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River of Haitians march to stop the attacks on President Aristide and the Lavalas movement
January 10, 2013
On Jan. 9, MASSIVE demonstrations throughout Haiti supported former President Aristide after he was summoned to court on frivolous charges seen as political persecution. People say that putting Aristide on trial is the same as putting the Haitian masses on trial and that the charges are meant to divert attention from the third earthquake anniversary and the theft of billions in aid. Speak out against the Red Cross for building a luxury hotel with aid funds. Rally Friday, Jan. 11, 4:30-5:30 p.m., outside Red Cross headquarters, 3901 Broadway, near MacArthur BART, Oakland.
UPDATE: Haitians protect Aristide from attack on Lavalas
January 3, 2013
In what is clearly a continuation of the Feb. 29, 2004, U.S. instigated coup d’etat against Haiti, former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has been called before Martelly’s handpicked government prosecutor Lucmane Delile in what is widely believed to be an attempt by Martelly, the U.S. and France to wage a campaign of political persecution against Aristide, Fanmi Lavalas, and the democratic process and progress in Haiti.
Resistance to Martelly regime grows in Haiti
November 16, 2012
Haitian President Michel Martelly has managed to inspire popular opposition to his regime almost since his election in May 2011. Martelly, who came to office in a grossly unrepresentative process which excluded Lavalas, the country’s most popular party, has been closely linked with figures around former dictator Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier.
Wanda’s Picks for October 2012
October 5, 2012
Judith Jamison looked regal on stage with Farai Chideya last month in The Forum Conversations at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Her message seemed to be one of preparedness and presence – being, as our sister Ayana Vanzant says, in spirit. Muslims call this the sirata-l-mustaqim or the path of the rightly guided.
Outsiders EXPECT burning tires in Haiti … not accurate reporting
September 28, 2012
Friday, Sept. 21, saw yet another in a series of large demonstrations across Haiti against what many protestors called “the corruption of the Martelly regime.” Not a single U.S. news outlet filed a story in English on the demonstrations. Most conspicuously absent in their coverage was The Miami Herald.
Pan African delegation petitions ICC to prosecute NATO war crimes
July 17, 2012
The Pan African Solidarity Hague Committee delivered a petition to the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 18. The petition demands that the ICC prosecute the U.S., Britain, France, Italy, Canada and NATO for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Haiti’s elected mayors illegally replaced by presidential appointees
February 27, 2012
The 1987 Constitution has not only thwarted a return to a dictatorship, but also prevented foreign concerns from buying the country wholesale from officials of the executive branch. One of the proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution stated: “From now on, until the municipal elections of 2013, all Haiti’s mayors will be replaced by ‘Municipal Agents’ designated by the central government.”
‘Harvest of Hope’: Kevin Pina documentary on Haitian army, with review by Dady Chery
December 16, 2011
Haitian President Michel Martelly has revived discussion about a professional army, and some of the funds he is requesting to raise his “new” army are meant to cover back pay for the army of bandits disbanded by President Aristide. For those who never knew or forgot the crimes of the FAd’H, this masterful video by Kevin Pina should serve as an excellent introduction or reminder.
Martelly still unable to appoint new prime minister
September 7, 2011
Port au Prince (IPS) – Almost three months since he was sworn in as the country’s president, Michel J. Martelly has already attempted to appoint two prime ministers to guide his government. Bernard Gousse, a minister of justice under the Gérard Latortue dictatorship (2004-2006), and businessman Daniel Rouzier were both rejected by Haitian lawmakers.
Haiti: Medics and Lavalas supporters in Port-au-Prince celebrate birthday of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
July 22, 2011
On July 15, 2011, to mark the 58th birthday of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a gathering of volunteer medical doctors and nurses provided a free medical clinic in Port-au-Prince. This year was special because of the return of Haiti’s first democratically elected and twice ousted president.
Haiti: the next round
July 17, 2011
On March 18, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his family returned home from a seven-year forced exile in South Africa – an exile brought about by the violent U.S.-orchestrated coup in 2004. Up until the last minute, the U.S. government tried to stop the return, with President Obama going so far as to place a last-minute call to President Zuma of South Africa.
Why Bernard Gousse should not be Haiti’s next prime minister
July 9, 2011
In 2004, I was in Haiti living under the injustice Bernard Gousse inflicted on his own people while serving the Haitian elite and the “international community.” Like many of Gousse’s victims, I was driven into hiding after the arrest of the late Father Gerard Jean-Juste, a prominent Lavalas leader and human rights activist.
Haiti: The emperor has no votes
June 6, 2011
On April 4, the Haitian government announced that Michel Martelly won the recent fraudulent “elections” imposed on Haiti by the United States, France and Canada, the so-called “international community,” and sanctioned by the United Nations. Haiti now finds itself at a crossroads.
Joyous victory in a bitter time: Haiti before and after Aristide’s return
April 15, 2011
The bitter taste of the dismal elections in Haiti could not diminish the joy of the return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his family after seven years of forced exile in South Africa.
Pierre Labossiere on welcoming Aristide home to Haiti
April 10, 2011
“I was at his (President Aristide’s) house, we heard a roar of shouts of joy, and then over the walls people started coming in, pouring into the courtyard of the house when they saw the car. People were accompanying the car as many as three miles from the airport to his house,” relates Pierre Labossiere of the jubilant welcome that greeted the Aristides on their return to Haiti ending seven long years of exile for them and brutal repression of the people they had to leave behind. Pierre tells the story of the Haitian people and how their never-say-die spirit continues to inspire the world.
Against all odds Aristide returns to Haiti
March 19, 2011
Aristide returned to Haiti today. I’ve not seen such genuine happiness on the faces of Haiti’s poor in over seven years. Welcome, President Jean Bertrand Aristide and family. Today is a good day for the poorest of the poor. Blessed be the endless Haiti revolution against the organized tyranny of the “civilized” and “schooled” peoples. On this day, we remember the sacrifice of the warriors who took up arms in self-defense against the occupation and coup d’etat. We recall the 20,000 slaughtered by the coup regime from 2004 to 2006, slaughtered with the complicity of U.N./U.S. firepower.
The return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti
March 18, 2011
Join the rally Friday, March 18, 4:30, at UN Plaza, San Francisco, to celebrate the return of President Aristide to his homeland after almost seven years of forced exile, following a coup orchestrated by the U.S., France, Canada and Haitian elites.
Waiting for Aristide
March 1, 2011
In this new documentary short, released to coincide with the seventh anniversary of the 2004 coup d’etat in Haiti, independent filmmaker Paul Burke asks Haitians what they would say to President Obama about the return of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti.
Haiti: Annul the elections
February 23, 2011
This “run-off” presidential election, scheduled for March 20, helps to explain the re-emergence of Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier, since both candidates, Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly, have links to the Duvalier past. Manigat’s husband is said to have advised Duvalier to create the dreaded tonton macoutes. And Martelly, who was himself a tonton macoute in his youth, has pledged to make Duvalier one of his advisers. Join the Haiti Action Committee for “Seven Years after the Coup in Haiti: Democracy at the Crossroads” at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland, on Tuesday, March 1, 7 p.m.
In Haiti, reliving Duvalier, waiting for Aristide
February 5, 2011
The return of Jean Claude Duvalier, “Baby Doc,” to Haiti as a free man was excruciating to veterans of the struggle that overthrew the 30-year dictatorship. The traumatizing symbolism of Duvalier’s return at Haiti’s weakest hour is an insult to the dead and an assault on the living.