22202: Justin: Felux: Re: 22193: (Chamberlain) re 22118: Simidor (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Justin <justins@alacrityisp.net>

Democracy Now is one of the finest sources of news in the United States.
Fenton & Esser were correct--it isn't an important mistake.  The director
said that over 1000 bodies had gone through the morgue and been dumped in
March alone.  This is striking, considering that the worst violence is
OUTSIDE the capital by most accounts.  Every other delegation that has gone
to the country has reported a similar systematic campaign of repression as
outlined by the NLG delegation.  For Simidor to ask for names and the
circumstances of the victims' deaths is simply asinine.  In crises like
these, most of the names of the dead go unknown for a long time--often
indefinitely.  When reporters and delegations find out about a mass grave
they don't document the name and cause of death of every person (because
it's usually impossible).  We know that tens of thousands have died in Iraq,
for example, but we know hardly any of their names.  The number dead in
Haiti is obviously still a matter of speculation at this point, but we can
safely say it is well over a thousand.  There has been more violence, death,
and misery in the past few months than there was under all of the Lavalas
years combined.  Regardless of what you think of Aristide there is simply no
question that these recent months will go down as some of the darkest days
in Haiti's history.  There was real progress being made in these past few
years despite the interference from reactionaries in Haiti and the West.
Now, what could have been a growing democracy has been tossed right back
into the cycle of military coups and colonial rule.  That people like Mr.
Simidor are happy about this is frankly shocking to me.