18898: (Hermantin)SunSentinel-Group to march in Miami for bigger U.S. role in Americas (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Group to march in Miami for bigger U.S. role in Americas

By Tal Abbady and Sandra Hernandez
Staff Writers

February 20, 2004

Overcoming the cultural, racial and economic barriers that often keep
immigrant groups in separate enclaves, a fledgling alliance of Haitians,
Cubans, Venezuelans and Peruvians will hit the streets of Miami on Saturday
to protest what it calls the spread of despotic rule in the Americas.

The recently formed Coalition of the Americas hopes to rally thousands of
pro-democracy marchers at the Bayfront Park Amphitheater to call for a more
active U.S. role in restoring order to the region.

The march coincides with escalating civil unrest in Haiti and Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez's ongoing battle with opposition members who are
calling for a referendum vote.

Haitian activists hope to use the long-established lobbying power and media
presence of Cuban-American groups to spread their anti-Aristide message,
just as Venezuelans have gained policymakers' ears in Washington, D.C., and
organized marches against the pro-Castro Chávez by partnering with
Cuban-American exiles.

"What we're all searching for is liberty. Our countries have dictators in
different ways. In Venezuela and Haiti, they are dictators using the shield
of democracy," said Samir Mourra, an organizer who heads the group Patri,
which is Creole for "country."

"Haitians here have kept themselves isolated. But now, timidly, they're
opening up," he said of the community's gradual political education and
involvement in grassroots activity. "The Cubans have welcomed us with open
arms."

Gonzalo Salazar, a developer who lives in Weston and is a member of the
coalition, said he hopes to draw attention to the situation in Peru, where
President Alejandro Toledo's government, riddled with corruption scandals,
has had little success at improving the economy.

Salazar refuted those who say that the Venezuelan, Haitian and Peruvian
leaders are legitimate. "Just because a government was democratically
elected does not give it the right to trample the constitution, " he said.

Among the Venezuelan organizers is Luis Pina, a former Chávez supporter who
now opposes the embattled leader.

"You have never had so many different communities join together to ask for
democracy. We want to alert people that in the Americas, democracy is at
risk. In Venezuela, there isn't democracy. In Haiti, you have a civil war,
and in Cuba you have a case where for 45 years they have been deprived of
their freedoms," Pina said.

The coalition reflects, some experts say, a broadening of the political
scope of Cuban Americans to include the plight of other groups, even if the
anti-Castro message is never far from sight.

"Cubans have often complained about the lack of support from other
countries," said Uva de Aragon, associate director of the Cuban Research
Institute at Florida International University. "But I don't think they've
been actively supportive of other people in need. ... They have a large
population, and they can help the Haitians and Venezuelans lobby the way
they've learned to. ... What all these people have in common is that they
cannot live in their countries."

Analysts also say there is good reason for the broad coalition's concerns.

"Polls across the region show enormous disenchantment," said Adam Isacson of
the Center for International Policy, a research group in Washington, D.C.
"This level of instability is as high as it has been in the region."

Tal Abbady can be reached at tabbady@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6624.
Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

_________________________________________________________________
Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee when you click here.
http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963