18394: White: Re: 18376: Amywile: : Where is Aristide? (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Randall White <raw@haitiaction.org>

<< From: Amywile@aol.com
---------------------------------------

Where is President Aristide, and why does he not speak? Is this another
vacuum
Has anyone seen him? >>

Amy,

You have to where the People of Haiti are
peaceful to find President Aristide. The
reporters in PaP seem to have no problem finding
the most obscure and insignificant opposition
event. Not even the violence at many of these
events seems to frighten them. They were even
there when Andrè Apaid and NCHR officials were at
the hospital trying to steal the body of a
Lavalas militant and threatening his wife.

  I haven't seen many articles on Saturday's
demonstration in Delmas. He was available for the
press who could have asked him many questions
about the situation in Gonaïves. But the press is
not interested in portraying the President or the
People of Haiti as peaceful, supportive or
determined to have the country and government
they voted for.

Over 100,000 marched on Sunday in commemoration
of Feb 7. This event had been planned for some
time. It's understandable that the press were
preoccupied with the violence in other regions.
In the U.S. the press will be where the President
is to question him about any subject. In Haiti
the corporate media waits for the U.S. State
Department to tell them what they are supposed to
say.

I'm sending the release for what the corporate
media might have had in their reports for
Saturday if they were actually earning their keep:

"Excerpts from President Aristide at Cite Soleil on February 7, 2004"

As for the reports on the violence over the
weekend-besides the initial Marco Trujillo
(Reuters) report yesterday (18366)-we still
haven't gotten an accurate report by the
corporate media from that region. I was surprised
by the appearance of that initial report that
didn't have the typical Aristide bashing spin
(background) on it. This "oversight" was
corrected in the subsequent releases.

Finally, like I said we're still not getting the
correct information from Gonaïves in the
AP/Reuters reports. But I do want to acknowledge
the Washington Post for providing the pretense of
balanced reporting (18378) with:

<< The rebel group calls itself the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance
Front and says it is the armed wing of a civic movement of business
leaders, students and other Haitians who have been calling for
Aristide's resignation for months. >>

[ "armed wing of a civic movement?" How provacative. This IS the story! ]

...and: <<... forming a gang-like network
formerly known as the Cannibal Army. But
at its upper echelons the group appears to be led by former members
of the Haitian military...>>

...which is entirely different that the spin
Michael Norton and his cohorts put on the rebel
groups.

Of course the Washington Post buffered the
"cholesterol reducing" efficacy of that article
with the other story on Page 13. Timing is
everything if it's nothing in the Washinton Post.

Peace,

RAW