faces a possible food crisis. Gas supplies have already dwindled.
(snip/...)

http://www.haiti-progres.com/eng02-11.html

[Suspicious]

27. C-SPAN

this morning had a call-in segment devoted to the current crisis in Haiti. I was appalled by the number of callers who 1) had little to no basic knowledge of Haitian history, let alone what is happening there right now, and 2) seem to think it's perfectly acceptable for the U.S. government to overtly intervene and institute yet another "regime change". The fact that Aristide is the democratically elected leader of Haiti does not even seem to enter into the equation for most of the viewers who called C-SPAN in support of a U.S. intervention. The fact that the question was posed at all is extremely troubling.

The propaganda war waged against the American public has apparently been overwhelmingly successful where Haiti is concerned. :(

[DUreader]

29. A coordinated campaign is occurring, Diane Rheem had the same

she called it a 'popular uprising' , I couldn't stand to listen beyond a couple of minutes.

[mobuto]

31. So which nefarious organization

does Dianne Rehm work for again?

[DUreader]

35. Thanks for the kick even if you don't read the links others will

Your silly question above about the meaning of right wing makes it obvious you don't care to delve into any of this but would prefer to snipe. Back in DU1 I had you on 'ignore' , now I remember why.

[mobuto]

40. OK

The question still stands and I'm looking for a response. Ignore me if you want.

[Suspicious]

38. If you are implying that NPR is innocent

of slanting certain stories (whether deliberately, or just because they pull some material directly from AP and/or Reuters), I (and many others) would heartily disagree. NPR is hardly a bastion of independent journalism.

[mobuto]

41. I'm not implying anything

The implication was that Dianne Rehm was part of a conspiracy. If so, what conspiracy, why, and for what ends? I've met her more than a few times, and I know two of her producers really well. So if she has been promoting one side in the Haitian civil war over the other, I'd be interested in hearing more.

I'm afraid I don't see much distinction between Aristide's thugs and the rebel thugs, so maybe someone might share their understanding with me.

[Suspicious]

44. Conspiracy? No.

Too often, the word "conspiracy" is thrown into the mix to muddle the debate. I think of it more in terms of NPR adopting the corporate America, status-quo stance - and what else should we expect? Much of NPR's content (including the Diane Rehm Show) gets its fair share of corporate "underwriting". Just listen for the endorsements of corporate sponsors such as WalMart, Microsoft, etc. I listen to NPR every morning on the way to work, and every evening on the way home - I hear them loud and clear.

Aside from indy media sources, I think a person would be hard-pressed to find one major media outlet touting anything other than the official line on the situation in Haiti. I don't see it as a conspiracy - it's something more akin to mass media groupthink, and I think that's even more frightening.

As for "Aristide's thugs and the rebel thugs" - I don't see the situation as being quite so black and white, this or that, bad guys or good guys. The conflict in Haiti is complex and multifaceted, but my personal opinion, after extensive reading of independent news sources, is that the U.S. government is not on the side of the Haitian citizens who elected their President and would like to see him serve out his term.

[mobuto]

46. Which Haitian citizens?

Haiti hasn't had a free and fair election since 1990. How would anyone know if Jean Bertrand has the support of the people or not?

I agree that the situation is complex - that's why I'm not prepared to say for sure which side, if any, the United States should support. But what does seem simplistic is for you to imply that Dianne Rehm is being ordered by WallMart or GE to support the rebel cause on her morning talk/interview show.

[Suspicious]

49. Simplistic

would be your interpretation of my comments as implying that Ms. Rehm is "being ordered by MalMart or GE to support the rebel cause". :eyes:

There are plenty of Haitian citizens who believe in Aristide and support Lavalas, not that you hear much about them from major media sources. Try this - seek out some information on Haiti from sources other than CNN, MSNBC, etc., or even NPR. There are many links in this thread, alone.

The U.S. needs to get its dirty little fingers out of Haiti and keep them out.

[mobuto]

50. I don't deny that

many Haitians do in fact support Aristide. My point is that nobody knows if its a plurality, because he hasn't bothered to hold free and fair elections since 1990. That's a problem.

[Suspicious]

51. Your statement is false.

Like it or not, elections were held in 2000, and I'm sure you're aware of that. Aristide is the democratically elected President.

If you believe otherwise, I would like to know - specifically, if possible - what information you've based your opinion on, and where you obtained it.

[Judi Lynn]

53. You're right, there were legitimate elections.

I've seen tons of references to it, and NONE saying it was illegitimate. Of course a lot of people wouldn't be interested in the "opposition" right-wing point of view, anyway, as it's simply dead wrong here.

Here's a quick grab from google:

(snip)The delay is also connected to a political crisis stemming from Haiti's national elections of 2000, which were monitored by observers from the Organization of American States (OAS). In these elections, candidates from Aristide's Lavalas party received about 80 percent of the vote at all levels of government.

Out of 7,400 elections nationwide, the results of seven senatorial contests were challenged by the opposition parties, which called for run-off elections. But Haiti's supreme court reviewed the elections and decided in favor of the seven senators. This decision failed to satisfy the opposition, a collection of small, disparate political parties that have coalesced under the name Democratic Convergence. Eventually, in an agreement brokered by the OAS, the seven senators resigned. (snip)

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/03.13/27-haiti.html

It looks as if Aristide's government certainly did everything correctly, and there were outside observers throughout.

[mobuto]

57. None?

Are you familiar with the Carter Center?

[Judi Lynn]

28. Exiled Paramilitaries Join Haiti Rebels

Posted on Mon, Feb. 16, 2004

Exiled Paramilitaries Join Haiti Rebels

MICHAEL NORTON

Associated Press


PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - A rebel force trying to oust President Jean-Bertrand Aristide grew in size as former exiled paramilitary troops joined the insurrection and aid workers hurried to get doctors and supplies to the cut-off north.

A humanitarian convoy left from Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, for St. Marc, a northern port city where rebels burned the police station and torched a clinic. The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross would lead the convoy, officials said.
(snip)

The rebels launched a rebellion on Feb. 5 from Gonaives, 70 miles northwest of Port-au-Prince. Although the rebels are thought to number less than Haiti's 5,000-member police force, exiled paramilitary leaders and police have reportedly joined them.

One of those reportedly is Louis-Jodel Chamblain, a former Haitian soldier who headed army death squads in 1987 and a militia known as the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti, or FRAPH. The group allegedly killed and maimed hundreds of people between 1991 and 1994.
(snip)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/7962433.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks, Suspicious, for the info. about today's C-Span.

As long as people aren't aware of actual history of places undergoing real struggle, they are complete victems to the slimey characters who deliberately would mislead them.

It's so easy to manipulate people who don't go to the trouble to inform themselves.

[Aidoneus]

33. thanks, JudiLyn

very useful research, as per your usual.. :toast:

[Judi Lynn]

39. Hi, there. AP got the ball rolling on Haiti last week.

Really glad you're watching this, too.

Maybe someday it's going to be harder and harder to make trouble for people in poor and/or small countries.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

36. Here we go again.

[Judi Lynn]

42. CIA and Haiti history

(snip)
US troops invaded Haiti five times, once staying for almost twenty years (1915-35). At the end of that prolonged visit, during which we killed thousands of Haitians for daring to rebel, we left the country in the hands of the local National Guard, confident that they'd carry on our good work.
From this arrangement emerged the Duvalier family dynasty and their private terrorist force, the machete-wielding Tontons Macoutes. "Papa Doc" Duvalier (he was a medical doctor) also relied on voodoo incantations and, during a 1959 uprising, the timely assistance of the US military. When Papa Doc died in 1971, his 19-year-old son, called Baby Doc, became "president-for-life."
Throughout the blood-drenched rule of the Duvaliers (nearly 100,000 killed by the Tontons Macoutes alone), the US barely uttered a peep about human rights violations. In 1986, however, when it became apparent that Baby Doc's presidency could not in fact be sustained for his entire life (unless he died soon), the Reagan administration airlifted him to a retirement villa in France and started talking about the "democratic process."
Before that could begin, however, the Haitian military had to be further strengthened. CIA money began flowing to Haiti, which had already seen US aid double during the Reagan years. The CIA set up an anti-narcotics service called-appropriately-SIN ("national intelligence service"). As one CIA man admitted, SIN used its millions in CIA subsidies mainly to suppress popular movements by means of torture and assassination. Far from combating drugs, many SIN officers engage in the drug trade themselves.
In 1990, elections were finally allowed. Haitians stunned the US by rejecting the candidate we preferred in favor of a left-wing Catholic priest, Jean Bertrand Aristide. The Bush administration could scarcely conceal its joy when Haiti's US-trained military deposed Aristide eight months later.
(snip/...)

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA%20Hits/Haiti_CIAHits.html

Very, very interesting.

Democrats, don't forget, our ELECTED real DEMOCRATIC President Bill Clinton helped Jean Bertrand Aristide return to power. Thank you. :hi:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adding another article:

(snip)
U.N. commission points finger at CIA
Haiti Info, Vol. 4 #18, 10 February 1996
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb. 18 - Breaking from United Nations bodies' usual deference to the U.S., albeit a bit late, this week a U.N. Human Rights Commission report openly accused and harshly criticized the actions of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Haiti in a report submitted in Geneva, Agence France Presse reported yesterday.

In addition to the efforts made by the international community to reestablish democracy in Haiti, we are stupefied to learn today that there is another anti-democratic effort which was directed by the CIA, to discredit President Aristide and prevent his return to Haiti, the report said.

The report, drawn up following a delegation visit this fall, called on the U.S. to bring to light the troubling role the CIA played during the military regime and noted according to different sources, the CIA appears to have played a double-game vis vis the international community and even the American administration while the military junta was in power... It had numerous contacts with the Haitian army and the head of FRAPH , Emmanuel Constant.

The Commission also demanded that the U.S. return the 150,000 pages of documents seized by U.S. soldiers from FRAPH and Haitian army headquarters so that the truth of where the responsibility lies in each case and the role of the CIA can be brought to light.
(snip/...)

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/201.html

[Dirk39]

48. Illusions about Clinton?

"Democrats, don't forget, our ELECTED real DEMOCRATIC President Bill Clinton helped Jean Bertrand Aristide return to power."???

"In 1991, Aristide was overthrown by the brutal paramilitary, led by former CIA employees Emmanuel Constant and Raoul Cedras. The massive influx of refugees fleeing Haiti from the brutal FRAPH paramilitary regime, in addition to a groundswell of domestic support for Haiti, forced Clinton to “restore democracy” to Haiti in 1994. Aristide, having his way cleared by US troops, returned to Haiti recognized internationally as its legitimate leader.

Aristide’s return was only made possible when he “embraced the Haitian bourgeoisie and accepted a U.S. occupation and Washington’s neoliberal agenda.” As Noam Chomsky has detailed, “The Aristide government to keep to a standard "structural adjustment" package, with foreign funds devoted primarily to debt repayment and the needs of the business sectors, and with an "open foreign investment policy." <8>

By then, the neoliberal agenda has become entrenched as part of the New World Order, which was designed to respond to “the South’s plea for justice, equity, and democracy in the global society.” This agenda has led others such as Susan George to sum it up as such:

“Neo-liberalism has become the major world religion with its dogmatic doctrine, its priesthood, its law-giving institutions and perhaps most important of all, its hell for heathen and sinners who dare to contest the revealed truth.” <9>

The World Bank predicted in 1996 that up to 70 per cent of Haitians would be unlikely to survive bank-advocated free market measures in Haiti. According to a 2002 Guardian article, by the end of the 1990’s “Haiti’s rice production had halved and subsidized imports from the U.S. accounted for over half of local rice sales.” <10> As Haiti became the “star pupil” of IMF and World Bank, such policies “devastated” local farmers."

Media vs. Reality in Haiti by Anthony Fenton:
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/FEN402A.html
The whole article is interesting

I guess, if any US president elected or not, would ever have tried to support an anti-corporate governement in any country in the world, he would be dead or in Guantanamo Bay.

Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[Judi Lynn]

52. That article is priceless, Dirk.

I haven't absorbed it all, yet, having to first make sure I have it safe in files, then to get back to you about the beginning, in which it mentioned the radio station.

That radio station is controlled by the U.S. CIA.

You may remember reading that some Haitian group, in the last few days, went over there and tried to destroy it! Not very fond feelings for what it represents.

Second, I wanted to post something mentioned in the lead post concerning Clinton, and the CIA's contra-Clinton behavior:

(snip) The first of the 3 questions refers to a long string of CIA abuses and usurpations. The CIA formed an intelligence service in Haiti in the mid-80's which engaged in drug trafficking (NYT 11/14/93). Then the CIA secretly funded the Haitian junta which overthrew democratically-elected President Aristide when he was elected in 1991. When President Clinton cut off $1.5 million of US aid to the junta, the CIA secretly gave the junta the same amount. Then when Clinton wanted to re-install Aristide, the CIA undermined Clinton by publically calling Aristide violent and unstable. Who is in charge here? Is the tail wagging the dog? As we speak, a former CIA-paid death squad leader, Emanuel Constant, is given asylum in the US rather than either being prosecuted or extradited to Haiti to face justice (Sun 7/26/96).
(snip/...)

http://www.heyhon.com/CIA/cia-coke.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks so much for this superior bunch of information. It's extremely helpful to us information-deprived readers!

[Dirk39]

55. We're told the same lies here....

It must be Reuters. All over the german news: There's a riot going on against an evil dictator, who violates human rights...
If at least they would have about two or three different story-scripts, to entertain us.
Hi,
Dirk

[Judi Lynn]

56. That's just NOT such good news

Looks like there's a giant right-wing attempt to control things going on everywhere.

Very interested in what's passing as news there!

Thanks. :hi:

Judi

[WarNoMore]

43. Thanks to all who have contributed

these articles. I have been wondering what is *really* going on.

[hedda_foil]

45. Bringing up Grandbaby Doc ?

Didn't Baby Doc (Jean Claude?) wind up here in the good old USofA? Le Famille Duvailer were, of course, CIA backed thugs with a voodoo twist. It sounds like they or their supporters are on the way back in with a little help from their old and dear friends.

[Aidoneus]

47. south of France, actually

There's a lesson to be learned there. Butcher people for the dollar's benefit, you get a place on the Riviera.

Not sure what the dynasty is doing now, but the remnants of their machine and the linear descendents of their reign are the leaders of the so-called "rebels" now.

[Judi Lynn]

54. Canada ready to send police officers to Haiti: foreign minister

Canada ready to send police officers to Haiti: foreign minister
25 minutes ago


OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada may provide around 100 police officers for any international force that is sent to Haiti, but only if the political situation in the country improves, Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham said.

Graham made it clear that he does not believe Canada should send troops to the strife-torn country.

But, he told reporters, Canada would be willing to send French-speaking police officers to Haiti as long as both the government of Jean Bertrand Aristide and opposition agreed to improve the political situation.
(snip)

Graham said he was still committed to support a plan put forward by Haiti's Caribbean neighbours. The 15-nation Caribbean Community opposes the forceful ouster of Aristide.
(snip/...)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040217/wl_canada_afp/haiti_unrest_canada_040217212324

[Suspicious]

59. Another link -

I don't know if this one has been posted previously, but it contains a lot of information. The second link is contact information (C. Powell) and a request to send faxes, letters, make phone calls, etc., to the State Department, demanding that the U.S. not allow (read: stop facilitating) a coup to take place in Haiti.

http://www.haitiaction.net

http://www.haitiaction.net/News/hacFeb13.html

On edit - an excerpt from Rep. Barbara Lee's February 12 letter to Powell:

This situation demands sustained U.S. engagement to promote democracy, yet disturbing reports indicate our actions - or inaction - may be making things worse. The opposition is well-funded and well-armed, even though President Aristide pleas for resources to better train police forces have fallen on deaf ears. Yet, State Department officials have implied that President Aristide's departure could be an option in solving the current crisis. How can we call for democracy in Iraq and not say very clearly that we support democratic elections as the only option in Haiti?Since I did not have the opportunity to raise the following questions in committee, I would appreciate it if you could provide a written reply so that I might have a better understanding of Administration policy toward Haiti:

1. Does the State Department support the democratically-elected government of Haiti? What practical steps is our government taking to support the democratic process?

2. Is our country supporting and sanctioning an overthrow of the Aristide Government by giving a wink and a nod to the opposition? There are also reports that we are covertly funding the opposition.

3. Does the United States support the CARICOM proposal, and will we work through the OAS to broker a peaceful solution, not an overthrow of the Aristide Government?

4. Is it true that Haitian opposition parties and leaders have received USAID funding?

5. We understand the Haitian government made several requests over the last two years for equipment and training of Haiti's police force. Why were these requests never responded to?

[DuctapeFatwa]

60. Neither side is any great prize or good news for Haitians

At this point, I'm not sure which side the bush regime is backing, maybe both, I think the principal US objective is simply fewer Haitians.

[Dirk39]

61. Great prize or good news for Haitians?

I don't have an answer. I'd dare to say that Aristide might be the better choice.

Your question, which side the bush regime is backing, might be easier to answer: they back the "rebels" or, to be more precisely, they try to use a somehow justified anger among the Haitians, in order to overthrow Aristide and replace him with one more puppet regime. When Clinton supported Aristide in 1994, the condition was that he agrees to the typical neoliberal agenda, "structural reforms", the IMF and so forth. Artistide didn't. During the last ten years, more schools were build in Haiti than during the 100 years before.

Like always, the US-elite is backing the US-elite, using whatever seems to fit their agenda.

I just try to understand, what's going on there, just like you.

A sad thing: it seems to be true, and not propaganda, that Aristide did use armed gangs to oppress his opponents and this was going on for years.
And it seems so far that part of these gangs started the rebellion against Aristide.
The majority of these gangs, mostly young people from the slum areas of Haiti, the social foundation of Aristides, are still 100% behind their president.

That's even reported in some far left wing newspapers here in Germany, and not being in Haiti myself, I have no reasons to doubt that.

But the USA/CIA seem to see this as a chance to get rid of Aristide and replace him with an american neoliberal puppet regime. Louis-Jodel Chamblain is already back in town to support the rebels. He was one of the heads of the regime under General Raoul Cedras (1991-1994) and the chief of the paramilitary death- squadron FRAPH.

I've posted a link to an interesting article above, I post it again:
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/FEN402A.html

Hi Ductape - your name's soo exotic,
Dirk

[DuctapeFatwa]

62. Or are they telling Aristide, one more chance?

I'm not sure if they are not playing both ends against the middle right now to convince him to be more "cooperative."

It's 6 PM California time. Do you know where the Dominican army is?

[whatelseisnew]

63. NarcoNews.com may start covering Haiti, Stan Goff suggested

http://narcosphere.narconews.com

[Judi Lynn]

64. Thanks for the news!

Hope to see more from non-propaganda sources.

[bobthedrummer]

65. Rebels cut off Haiti's second city {Guardian article/LBN}

They have seized Cape Haitien.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1151167,00.html

[Suspicious]

66. For those who may have missed it,

DuctapeFatwa posted this last night -

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=372291

[whatelseisnew]

67. Five Questions About Haiti and the Coup Attempt

http://www.narconews.com/Issue32/article895.html


In recent hours, the Pentagon has announced it is sending a team of military advisors into Haiti. On the same day, the State Department issued an advisory for Peace Corps members and other Americans to leave Haiti. The rumor mill is at a fever pitch.

Take this statement from U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, yesterday, when asked by an alert reporter about Jeremy Bigwood’s findings of U.S. government money spent on behalf of coup proponents in Venezuela:


“As far as the facts of the matter, we have spoken many times before about our assistance to democracy in Haiti—excuse me—our assistance to democracy in Venezuela.”

– Richard Boucher
U.S. State Department spokesman

Oops! That Freudian slip – confusing the documents that show coup-provoking activity in Venezuela by Washington with U.S. policy toward Haiti – tells us a lot more about how Washington views current events in Haiti than most of what press-spinner Boucher said intentionally.

[Judi Lynn]

69. We've really seen how much respect the Bush State Department

has for the democratic process in both Haiti and Venezuela, or even the U.S.!

I really wish I could have seen Boucher's grubby, sneaky face when he made that slip-up. He's so evasive and slippery, and seems to take great pride in it! It must have cost him some self-confidence, for sure.

[Aidoneus]

68. Rising Stakes In Haiti as Ex-Duvalier Thugs Take Over Opposition

Rising Stakes In Haiti as Ex-Duvalier Thugs Take Over Opposition
by Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON -- The emergence of former paramilitary and military leaders accused of atrocities committed during Haiti's last period of military rule at the head of spreading rebellion against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has added urgency to international efforts to deal with the ongoing crisis in the Caribbean nation.

The uprising, which has cut off hundreds of towns and villages in the north and central parts of the country from desperately needed relief supplies, is also fueling fears of a major exodus of poor Haitians by boat and across the border into the Dominican Republic, which has taken steps to close its border.

U.S. relief agencies, including CARE and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), have launched an emergency supply effort for cities and towns taken over by rebels, and in areas where barricades have been erected by contending forces.

"The situation is critical," said Dula James, CRS' Country Representative for Haiti. "Staff have been in contact with communities and partners in the north and report that rural villages lack food, household items, clothing and materials for shelter--a result of ongoing violence and looting."

The uprising began Feb 5 when a gang--called the Cannibal Army when it was allied with Aristide and later renamed the Artibonite Resistance Front (ARF)-- seized the police station in Gonaives, the country's fourth largest city, and subsequently burned and looted other government offices. Several days later, another anti-Aristide gang seized the nearby town of St. Marc, which has since been retaken by government forces.

Tension in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second biggest city, has risen steadily since yet another rebel group--reportedly led by a former chief of the paramilitary Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH), Louis Jodel Chamblain-- seized the Central Plateau town of Hinche after killing the police chief and two of his officers several days ago. A total of more than 50 people have been killed to date.

The emergence of Chamblain, who apparently slipped across the border from the Dominican Republic where he has lived in exile for almost a decade, and several other personalities associated with FRAPH, drew calls of alarm from human rights groups both in Haiti and other capitals. FRAPH, the descendant of the feared Ton-Ton Macoutes from the Duvalier dynasty, acted primarily as a death squad for the military after it ousted Aristide in 1990 until the former priest was returned to power by 2,000 U.S. troops in 1994.

--snip--

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0219-08.htm

[Judi Lynn]

70. That's all they need. Mad dog Louis Jodel Chamblain.

Death squad commander. Great.

You'll be in no way surprised to hear Rush Limbaugh blurted out his view that Haiti was much better off when the Duvalier government ran things.

Does Rush EVER bother to read? Good God.

Haiti needs some help soon, and not from people supporting the right-wing Duvalierists/death squad supporters.

[Aidoneus]

72. I wish I was surprised by that

I understand that there are still some around who think that Pinochet was the best thing since sliced bread, but the Duvaliers.. :eyes:

While he was a very good man during his revolutionary career, Aristide has been making some mistakes for the last decade--from going down on his knees below one faction of the imperialist camp to reinstall him on a short leash after another faction favoured the junta butchers, to bowing before the IMF's dictates when re-installed etc.. Maybe his political career is finished by this, but the best thing he can do with his life now is to just make sure that these people never take over power again.

[Aidoneus]

71. CCR Warns of Threat of Mass Murder in Haiti and the Return of FRAPH

CCR Warns of Threat of Mass Murder in Haiti and the Return of FRAHP

NEW YORK - February 18 - With the reappearance of Jodel Chamblain in Haiti and the continued U.S. refusal to detain Emmanuel Constant, two of the bloodiest leaders of the 1991 Duvalierist coup are poised to return to power. Chamblain and Constant are founders of FRAPH, the paramilitary Revolutionary Front for Haitian Advancement and Progress responsible for more than 5,000 murders and untold dismemberment, torture and violence in the early 1990s.

Nearly a decade ago, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) sued FRAPH on behalf of a Haitian woman who had been pulled from her home, tortured, and had her arm cut off by members of the organization. CCR also launched an initiative to extradite Constant to Haiti to be tried for his crimes against humanity. The U.S. has continued to allow Constant to walk the streets of Queens, never held accountable for his role in the human rights atrocities he orchestrated. By his own admission, Constant was still coordinating activities in Haiti as recently as a few years ago, and there is no reason to think the situation has changed.

--snip--


Michael Ratner, president of CCR's board, adds, "It has to be stopped. The same criminals, gangs and thugs who tried to abort democracy in the bloody 1991 coup are taking over in Haiti today. If they are allowed to continue, thousands more will die. Did the world not learn a lesson from Rwanda?"

Chamblain has resurfaced in Haiti and is leading the violent and destabilizing riots currently threatening to topple not just President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, but Haiti's hard-won democracy itself. The U.S. government's failure to disarm FRAPH at the time and to extradite Constant to Haiti implicates our government in the current hostilities. We have a responsibility to see that democracy is not overthrown once more by brutal death squad leaders:

The U.S. must support the CARICOM proposal, which Aristide has agreed to, and work with CARICOM and the OAS to ensure peace;

Constant must be detained immediately and ultimately brought to trial; and

Chamblain must also be jailed immediately to prevent an escalation of violence in the region.

--snip--

http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0218-08.htm

[Snazzy]

73. Roger Noriega

(sorry if someone has already noted this--must get some shut eye and can't read the whole thread)

Just saw his name pop up in latest breaking AP:

"Diplomats, led by Roger Noriega of the United States, were to arrive Saturday to try to persuade Haiti's politicians to sign on, apparently hoping that pressure from the popular uprising that has killed more than 60 people will impel them to a compromise they have resisted for years."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59653-2004Feb21.html

Coup is on, obviously. I'd bet my right nut that Roger Noriega signals this is a US backed and engineered coup. Otto Reich's replacement, after the recess appointment ended, right? Formerly Jesse Helm's COS, I think. A featured Heritage Foundation scumbag? Clearly this is 'our' doing.

This also features the usual blurred neocon vision-thing--what's the plan besides rolling back Clinton, and why? No clue here, but can't imagine bloodletting or boat people or both is a good election year plan. Unless they plan some sort of military thing beyond the handful mentioned yesterday. Maybe some Bush (*) success story via couple of thousand marines headed there? Doesn't make sense otherwise. Or maybe they just think their guy will assume power, no resistance, just like what didn't happen in Iraq.

Frog march!

[Judi Lynn]

74. You're right about Noriega. He did work for Jesse Helms.

Has spewed bile continually for the last few months. Trucculent. Threats flying all over the place. Good _Bush lackey.

Odious lump. It's a sad day when ANYONE feels he/she must speak with this P.O.S.