18182: White: Students: the latest victims of AP/Reuters distortions (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Randall White <raw@haitiaction.org>

It's been quite a week for the Master of Confusion. Just a couple
hours ago CNN was reporting big demonstrations in Haiti today (1/31)
apparently all was calm-no demonstrations anywhere-that footage
wasn't due to hit until tomorrow evening...

Also, of note in todays news, is where the Washington Post-who was
interviewing Pierre Marie Michel Paquiot (who is now consorting with
the money behind the Coup of 91, and took over a month to figure out
what his version of the events of Dec 5th was supposed to be)-was
able to botch their story to make it look like Renel Victor was a
"student" who died as a result of being at the University on Dec 5.
"What the heck, folks are confused anyways."

Looks like someone was able to steal his body and turn him into a
time traveller after all.

If you are having a hard time trying to figure out what happened in
the bizarre and tragic events surrounding the accidental death of
Renel Victor. Don't feel alone, and don't wait for AP or Reuters to
provide you with an accurate account, they have no intention of
getting this one right.

First of all, my prayers go out to the family and wife of Renel
Victor, a Fanmi Lavalas activist. May his spirit find rest and may
the spirits of his family find solace. Anyone who has evil designs as
a result of this tragedy should find that their spirit is troubled
instead.

If you're fortunate enough to be a reader of AHP (who BTW, Charles
Arthur, of Haiti Support Group, considers to be "entirely unreliable
and biased") you would have a better understanding of the events. As
I heard it, President Aristide met with his wife and offered prayers
as well.

The interesting item to note is that on Wednesday, it was made clear
that Renel was definitely not a student, nor was he an opposition
demonstrator. It eventually came out that he was, most likely, one of
the OP counter-demonstrators who were *exchanging* abuse and rocks
with opposition demonstrators. OP activists brought him to a more
distant hospital, as the closer one was closed under threat of
opposition reprisals. *Probably* contributing to his death.

One of the really bizarre events was when Andre Apaid was able to
convince "some students and Professor Aviol Fleurant from the Law
School" to LIE-as he-"soon after the incidents, presented the victim
in turn as a student at the Law School, at the Medical School or at
the GOC University.

Mr. Fleurant found himself almost immediately afterwards
acknowledging that he was unaware of the identity of the person he
said he knew." (AHP) Andre Apaid had an exigency plan if anyone was
killed or injured, and they tried to steal the body of this Lavalas
activist to do some evil. And on it goes.

Like I said this is all *old news* the reason that I'm pointing it
out here, is that while Michael Norton and his compatriots might be
able to float "plausable deniability" for Wednesday's story, it
appears that they haven't made any attempt to correct the story.
They're still trying to claim that-without any mention of Renel
Victor's real affiliation-that he is still a "student."

Now that the entire event has blown up in their face (I'm speaking of
the designs of the corporate media here, not the opprobrious and
oppressively opportunistic opposition) they are trying to figure out
how to mutate the lies into some twisted version that they can still
exploit for their own evil designs-as evidenced by the aforementioned
Washington Post article.

Of course, if there is a retraction or "clarification," I'm sure-the
ever faithful -Greg Chamberlain will post it up to this list. Thanks
in advance, Mr. Chamberlain.

But the story has already done it's damage, I've yet, to see a
correct account of this "newsworthy event" in the corporate media. On
Wednesday, NPR sent out the scurrilous Michael Norton version to
their liberal audience, and I haven't heard a retraction of their's
either.

In any case here's the AP/Reuters fabrications so far:

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

18167<< WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said...

...In the latest violence, a Haitian university student was killed on
Wednesday after being hit in the torso by a tear gas canister fired by
police as pro- and anti-government protests gripped the poor Caribbean
country.>>

Well after any responsible journalist would know that Renel Victor
*was not* a "student" and was claimed to be FL by his wife (one would
think, at least they would trot out that chimere myth again).  AP and
Reuters are still playing this "student" strategy. "It worked the
first time, let's just bet em to death with it."

Also, pay close attention how Michael Norton manipulates the
affiliations to misconstrue the events:

#18152 << By MICHAEL NORTON

    PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan 28 (AP) -- Police fired warning shots and tear gas
to break up a confrontation between Haitian protesters and their foes in
front of the U.S. Consulate on Wednesday. One student was killed,
apparently when he was struck by a tear-gas grenade.
    The student protesters were demanding that President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide step down. They were met by Aristide partisans who pelted them
with rocks.
    One student was shot and killed near the consulate, apparently by a
gun-fired tear gas grenade that hit him in the back and caused internal
bleeding, said Dr. Eric Cantave, who removed the canister from the
student's back.
    Dozens of students and parents crowded into the capital's main Canape
Vert Hospital, sobbing and shouting anti-government slogans.>>

So...

1. No mention of the victims affiliation in the hope that the
misinformed U.S. audience will assume that the victim was an
opposition "student."

2. Only "Aristide partisans" are throwing rocks. Suuure...

3. Passionate opposition opportunists show up at hospital to lend the
impression that the victim was, in fact, an Anti-Aristide  "student"
that was brutally murdered by the Haitian Police.

This is the assignment that the stringers got and need to fill since
early December. They are figuring out new ways to place it every
opportunity they get.

Looks like Reuters fared a bit better on the 28th, although they
still have victim as "student" and are still using that overinflated
"20,000" figure from that other "student" march. Spin away...

#18153 <<  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A Haitian
university student was killed on Wednesday after being hit in the
torso by a tear gas canister fired by police as pro- and
anti-government protests gripped the poor
Caribbean country.
      The law school student was hit while walking down a street with a
group of young men, chanting support for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide,
shortly after an anti-Aristide demonstration had been dispersed, according
to a Reuters correspondent and doctors.
      The student suffered severe internal injuries and died at Canape Vert
Hospital, doctors at the hospital said.
      The death came on a day of more clashes between police and supporters
and opponents of Aristide. Protesters threw rocks at the police and each
other, and police repeatedly fired tear gas.
      Up to 20,000 marched through Port-au-Prince on Tuesday >>

...gotta get that *spin* in there somehow. As for the "student" march
on Tuesday: at the most there were 5,000 opposition demonstrators
with a few right-wing student groups in there to lend credibility to
the "Let's Just Call Them ALL 'Students'" strategy.

#18134   << PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan 27 (AP) -- More than 15,000 people
demonstrated peacefully against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide >>

#18138 <<PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Up to 20,000
demonstrators marched through Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to call for
the departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. [gratuitous use of
al Queda comparisons in this article as well, as Reuters tries to win
more points in the "Artistic Merit" category]

How can they sleep at night?

RAW