Haiti update

[Sorry.]

An exhaustive report from Haiti, outlining what has happened since the coup d'etat.

- Apparently the rebels continue to murder political opponents and estimates more than a 1,000 have died. The majority after the "peacekeepers" arrived.

- large demos against the new administration, local elites and the occupation forces.

Then you have the general population, that may not have been actively pro-Lavalas, who are just afraid. There's a curfew in the city of Port-au-Prince, and different curfews, for different times, throughout the country, but in Port-au-Prince it's 10 o'clock at night. There's just a general tension in the city because of that.

U.S. troops face hostility that is far from their joyous 1994 welcome, AP reporter Paisley Dods wrote in an April 10 article.

The difference is we asked for American help in 1994," said Rodny Jean-Baptiste, a 32-year-old gas station attendant. "Today, the U.S. troops aren?t bringing anybody back, and they?re not really helping."

"Right now there is a political climate in Haiti where anyone can get on the radio stations and accuse anyone else of a crime or with being associated with violent Lavalas gangs. It means that without proof they can say this about you and immediately you have to go into hiding, and immediately you have to be concerned with your own welfare; and immediately the death threats begin. That's the political climate that you have in Haiti today."

- disarmament of the rebels is going incredibly slowly, with just 150 rifles collected so far

- the capital is without electricity and water

We had also heard from different groups we had interviewed that about 60 bodies were found in a field in Port-au-prince near a very poor neighborhood. The group rushed down there to see what we could see. Didn't find any bodies where we were told we would find them, and interviewed some neighbors near the field, and they told us that the bodies had just been moved two days before to about a quarter mile away and were burned. So we headed down there and found a massive pile of ashes, pigs eating human flesh off human bones that didn't burn.

- It's even worse outside of Port-au-Prince. The militias are acting completely unrestrained and there is no other authority. Around 50 people are being murdered in Cap Haitien.

- the US picked administration has cut public spending from $30m per month to just $6m. The UN has only collected $7m out of the $35m of aid it promised. They've said that "Unless we get additional funding quickly, we will begin to see malnutrition rates, especially among children and poor families headed by women, rise in the next few months,"

- the economy that was stable and slightly expanding pre-coups has gone into complete collapse with massive price rises.

They can't talk to each other because they don't know what side people are on and people literally disappear. Rebels take them, they're killed and bodies wash up on the seashores.

There's no police no government. Each town in Haiti is being run by little armies and they're all armed.

Although we get all these press reports that the us is there and disarming people and everything is fine. There is no disarmament. The rebels are still in charge and they're in for the long haul.

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2004/5/4/214749/3644

Apologies for the long cut and paste, editor. But I thought this needed telling.

 

[sihhi]

Apparently investigations are starting in Aristide's corruption.

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/world/8717655.htm

 

[Sorry.]

Interesting article on counterpunch

http://www.counterpunch.com/robinson05222004.html

Apparently the US and CARICOM have had a massive falling out. The latter is steadfastly refusing to recognise their usurper prince Gerard Latortue because it only admits democratically elected heads of state.

The US is throwing its toys out of the pram and Connie Rice is levelling all sorts of threats at Jamaica for daring to host Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2004/5/25/4431/90722

more analysis here.

so much for freedumunduhmocracah

 

[sihhi]

MONTREAL -- T-shirt maker Gildan Activewear Inc. is closing a major facility in Honduras that has been at the centre of a controversy over allegations of poor treatment of workers.

Company officials said yesterday the decision to shut the El Progreso plant, which employs about 1,800, is not connected to allegations regarding labour practices and is being made solely because of cost considerations.

"It's purely an economically driven decision in light of our commitment to constantly driving down our cost structure," chief financial officer Laurence Sellyn said.

"It became our highest-cost facility as we added sewing capacity in Haiti and Nicaragua," he said.

But an official with a workers' rights group yesterday questioned the logic of Gildan's decision to shut the factory, saying it's hard to believe the move isn't related to the fact that workers have been trying to organize a union at El Progreso.

"What kind of message does this send to the workers? You try to organize a union, you try to exercise your internationally recognized rights and what happens? The plant is shut down," said Lynda Yanz, a co-ordinator at the Toronto-based Maquila Solidarity Network.

Montreal-based Gildan employs about 5,000 people in Honduras, a favoured location for the garment trade because of its low-cost labour. Total worldwide employment at Gildan is about 9,500.

Gildan recently joined the Fair Labor Association, a U.S.-based labour rights organization that has prepared a report based on an independent audit of company practices in Honduras.

A second report, based on an audit that was done without the company's collaboration, has also been prepared by another group, the Worker Rights Consortium.

Mr. Sellyn said Gildan has addressed several of the concerns raised in the FLA report, but he would not disclose what they are, saying only that they weren't major.

However, the Quebec Federation of Labour's Solidarity Fund, the province's biggest labour fund, conducted its own investigation last year and concluded that Gildan fired about 40 workers involved in union organizing at the El Progreso facility.

The fund is selling its 11.2-per-cent stake in Gildan in protest.

More background here

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=54&ItemID=5091

 

[bigfish]

Human Rights Horrors in Haiti

http://globalresearch.ca/articles/FEN407A.html

by*Anthony Fenton

globalresearch 28* July 2004

“Morgue employees from the General Hospital in Port au Prince have revealed that 800 bodies on Sunday, March 7, and another 200 bodies on Sunday, March 28 were dumped and buried in a mass grave at Titanyen. These figures are unusual for such a short period of time [100 is normal for a month].”

 

[sihhi]

Very serious flooding going on.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=587483&section=news

And this from Le monde diplomatique about labour organisation in the brand new post-Aristide Haiti:

On 2 March 2004, with the country in a power vacuum following Aristide’s departure, Grupo M fired 34 union members, with militiamen from northern Haiti’s "rebel army" on hand to crush resistance

A new contract was urgently needed. Codevi employees were being made to work from Monday to Saturday, often doing 55 hours instead of the official 48, with no overtime money. "You can’t ask questions,"says Etienne. "If you do, they put your name down so they can fire you." Recalcitrants were called into the back room: "You’re locked in there for hours, guarded by armed thugs. They put the air conditioning on full blast to make it uncomfortable." Female workers are given a mysterious injected "vaccination" every two months and many have complained of irregular and unnaturally long periods; there has been an abnormally high rate of unexplained miscarriages among Codevi workers.

http://mondediplo.com/2004/09/10ouanaminthe

 

[Sorry.]

the union at the Grupo M factory is Batay Ouvriye ("Workers' Fight") who are very militant.

interview with spokesperson

statement on the coup d'etat from may '04

their website

 

[sihhi]

the union at the Grupo M factory is Batay Ouvriye ("Workers' Fight") who are very militant.

It seems they are being silenced by the threat of the FTZ.

 

[sihhi]

Serious trouble could be starting in Cite Soleil.
Violence between pro- and anti-Arsitides.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N12704901.htm

Since the end of September, about 50 people have been killed, including 40 in Port-au-Prince slums that are strongholds of support for Aristide. Five of the dead were police.

Just terrible.

 

[chegrimandi]

massive poverty, violence, flooding, now more violence......

'UN officials, aid workers and journalists all agree that the security situation in Haiti - the key to the country's political stability - is getting worse.
The capital, Port-au-Prince, has been scene to frequent gun battles and even beheadings over the last few days, and at least 45 people have been killed. '


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3743376.stm

poor people of haiti what did they do to deserve this....

 

[nino_savatte]

Now then, remind me why the US wanted Aristide toppled? Then there's our resident Randist who claimed that it was all being done in the name of the usual freedom and democracy bollocks.

 

[sihhi]

Interesting piece with a little about a Republican Party funded group aiding anti-Aristide businessmen and their armed gangs.
http://www.world-crisis.com/analysis_comments/987_0_15_0_C/

Meanwhile some violence still going on.
Against the pro-Latortue police-

http://www.haiti-info.com/article.php3?id_article=3043

And even between rebel groups

http://www.haiti-info.com/article.php3?id_article=3017

 

[nino_savatte]

Former PM, Yvon Neptune close to death

Neptune has been on hunger strike for the last few weeks and is close to death. He was imprisoned for no other reason than his association with Aristide.

http://www.workers.org/2005/world/yvon-neptune-0519/

Yvon Neptune, Aristide’s prime minister, stayed in Haiti after the coup, during the transition to the regime of Gerard Latortue, the de facto, U.S.-approved, illegal prime minister.

His efforts at compromise were spur ned by the new regime. He was quickly thrown into prison on accusations of participating in a massacre which many believe never happened. He has not been formally charged with any crime.

Amy Goodman's interview with Aristide
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=7836

 

[phildwyer]

When I was there in '96, I encountered several large American men who described themselves as "the President's bodyguards." I thought it was a bit odd at the time, but all became clear with the coup. One Haitian problem that no-one has mentioned yet is widespread starvation in the countryside. This really might be a case where large-scale intervention by outside forces is called for. Better the UN than the US, but someone is going to have to do something.

 

[Main Street]

Apparently investigations are starting in Aristide's corruption.

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/world/8717655.htm

no I messed up, got wrong end of the stick. Oops.

 

[nino_savatte]

Harrowing story from The Guardian. Children being sold in sex and slavery.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1575268,00.html?gusrc=rss

Jesus sits quietly as Father Pedro Ruquoy, who runs a refuge near Barahona, tells how he escaped from the family and ran away to a local hospice. When he arrived his neck was twisted from carrying heavy loads on his shoulder and the marks on his slender torso suggested ill-treatment. The Dominican family found out where he was and came to the hospice demanding either his return or 10,000 pesos for the loss. "They used him as a slave," says Mr Ruquoy. "And they tortured him."

Nobody knows quite how many Haitian children like Jesus there are in the Dominican Republic. A Unicef report in 2002 put the figure at around 2,500, although some NGOs think it might be twice that. Most boys under the age of 12 end up begging or shoe shining and giving their proceeds to gang leaders; most girls of that age are used as domestic servants. Older boys are taken to work in construction or agriculture; teenage girls often end up in prostitution.

 

[nino_savatte]

I realise this is an ancient thread but Haiti seems to have dropped from most news broadcasts, not worthy of even appearing on the scrolling bar on 24 news channels. They're too obsessed with Britney Spears 'immuring' herself, I suppose.

Depsite the UN presence, armed gangs still rule.

Many here had hoped for stabilization after the election last February of President René Préval, a soft-spoken agronomist who held the presidency from 1996 to 2001 and who promised reconciliation among 100 political parties. But crime has soared under Préval, exacting its heaviest toll on the poor and working class, who cannot afford ransoms or the bodyguards and bulletproof vehicles that shield every movement of Haiti's entrenched elite.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/20/AR2007022001871.ht

ml

 

[TAE]

 

[nino_savatte]

I think, that while the US wrings its hands over Haiti, it isn't too concerned so long as all the signs are in place: the 'democratically elected' government; the UN presence and so on. It's a disgrace that the first ever nation created by former slaves should end up in the condition that it's in. But then, the European imperialist powers (Britain and France, aided by the young US), caused this to happen by constructing an image of a pariah state created by a subhuman race whose only purpose was to serve the white man (they imposed sanctions and blockades on the new country too). How dare they demand self-determination? A demonisation and dehumanisation of the Haitians persists to this day: savage voodoo worshippers who flee their country to take advantage of the US economy.

The US will continue to wirng its hands and chuck money at the ruling elites of the country, but the problem will persist, sadly.

 

[colacho]

Yes, fucking outrageous. The Dominican Republic is bad enough --not least in its racist approach to Haitians-- but Haiti is a total disaster, constantly fucked over by jerks who claim to have its "best interests" at heart. And then you land in San Juan, PR, and see what a US funded Caribbean actually looks like.... Nuff said.

I think, that while the US wrings its hands over Haiti, it isn't too concerned so long as all the signs are in place: the 'democratically elected' government; the UN presence and so on. It's a disgrace that the first ever nation created by former slaves should end up in the condition that it's in. But then, the European imperialist powers (Britain and France, aided by the young US), caused this to happen by constructing an image of a pariah state created by a subhuman race whose only purpose was to serve the white man (they imposed sanctions and blockades on the new country too). How dare they demand self-determination? A demonisation and dehumanisation of the Haitians persists to this day: savage voodoo worshippers who flee their country to take advantage of the US economy.

The US will continue to wirng its hands and chuck money at the ruling elites of the country, but the problem will persist, sadly.

 

[nino_savatte]

Chavez looks set to embrace Haiti

Looks like Hugo is courting Haiti in part of his drive to form a counter-hegemonic bloc to the US in the Carribbean and not before time too.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has opened a new front in his anti-American offensive: Haiti.

Long overlooked by Venezuela's burgeoning foreign aid program in Latin America, Haiti received a visit last week by Chavez. It was the first time he had set foot in the Caribbean nation.

He left after signing a $100-million assistance package, including cheap oil, medical support, airport construction and electricity generation.


http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/22/Worldandnation/Chavez_courts_Haiti_w.shtml

Further down the article is this:

While relations between Preval and the Bush administration are good, Haiti is upset over the number of Haitians being deported from the United States to Haiti. Some are hardened criminals accused of violence and kidnapping in Haiti's slums.

Hmmm, so once again, the US is happy to return anyone to Haiti, while it clings on to anyone who flees Cuba. In this case the Bush regime embraces one sort of criminal while rejecting another.

 

[phildwyer]

Looks like Hugo is courting Haiti in part of his drive to form a counter-hegemonic bloc to the US in the Carribbean and not before time too.

Haiti won't be much of an asset to his bloc though.

 

[nino_savatte]

Haiti won't be much of an asset to his bloc though.

If you're thinking purely in capitalistic terms, then no. But he is trying to win hearts and minds, something that US has steadfastly refused to do since Haiti became independent.

 

[likesfish]

the US has tried repeatedly to sort out Haiti taking a short term maximum effort approach always failed probably needs an old style colonial government to get the place back on its feet
majority of the populace have little o no education the educated ones are as the ngos termed them MRE's morally repugnant elite

 

[nino_savatte]

the US has tried repeatedly to sort out Haiti taking a short term maximum effort approach always failed probably needs an old style colonial government to get the place back on its feet
majority of the populace have little o no education the educated ones are as the ngos termed them MRE's morally repugnant elite

Your knowledge of the history of Haiti is woeful and smacks of the official line disseminated by the US. If you knew anything about the country's history, you will know that the UK and France, aided by the US, did everything it could to destroy the country from birth. Haiti was forced to pay France huge reparations for property that it confiscated from the colonial authorities, while the slaves got nothing.

The US has done nothing but undermine and bully Haiti. It occupied the country between 1915 and 1936 and put into practice the racism that it used so effectively at home.

 

[likesfish]

didn't mean historically or that they'd been any good at it but they have intervened several times in recent years then fucked off without really achieving much it would take a massive influx of cash and people to make a difference in Haiti

 

[nino_savatte]

didn't mean historically or that they'd been any good at it but they have intervened several times in recent years then fucked off without really achieving much it would take a massive influx of cash and people to make a difference in Haiti

The US has never intervened in Haiti for humanitarian reasons. as I said earlier, it did all that it could to strangle the country from birth. The US didn't take kindly to a load of free slaves on an island a few hundred miles away because it feared that a slave revolt of the same magnitude might erupt in the US.

 

[likesfish]

er in the 1980s and the 1990s I don't think they were worried about free slaves more like massive numbers of desperate boat people

 

[nino_savatte]

er in the 1980s and the 1990s I don't think they were worried about free slaves more like massive numbers of desperate boat people

Their attitude to Haiti stems from its 19th century resentments...or would you doubt that? People fleeing Cuba are always given sanctuary, while Haitians are always sent back.

 

[likesfish]

I think its more to do with Cuba fleeing evil communism
haiti anti commies and now a liberal democracy or some such rubbish