19979: radtime: Aristide Under Lock & Key, U.S. Delegation Says (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: radtimes <resist@best.com>

From: "A.N.S.W.E.R." <answer@action-mail.org>
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004
Subject: [ANSWER] HAITI ACTION ALERT: Aristide Under Lock & Key,
  U.S. Delegation Says

HAITI ACTION ALERT:
Aristide Under Lock & Key, U.S. Delegation Says

*take action to get the word out*

Dear friends,

We would like to encourage you help circulate the following press release
on breaking news regarding the status of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, who is being held virtually incommunicado on the instructions of
U.S. authorities. We have established an easy-to-use system that will allow
you to send the press release to the local and national media of your
choice. This system also will allow you to send a brief customized message,
if you would like, to the media outlet(s) you choose. By working together
around the country, we can encourage and/or pressure the media to pursue
this story.

Thousands of people in Haiti have risked life and limb in recent days to
demonstrate in Port-au-Prince in support of the return of the
democratically elected president of Haiti and in opposition to the U.S.
coup d'etat and occupation. Take a few moments to help circulate this press
release to show solidarity with the Haitian people.

Below is the press release, entitled "Aristide Under Lock & Key, U.S.
Delegation Says." Below the press release is the link for the easy-to-use
system that allows you to send out this press release to the media outlets
of your choice.

ARISTIDE UNDER LOCK & KEY,
U.S. DELEGATION SAYS

March 7, 2004

A delegation from the United States has arrived in the Central African
Republic to meet with overthrown Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
President Aristide was taken involuntarily to the Central African Republic
following a U.S. coup d'etat on February 28. The group was granted visas on
Thursday and Friday and departed the United States on Friday evening.

The delegation includes Kim Ives from the Haiti Support Network, and
Johnnie Stevens and Sara Flounders from the International Action Center.
Ives, Flounders and Stevens are representing former U.S. Attorney General
Ramsey Clark. Also on the delegation are Brian Concannon, acting in the
capacity of President Aristide's lawyer; and Katherine Kean, a friend of
President Aristide.

Kim Ives, a personal friend of Jean-Bertrand and Mildred Aristide, said
"This morning, the delegation went to the Palace of the Renaissance, the
presidential compound where President Aristide is being held." Mr. Ives had
spoken to the Foreign Minister on Thursday to inform him that the
delegation was coming to the Central African Republic to meet with
President Aristide.

"We were stopped at the gates by a guard who contacted a Central African
Republic official inside the building. A representative of the Central
African Republic came out to speak with us," Ives reported. "We asked to go
in to visit President Aristide and were told we could not. We asked if he
could come out to see us, and we were told no. We asked if we could send in
a note or our phone number, and we were told no. The official then told us
that he had spoken with the Minister of Defense and that Aristide was not
allowed to receive visitors."

Mr. Ives also reported that he placed a call to the cell phone that the
Aristides have been using to place calls to their friends, attorneys and
the media. "Mildred Aristide answered the phone. I said, 'Hello Mildred,
this is Kim Ives, we are here.' At that point, the phone line went dead. We
have tried to call many times since then but there has been no answer."

Brian Concannon is also a member of the delegation, acting in the capacity
of President Aristide's attorney. Standing outside the gates of the
compound where President Aristide is being held, Mr. Concannon requested to
meet with President Aristide alone for a consultation. This was also denied.

"The world has been told that President Aristide is free to come and go,
and that he has simply chosen not to leave," said Sara Flounders of the
International Action Center. "The fact that our delegation has been denied
all forms of contact with President Aristide confirms, in fact, that he is
being kept under lock and key, at this point not even able to communicate
by phone."

"The U.S. and French governments chose to take Aristide to the Central
African Republic, a formerly colonized and impoverished country," said
Johnnie Stevens of the International Action Center. "The Central African
Republic, similar to many formerly colonized countries in Africa and around
the world, has been isolated and underdeveloped because of the past
policies of France, the U.S. and other colonial and neo-colonial powers.
The U.S. and France should be paying reparations to the Central African
Republic."

* * * * *

HELP CIRCULATE THIS PRESS RELEASE TO SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH THE HAITIAN PEOPLE

Click on the following link to send an e-mail to your local and national
media outlets urging them to cover this important story:
http://www.capwiz.com/votenowar/issues/alert/?alertid=5296001&type=ME

After you click on the link, simply follow the easy-to-understand
instructions. You will first enter your zip code and press "go." You will
be taken to a list of media outlets. You can select the media outlets you
want to send to and then choose "compose a message." You can then add your
customized message (if you would like) and send the email.

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

Email circulated by:
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.InternationalANSWER.org
info@internationalanswer.org
Washington 202-544-3389
New York 212-633-6646
Los Angeles 213-487-2368
San Francisco 415-821-6545