19234: White: Congresswoman Waters Introduces Resolution Supporting Immediate U.S. Assistance to Prevent a Bloodbath in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Randall White <raw@haitiaction.org>

For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Ron Dungee
February 25, 2004
(323) 757-8900

Congresswoman Waters Introduces Resolution Supporting Immediate U.S.
Assistance to Prevent a Bloodbath in Haiti

Washington, D.C.-Today, at a press conference on Capitol Hill, Rep.
Maxine Waters (D-CA) announced that she is introducing a resolution
in Congress condemning the violent activities of thugs and former
members of the Haitian military and requesting that our government
and the international community provide immediate assistance to Haiti
to strengthen the Haitian police so that they can restore law and
order in Haiti. She made the following statement:

"We are not here just to ask the United States to help Haiti for
humanitarian reasons. We are here because the United States
government was actively involved in the creation of this crisis and
has an obligation to do something about it.

"For several years, the United States blocked $145.9 million in
development loans to Haiti by the Inter-American Development Bank.
These loans were supposed to fund health, basic education, rural road
development, potable water and sanitation programs, but the United
States government prevented the money from ever going to Haiti until
the Congressional Black Caucus intervened last year. Denying Haiti
access to basic development assistance further impoverished a poor
population.

"The United States also funded and trained the Haitian military and
the members of the feared death squad known as the Front for the
Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH). When President Aristide
disbanded the Haitian military following his return to Haiti in 1994,
these military officers were never disarmed. Many simply went over
the border into the Dominican Republic. In 2002, the United States
even provided M-16's to the Dominican Republic for use along the
Haitian border.

"Now the former members of Haiti's disbanded army have returned to
Haiti, and they are heavily armed. They have murdered many people in
Cap-Haitien and now control several cities.

"The United States has also maintained a ban on weapons sales to
Haiti. This has left the Haitian police force ill-equipped to
maintain law and order in the face of groups of armed thugs, former
military officers and death squad members. The people of the city of
Saint-Marc are placing boxes, rocks and cars in the roads to protect
themselves from the approaching paramilitary groups.

"Now, these heavily-armed paramilitary groups are on their way to
Port-au-Prince. Unless there is some form of intervention from the
United States and the international community beyond merely securing
their embassies, I fear that there will be a bloodbath in Haiti.

"Today, I am introducing a resolution to require the United States to
support democracy and constitutional rule in Haiti, condemn the
violent activities of thugs and former members of the military, and
work with the United Nations, the Organization of American States and
other countries to provide immediate assistance to Haiti to
strengthen the Haitian police so that they can restore law and order
in Haiti. I am confident that my colleagues will support this
legislation once they know the truth about what is going on in Haiti."

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