19072: White: URGENT ACTION ALERT: Haiti Action Committee 2/23/04 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Randall White <raw@haitiaction.org>

February 23, 2004
Dear supporters of Haiti:

As you know, Haitian democracy is under its
gravest threat since the 1991-1994 dictatorship.
As of this writing, armed groups led by former
Haitian military and FRAPH members have taken
control of Haiti's 2nd and 4th largest cities.
In both places, the terrorists brag to
journalists about hunting down democracy
supporters and police, who are tortured, killed
and mutilated.  They are attacking
Port-au-Prince, and if they succeed there is
every reason to expect a repetition of  Haiti's
last coup d'etat in 1991, when 5,000 Haitians
were killed, and hundreds of thousands tortured
or forced to flee the country.

The Haiti Action Committee encourages everyone
who supports democracy in Haiti or wants to avoid
a repetition of 1991's massive violence, to
contact the State Department and insist that the
U.S. stop the bloodshed in Haiti. Contact
information and a proposed letter is below, and
more background information is below that.  Feel
free to borrow from it or use your own language,
as you think appropriate.   Please send your
letters to Secretary Powell, with copies to the
Haiti Desk officers, and your local Members of
Congress. And fax and call too.  The only way to
avert bloodshed in Haiti is for American citizens
to stand up, today.  For more information about
the situation in Haiti, visit www.haitiaction.org
.

Peace,

Haiti Action Committee

_____________________________________________

Dear Secretary Powell:

I am writing to insist that the U.S. fulfill its
obligations under international law, including
the OAS Charter, and our own democratic
principles to support Haiti's democratically
elected government.  The U.S. can and should stop
the current violence without sending
international troops, by cutting off support to
the armed terrorists and their allies in the
U.S.-supported opposition, and by supporting
Haiti's beleaguered police.

The U.S. should immediately cease all political,
diplomatic financial and logistical support for
the violent opposition and its allies; b)
encourage its allies, especially the Dominican
Republic, to do the same; c) provide support to
the Haitian National Police, including lethal and
non-lethal police supplies, transportation,
operating funds and advice, the insurgency could
be brought under control; d) classify the armed
gangs as terrorist groups under U.S. law and
instruct the Office of Foreign Assets Control to
take immediate enforcement action against the
organizations' members and supporters.

I note that you have publicly condemned the
violence, and expressed support for Haiti's
Constitution and elected officials.  But unless
these words are backed up by concrete actions,
hundreds of Haitians will be killed, thousands
more tortured and displaced, and Haiti's
democratic development will be set back several
years.

I also note that you have explicitly conditioned
U.S. help in Haiti's fight against terrorism on
the Haitian government accepting unconstitutional
power sharing with the opposition. This policy is
little more than the Bush Administration sitting
back and letting murderers and torturers do its
work, work not accomplished through three years
of embargos and financial support for the
opposition.  Such a policy will bring nothing but
shame to the Administration and the American
people.

As you know, the terrorist leaders have long ties
to the U.S., from American training and other
support to Guy Philippe, to support for Louis
Jodel Chamblain's FRAPH organization, and to
training for the former Haitian armed forces
(FADH).  You also know that the terrorists have
received shelter and support from the military in
the Dominican Republic, a close ally and
recipient of generous U.S. support and training.

You are also aware of the links between the
terrorists and the opposition to whom you have
granted a veto.  The opposition, although
distancing itself from the violent methods,
publicly and explicitly supports the violent
groups' goals.  The violent groups have, over the
course of several months, maintained that they
are collaborating with the civilian opposition.
Civilian demonstrations in Port-au-Prince have
been planned to coincide with violent actions,
and have been intentionally provocative, placing
increased pressure on an over-extended police
force.

As someone who has been involved in Haiti for
some time, you are also aware of the extensive
ties between the opposition and past Haitian
dictatorships.  Andre Apaid had his assets frozen
by the U.S. Treasury for his support for the
1991-1994 de facto dictatorship.  As an American
citizen, his support for violent regime change in
Haiti violates the U.S. Neutrality Act.  Another
prominent member of the opposition, Leslie
Manigat, was installed as President by a military
dictatorship in 1987 three months after the
dictatorship cancelled elections by allowing
paramilitary and military massacres at  polling
sites.  Several other members, including Hubert
de Ronceray, were prominent Duvalierists.  Former
dictator Prosper Avril, according to a Miami
Federal Judge, "bears personal responsibility for
a systematic pattern of egregious human rights
abuses in Haiti during his military rule of
September 1988 until March 1990," and has been
indicted in Haitian courts for his role in the
1990 Piatre peasant massacre.

Today is not, unfortunately, the first time that
some elements of the U.S. government have tried
to undermine Haitian democracy.  Our intelligence
services abused training programs for Haiti's
police to recruit operatives, enough to cause the
American director of the training program to
complain.  She was fired (Legal Times, March 1,
1999).  For three years we have imposed sanctions
on Haiti, including a development assistance
embargo and an embargo on police supplies, which
now even includes tear gas.  Although we publicly
criticized the 1991 coup d'etat and the
subsequent dictatorship, we continued to train
the army's soldiers in the U.S., and supported
FRAPH, the paramilitary terrorist group.  Many of
the top coup leaders were paid by the CIA (New
York Times, November 1, 1993).  The CIA tried to
intervene in Haiti's 1987 to undercut the
influence of Mr. Aristide, who was not even a
candidate (the Senate Intelligence Committee
heard about, and stopped, the program.  L.A.
Times, October 30, 1993).  In 1993, U.S.
intelligence helped prepare and circulate a
fraudulent report that President Aristide was
mentally ill.

There is still time for the Administration and
America to come out on the right side of this.
If the U.S. were to take action today, the
insurgency would be soon extinguished.
I  ask you, on behalf of the millions of Haitians
who will be exposed to the cruelty of a coup
d'etat, to act now.

Sincerely,

-----------------------

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT Contact Information:

Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary of State
Fax: 202.647.2283 or 202.647.5169
Phone: 202.647.5291 or 202.647.7098

Mail: U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
E-mail: via http://contact-us.state.gov/ask_form_cat/ask_form_secretary.html

Haiti Desk Officers, U.S. State Department:

Joseph Tilghman
Fax: 202.647.2901
Phone: 202.647.5088
email: tilghmanjf@state.gov

Lawrence Connell
Fax: 202.647.2901
Phone: 202.647.6765
email: ConnellLF@state.gov
___________________________________________________________
Additional Background


Secretary of State Colin Powell has publicly
stated his support for Haiti's Constitution and
its elected officials, but there are reasons to
doubt the U.S. commitment to this position.

1.  The terrorist leaders have strong U.S. connections

The U.S. has long-standing ties to the terrorist
leadership.  The two top leaders, Guy Philippe
and Louis Jodel Chamblain, both received U.S.
help and have been protected by the Dominican
Republic's army, despite several requests for
their return to face charges in Haiti.  The
Dominican army receives extensive U.S.
assistance, including U.S. advisers near the
Haitian border, and a year ago, a shipment of
20,000 M-16 rifles, many of which are believed to
be in use in Haiti today.  Guy Philippe was a
soldier in the Haitian army (FADH) during the
brutal 1991-1994 de facto dictatorship.  He
received specialized U.S. training in Ecuador,
and at U.S. insistence was integrated into the
top police leadership.  He fled in October 2000
after revelations that he was planning a coup
with other top police officials.  He planned two
subsequent coup attempts in 2001.  After the
second attempt he was arrested, but later
released, by Dominican authorities.

Louis Jodel Chamblain was the number two leader
of FRAPH, a violent paramilitary organization
founded with U.S. encouragement in 1993.  The UN,
the U.S. State Department and human rights groups
attribute hundreds of murders and tens of
thousands of other crimes against humanity in
1993 and 1994 to FRAPH.  U.S. government sources
have confirmed the claims of FRAPH's top leader,
Emmanuel Constant, that U.S. intelligence
officials encouraged him in his activities, and
paid him a monthly salary (see
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/06/grann.htm).
Constant has been allowed to live freely in New
York, despite a 1995 deportation order and a 2000
murder conviction.  The Dominican Republic
allowed both Chamblain and Philippe to operate
from its territory.

2.  The U.S. has given a veto to the formal
opposition in Port-au-Prince, which is closely
linked to the armed terrorists.

The so-called civilian opposition is closely
linked to the violent opposition.  Although some
of its members, under U.S. pressure, have
recently distanced themselves from the violent
methods, they continue to publicly and explicitly
support the violent groups' goals.  The violent
groups have, over the course of several months,
maintained that they are collaborating with the
civilian opposition.  Civilian demonstrations in
Port-au-Prince have been planned to coincide with
violent actions, and have been intentionally
provocative, placing increased pressure on an
over-extended police force.  Last weekend,
civilian opposition leaders called for a delay in
responding to the international compromise
proposal, in order to give the terrorists time to
attack Cap Haitian, which they did on Sunday.

The civilian opposition also has extensive ties
to past Haitian dictatorships.  The most
prominent member of the opposition, Andre Apaid,
had his assets frozen by the U.S. Treasury for
his support for the 1991-1994 de facto
dictatorship.  He is an American citizen, whose
support for violent regime change in Haiti
violates the U.S. Neutrality Act.  He acquired
his Haitian citizenship with documents
fraudulently claiming that he was born in Haiti,
when he was born in New York.  He led the fight
to keep the Haitian minimum wage at its current
rate, about $1.60/day.  Another prominent member
of the opposition, Leslie Manigat, was installed
as President by a military dictatorship in 1987
three months after the dictatorship cancelled
elections by allowing paramilitary and military
massacres at  polling sites.  Several other
members, including Hubert de Ronceray, were
prominent Duvalierists.  Others, including Evans
Paul, collaborated with the de facto dictatorship.


3.  The U.S. has explicitly conditioned
assistance for Haiti's Constitutional authorities
on their accepting opposition demands for
unconstitutional transfers of power.

Secretary Powell conditioned U.S. help in Haiti's
fight against terrorism on the Haitian government
accepting a Prime Minister ratified by the U.S.-
supported opposition, not by Parliament, as the
Constitution requires.  This policy is little
more than sitting back and letting murderers and
torturers do our work for us.  It is a violation,
not only of Haiti's Constitution, but of American
democratic principles, and of international law
such as the OAS Charter.

Another condition that the U.S. is trying to
force on the Haitian government is the release of
former dictator Prosper Avril.  A Miami Federal
Judge found that Avril "bears personal
responsibility for a systematic pattern of
egregious human rights abuses in Haiti during his
military rule of September 1988 until March
1990," and awarded some of his victims $43
million in damages because Avril bore "personal
responsibility for the interrogation and torture
of eachŠ."  Last December, Avril was indicted in
Haitian courts for his role in the 1990 Piatre
peasant massacre, and he is being held pending
trial.


4.  The U.S. has a long and shameful history of undermining democracy in Haiti

Although the U.S. has done many things to support
Haitian democracy, it has also persistently
undermined it.  Our intelligence services abused
training programs for Haiti's police as
recruitment centers enough to cause the American
director of the training program to complain.
She was fired (Legal Times, March 1, 1999).  For
three years we have imposed sanctions on Haiti,
including a development assistance embargo and an
embargo on police supplies, which now even
includes tear gas.  Although we publicly
criticized the 1991 coup d'etat and the
subsequent dictatorship, we continued to train
the army's soldiers in the U.S., and supported
FRAPH, the paramilitary terrorist group.  Many of
the top coup leaders were paid by the CIA (New
York Times, November 1, 1993).  The CIA tried to
intervene in Haiti's 1987 election to undercut
the influence of Mr. Aristide, who was not even a
candidate (the Senate Intelligence Committee
heard about, and stopped, the program.  L.A.
Times, October 30, 1993).  In 1993, U.S.
intelligence helped prepare and circulate a
fraudulent report that President Aristide was
mentally ill.