21729: Fenton: Labour Delegation to Haiti: Statement (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Anthony Fenton <apfenton@ualberta.ca>

http://dominionpaper.ca/weblog/

Tuesday, May 4th, 2004

From: The International Labor/Religious/Community Fact-Finding
Delegation to Haiti (April 26-May 2nd) organized by the San Francisco
Labor Council

A nine-member international labor/religious/community fact-finding
delegation has just returned from a week spent in Haiti. Its objective was
to assess and report on the current situation of Haitian workers, the
Haitian labor movement, and the state of human rights in that country.
Within this mandate, particular attention was given to understanding the
new realities following the coup d'etat that deposed President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide on 29 February 2004. The brief statement, which
follows, is an initial report on our findings.

The delegation's work focused on interviews with Haitian trade unionists
and workers, as well as political leaders and activists. Part of this time
was spent attending the National Congress of the CTH (the
Confederation of Haitian Workers), the largest labor federation in Haiti
composed of 11 different union federations. Based on these interviews
and discussions, we can report that in the labor movement is in
significant crisis, brought on in large part by the decade-long economic
and political destabilization campaign orchestrated in Washington. The
crisis has become much worse since 29 February, with the campaign of
violence by the US-backed opposition that preceded and followed the
coup. Facing a massive problem of unemployment (estimated at some
70% in the formal economy), the turmoil and economic difficulties of
recent years has only been worsened with the change of government.

The coup regime was formed by a coalition of the unelected political
opposition; the governments of France and the United States; former
Haitian military and paramilitary death squads (FRAPH); and the Haitian
business elite - particularly the "Group 184", led by Andre Apaid. Mr. Apaid,
a US citizen who is known by Haitian workers as the single most
notorious owner of Haitian sweatshop factories, has been a virulent
opponent of unions organizing in his factories. The delegation heard
reports of extremely dire working conditions in the Apaid-owned
sweatshops, with little or no access to safe drinking water, and wages at
the legal minimum of 70 Haitian gourdes (approximately US$1.80) per
day - or less. Those workers courageous enough to attempt the
organization of trade unions face dismissal. Clearly, Mr. Apaid and his
clique are no supporters of Haiti's workers or their labor movement.

The coup also led to serious attacks on Haiti's trade unions. The
delegation heard reports from one union, the FTPH (Federation of Public
Transport Workers of Haiti), of criminal attacks on over 100 of the buses
that they had purchased for use in the bus cooperative operated by the
union. These attacks involved the torching and destruction of the union
co-op's buses, yet went unreported in the North American media, despite
having taken place in the days immediately following the 29 February
coup d'etat (the peak period of international media presence). Given their
timing, and the fact that the union bus cooperative's success had been
viewed as a positive symbol of social advances under the Aristide
government, such attacks were seen by the union as acts of political
reprisal by supporters of the coup. No arrests have been made in
association with these attacks.

The general living conditions of Haitian workers and the general
population have drastically worsened since the coup of 29 February. The
delegation heard that the price of rice has jumped dramatically, as much
as doubling.
Other vital foodstuffs have seen even more serious price inflation. Several
witnesses testified that whereas before the coup, Haitians were able to
eat at least once per day, the cost of food has reduced this to as little as 3
meals per week. Even those Haitians fortunate enough to have a job are
barely subsisting.

As for human rights, things are even more serious. The coup which
deposed President Aristide has led to a serious wave of attacks and
persecutions of supporters of President Aristide and his Fanmi Lavalas
Party. The delegation heard testimony from an elected member of
Parliament for the Fanmi Lavalas who is living in hiding, having been
driven out of his town under gunfire. Other political leaders and known
activists have also been forced into hiding, living underground, fearing the
death threats and violence directed at supporters of the ousted
government. Despite its obvious popularity, the Fanmi Lavalas movement
is not currently able to have political demonstrations or otherwise take
open political action due to the threat of attack. The coup regime,
supported by an international military coalition led by the US, France and
Canada, has not provided security for those currently most at risk. The
names of Lavalas supporters - and even those suspected of being
Lavalas supporters - are being read off on right-wing radio stations as an
implicit threat.

Neither the coup regime nor its international backers have taken action to
contain what many Haitians refer to as an anti-Lavalas "witch hunt" that
continues to this day.

Based on six days of interviews, meetings, recorded testimony, and
on-site examinations, the International Labor/Religious/Community
Fact-Finding Delegation has collected extensive material to compile and
report. We wanted to provide this brief summary as soon as possible for
immediate use. A more detailed written report will soon be published and
circulated which will contain a more detailed overview of our findings.

Participants:

* Reverend Dr. Kwame O. Abayomi, is the Baltimore City Council 6th
District Representative and Senior Minister of Unity United Methodist
Church in Baltimore.
* Dave Welsh, a San Francisco Labor Council delegate, was for many
years Executive Vice President of Golden Gate Branch #214 of the Letter
Carriers Union. He has been active in Haiti support work since 1991, and
speaks French. He was part of a Pastors for Peace delegation to Haiti in
1997.
* Johnnie Stevens is an activist with the International Action Center. He
represented Ramsey Clark on a recent delegation that met with
Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the Central African Republic, where the Haitian
President had been taken after his abduction. Their meeting paved the
way for press interviews with Aristide, and his return to the Caribbean
region. He also attended the World Conference against Racism in
Durban, South Africa, and is a co-founder of Labor for Reparations.
* Sharon Black Ceci, a Registered Nurse, is Labor Coordinator for the
Haiti Commission of Inquiry. She is a shop steward with United Food and
Commercial Workers Union, Local #27, and was a founding member of
the All Peoples Congress, a community organization in the Baltimore
area. * Charlie Hinton is a member of the Printers Union (GCIU) and a
member of a worker-owned cooperative, the union printing company
Inkworks in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a long-time solidarity
movement activist and member of the Haiti Action Committee. * Sister
Maureen Duignan, is a Franciscan nun who runs the East Bay Sanctuary
Covenant, which has a long history (as does Sr. Maureen) of solidarity
and sanctuary work with Central American and other refugees, from the
1980s to the present. Sister Maureen has been to Haiti a number of times
and speaks French.
* Michael Zinzun is director of the Los Angeles-based Coalition Against
Police Abuse (CAPA), which he co-founded in 1975. He was also a
founding member of Police Watch and Communities in Support of the
Gang Truce, and recently attended Haiti's Bicentennial celebrations in
Port-au-Prince. As a result of his activism around police issues, he
suffered a police beating which left him blind in one eye. * Kevin Skerrett
is Research Officer for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE),
Canada?s largest union. He has done significant research on the
international trade union movement, and speaks French.
* Dr. Adrianne Aron is a clinical psychologist who works with victims of
political repression. She has worked in the solidarity movement for many
years, and served as an election monitor in Haiti during the 2000
elections there.