#4840: Métropole: Personalities Denounce Lavalas Power (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>

193 Personalities Denounce Lavalas Power

Close to 200 intellectuals, artists, priests, former
Lavalas leaders denounce in  a petition the
degradation of the socio-political climate.

In this document, the signatories -- among them
Michel Hector, Mireille Pérodin Jérôme, Laënnec
Hurbon, Jean Casimir, Odette Roy Frombrun, Father
William Smarth, the writer Yannick Lahens, Magalie
Marcelin and Gary Victor -- have expressed their
unequivocal opposition to the totalitarian drift of
the current government.

On the one hand, these intellectuals intend to stop
the drift of the current leadership and on the other,
inform all those who are fed up with this situation
that they are not alone. The signatories deplore the
fact that Haitians are forced to flee the country, to
go into exile willy nilly, either to avoid socio-political
insecurity or to seek a better life. The situation that
prevails in the country is not unlike that which
existed in the country during the de-facto military
regimes.

Insecurity, impunity, the disregard for human life are
the many features which characterize daily life and are
denounced by these intellectuals. In addition, they
denounce street demonstrations which are a strange
reminder of FRAPH activities under the military regime.

The signatories denounce the fact that upstanding
and peaceful citizens are taken hostage by the "chimè";
that citizens are the targets of bandits,  because such
citizens  happen to have an opinion contrary to those
of these bandits; that the latter perturb the functioning
of schools, in complete disregard of the sacrifices made
by the parents of schoolchildren; that public resources
are misused and directed to the use of Lavalas in
lieu of the state.

The National Police took charge of the recent elections
in an abusive manner reminiscent of past practices under
the old army. These intellectuals are indignant at the
fact that ballots cast by the people were dumped in
the streets to be collected later by the municipal
authorities by the shovel. They are appaled by the fact
that while those responsible for such actions proclaim
loudly they are the beneficiaries of democracy and peace,
they in fact have no respect  for the people's vote.
As a matter of fact, these usurpers elected to do at
night the dirty work of trampling under foot the
democratic choice of the Haitian people.