20302: Esser: The Crisis in Haiti: Fellowship of Reconciliation Statement Opposing the Coup (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

Democracy Now!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 11, 2004

CONTACT:  Democracy Now!
Jennifer Hyman, 845.358-4601
John Lindsay-Poland, 415.495-6334

The Crisis in Haiti: Fellowship of Reconciliation Statement Opposing
the Coup

WASHINGTON - March 11 - The armed and bloody takeover of Haiti by
thugs carrying U.S.-made weapons should be rejected by all those who
support democracy and reject terrorist methods. The government of
President Jean Bertrand Aristide was fairly and democratically
elected, according to international observers, and should be restored
to office, as well as held accountable for abuses committed by its
agents.

Multiple sources indicate that Jean Bertrand Aristide was forced to
submit a resignation letter, and that he was coerced to leave Haiti
by US officials. As armed Haitian anti-government forces stormed the
countryside in February, killing many civilians, the White House
blocked an attempt by President Aristide to increase his security
guard, which was provided by a US firm on a State Department approved
contract. The chairman of that firm, Kenneth Kurtz, declared that "if
international assistance would have arrived [before Aristide left
Haiti], it would have certainly stabilized the situation."

Instead, the United States sent in troops AFTER Aristide was forced
out, reinforcing his ouster. Despite the killings committed by and
illegal nature of the rebels, the chief of the US military force in
Haiti met with Philippe on March 3, but did not seek to arrest him.

If the coup is allowed to remain, who will govern Haiti? Guy
Philippe, one of the main coup leaders, has been implicated in drug
trafficking, and was trained by US forces in Ecuador in the early
1990s, according to Democracy Now! Philippe, who recently stated that
his model is former Chilean dictator Agosto Pinochet, was a member of
the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH), which
terrorized Haiti during the first coup against Aristide, from 1990 to
1994. Louis Jodel Chamblain, another leader of the current coup, was
convicted in absentia for a massacre committed in 1994, a period when
thousands of Haitians were killed by the military government and by
FRAPH.

Philippe and his followers are well armed. In 2002, the United States
supplied M-16's to the Dominican Republic's armed forces, supposedly
for use along the Haitian border, and deployed 900 U.S. troops at the
border. Many of Philippe's men are now armed with M-16's. As
Congresswoman Maxine Waters has demanded, "The U.S. government must
investigate how these thugs were armed and explain how the M-16's got
into their hands."

Above all, Haiti is a poor country, and the economic well-being of
its people should not be held hostage to political considerations.
During the Aristide government, the United States blocked development
loans worth more than $145 million, effectively feeding the political
opposition to Aristide, who was also limited in economic policy by
restrictions imposed by the International Monetary Fund.

There is a long history of US military and economic intervention in
Haitian affairs. Military interventions occurred in the 1880s, and US
Marines occupied and ran Haiti from 1915 to 1934. The legacy of that
intervention went deep, both because of US racism (Marines called
Haitians "gooks") and because upon its departure, the US military
handed power to a Haitian guard led by Papa "Doc" Duvalier. The
dictatorial reign of Duvalier and his son continued until 1986, when
the popular nonviolent movement led by Aristide toppled the Duvalier
regime.

Members of the Aristide government clearly committed abuses. Even if
reports of the most egregious abuses are true, they do not warrant
the violent overthrow of a democratically elected government. Many
reports of abuses are unclear or contradictory, or lack context about
the actions of anti-government forces, and should be investigated by
an impartial body, such as the United Nations.

The United States has not acted impartially, and should not be
entrusted with such an investigation. The Bush administration's
policy in Haiti has been overseen by Assistant Secretary of State
Roger Noriega, former chief of staff for former senator Jesse Helms,
who was a declared enemy of President Aristide.

President Aristide's would not be the only government - including
ones supported by the United States - to have committed abuses.
However, the international community has legal means of investigating
and addressing abuses, which do not include supporting or fomenting
coup d'etats.

Language matters. Most mainstream observers do not say "coup" to
describe what has happened in Haiti, and if those installed to govern
Haiti are accepted as legitimate, then the ouster by violence of a
democratically elected government will appear to be something other
than a coup.

We encourage FOR members to read and watch news accounts of Haiti
critically. Those quoted and sources of information in US mass media
are mostly, in some cases exclusively, US military and others who
support the coup against Aristide.

What you can do:

Support the Congressional Black Caucus's efforts to find out what
role the United States played in the coup that removed President
Aristide from Haiti, by contacting the office of your Member of
Congress to urge support for these efforts. Congressional
Switchboard: 202-224-3121.

John Kerry has criticized the Bush administration's handling of the
crisis, but has not specified what he will do to support democratic
government in Haiti. Ask the campaign of John Kerry to clearly state
his rejection of the coup in Haiti, and to describe what his
administration will do to restore democratic rule. You can contact
the Kerry campaign at John Kerry for President, Inc. 901 15th Street,
NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20005; 202-712-3000; 202-712-3001 (fax);
info@johnkerry.com .

Write letters to the editor of local newspapers condemning the
US-supported coup, and urge Congress to speak out in support of the
right of democratically elected presidents to complete their terms.

Sources for further information:
http://www.democracynow.org/static/haiti.shtml
.