22298: erzilidanto: Nonviolent U.S. presence heading to Haiti-Vermonters for peace and justice worldwide (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Erzilidanto@aol.com

For immediate release - for more information and for interviews contact

Tom Luce at 522-3525


Vermonter will travel Haiti to accompany Haitians targeted for violence


 


           Tom Luce, coordinator of April6VT Citizens Lobby, will

travel to Haiti for several weeks this summer as part of an

accompaniment project aimed at assisting Haitians who have been

targeted since the overthrow of President Jean Bertrand in Aristide in

late February.


           Luce, of Barre, plans to be physically present with people

in order to lessen the likelihood that they will be attacked.  An

unkown number of Haitians, perhaps thousands, have been killed in

recent months.


    The morgue in the capital of Port au Prince has reported hundreds of

bodies being brought in, many with their hands tied behind their

backs. Often family members have been too scared to visit the morgue to

identify their family members or to arrange proper ceremonies


    "I personally want to go back to work with a lawyer whom I met in

April,"  said Luce, who spent a week in Haiti in April as part of a

fact-finding mission. "He wants to work with people who are being

oppressed, but is vulnerable for oppression himself if he does this."


    But there is no guarantee for Luce's safety either. On May 18, Haitian

police fired on a crowd that was demonstrating nonviolently for the

return of President Aristide and an end to the US occupation. Nine

unarmed demonstrators were killed, and a US journalist taking photos

was threatened.


    "I'm quite convinced that going back to President Reagan's time, the

US government has been working to undermine the development of a true

democracy in Haiti," Luce says. "The thousands of deaths in the early

1990s and the deaths now are a terrible price to pay for our

governmentís misdeeds. I feel Americans have a responsibility to try to

rectify this situation."


    Luce believes it's important to find nonviolent solutions to violent

conflicts such as the one in Haiti. "It's a nonviolent presence, we

don't go with guns and we don't go with angry faces. We go with

peace. It's using a peaceful solution to a violent conflict."


           Luce, a French teacher at Spalding High School, is studying

Creole to be more effective while in Haiti. He will be conducting

interviews and filing reports on human rights violations.


           April6VT Citizensí Lobby has nearly 1,000 volunteer members

who are lobbying on Haiti, the Middle East and other peace and social

justice issues. They want Vermont's congressional delegation to take a

leadership role in ending the violence in Haiti, particularly by

calling for an investigation into the US role in the removal of

President Aristide and by calling for the US to grant political asylum

to persecuted Haitians. More information on April6VTís Haiti campaign

is available at april6vt.org


Tom Luce, Coordinator

April6Vt Citizens' Lobby

800+ Vermonters Peacefully Working  for Justice Worldwide

30 Park St.

Barre, Vt. 05641

Tel. 802-476-7056

www.april6vt.org
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Forwarded by the Haitian Lawyers Leadership
******
"Men anpil chaj pa lou"  is Kreyol for - "Many hands make light a heavy load."

See, The Haitian Leadership Networks'  7 "men anpil chaj pa

lou" campaigns to help restore Haiti's independence, the will of the mass
electorate and the rule of law. See,
http://www.margueritelaurent.com/pressclips/haitianlawyers.html ; http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaigns.html

and Haitiaction.net

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