22924: Justin: Re: 22876: LScottPHt: Re: 228... (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Justin Felux <justins@alacrityisp.net>

> The gunshots we heard were coming from the area behind the storefronts. At
> which point, the rebels all got out of their cars and started firing back.
There
> was gunfire coming from all directions and then these guys were shot.
Again,
> do you really think they would have murdered them in front of me? They
knew I
> was out of the car watching.

Okay, let's give up on the question of whether or not we are talking about
the same event.  In the event you witnessed, two boys were killed and I
assume their bodies were taken away.  In your photo, the bodies are in the
back of an automobile.  Why did they take the bodies away?  What did they do
with the bodies after they took them away?  You were with them, so it seems
like you would know.

> Also, I don't side with all the rebels. I don't presume to know what
motives
> all of the rebels have. I don't doubt that Chamblain did some horrible
things.
> I know Chamblain, but I am not friends with him.

Then why bring up his dead wife in an attempt to make us feel sorry for him?
You were obviously trying to insinuate that his actions are somehow
justified because of the alleged brutality he suffered under Aristide.  And
what's this crap about "I don't side with all the rebels?"  I don't care how
many sad stories Ti Will has about his life.  The fact of the matter is
this:  he aided and abetted a bunch of paramilitary killers.  You are only
as good as the company you keep, and Ti Will chose to associate himself with
terrorists.  Frankly, that is all I need to know about him.  If a black
person killed my sister would I be justified in joining the Ku Klux Klan and
going around terrorizing black folks?

Even if we assume this Ti Will is some kind of misunderstood hero who really
cares about the future of Haiti, which I very seriously doubt, what could he
POSSIBLY hope to accomplish by allying himself with the likes of Jodel
Chamblain?  Guys like Chamblain and Tatoune are the brains behind this
so-called "rebellion."  Again, why do you think they emptied almost ALL the
prisons in the country?  Does that sound like the actions of a group of
people that care about justice and the rule of law?

> I have spent awhile talking with Guy Philippe, and it is hard not to be
drawn
> in to his charisma. He is highly intelligent and from what he was saying
to
> me, does seem like he wants to truly help the country. Yes, this could be
a
> front. Believe me, I don't trust anyone 100% when it comes to Haiti.

Philippe is a neo-Duvalierist.  Am I going to have to tell you who Duvalier
is too?

> I will say
> that I was witness to crowds and crowds of people that just wanted to
touch
> T-Wil and tell him thank you for what he had done. These people were
almost in
> tears they were so thankful. And yes, I actually witnessed that. I do
apologize
> for generalizing about the rebels as you have also done.

Cheering crowds don't mean much, Leslie.  The Taliban, the Khmer Rouge, and
the Nazis were all welcomed by cheering crowds when they came to power.
Cheering crowds can mean any number of things.  It can mean people are
trying to ingratiate themselves to their de facto rulers.  It can start with
a few people and snowball as others get caught up in the moment.  If you're
going to use cheering crowds as the measuring stick, then nobody even comes
close to President Aristide.  Have you seen the photos of the crowds that
came out during the bicentennial celebration?  There were hundreds of
thousands--probably millions if you count the whole country.  If elections
were held today and Aristide were allowed to participate, he would win
easily.  Yvon Neptune was also greeted by cheering crowds when he visited
St. Marc after the townspeople and the police were able to briefly regain
control from the rebel thugs.

> As far as the people I spoke to, I spoke to Haitian people, as well. I had
a
> translator from Port-au-Prince (not associated with the rebels). I spoke
to
> people in PAP in October (Haitian people) who refused to talk politics and
then
> spoke to those same people, some in Mar and some in May and they were so
happy
> they could actually voice their opinions.

Nothing was stopping them from voicing their opinions before.  The phony
opposition was allowed to have their rallies.  The media was allowed to
broadcast anti-Aristide propaganda.  That's not to say it wasn't dangerous
to be political in Haiti--that's the case almost anywhere in the world.  But
it was a hell of a lot safer during those times than it was during any
other.  Ask the journalists from Radyo Timoun how much free speech is being
respected nowadays.  Or Kevin Pina.  Or Annette Auguste.  Or any of the
other people who are being targeted for their political views.

> I know that T-Wil's cousin was an
> Aristide informant and was to inform Aristide of where T-Wil was so he
could
> have him killed. He told me of some of his friends that had
> been beaten up by the police. T-Wil's car and house were burned by the
police
> and yes, his baby girl was in hiding in the countryside because Aristide
> wanted her dead. I was also there when 17 men came in to assassinate us.

You say you "know" all of these things.  Where did you get the information
from?  Ti Will?  You're always asking me if I "know" the rebels, implying
that I shouldn't be judging them without having met them, as you have.  Let
me ask you this:  have you ever met President Aristide?  I dislike all this
focus on Aristide, because he really is not the issue at all.  But you keep
bringing him up.  So, have you met him?  I haven't, but I know many people
who have, and they would say the things you're saying are insane.

You also keep bringing up the police.  What do you know about the police?  I
asked you a bunch of questions about them that you didn't answer.  Did you
know the CIA has been recruiting people out of the PNH?  Did you know the
embargo against Haiti included items such as tear gas and bullet-proof
vests?  Are you aware of the U.S. complicity in undermining the training and
professionalization of the police force, or the U.S. role in the drug trade
and other corrupting influences?  Are you aware of the fact that many of the
police have been complicit in the rebel activity of the past several months?
You people act like every member of the PNH personally reported to President
Aristide while he was in charge and never lifted a finger without getting
the approval of the President first.

> What do you think happened to Amiot Metarey? Of course, I got the story
from his
> brother and his wife, but I am sure the people you talk to know better.

I don't know who killed him.  It's pretty obvious who benefited most from
his death though.  Same goes for Jean Dominique.

> Oh, and by the way, most of the people I spoke to about Aristide did say
that
> he started off as a good man, but things changed. Find out about the US
> contractors that were willing to come in for free and take care of things
like the
> roads, telephones and electrical problem. Companies like GE. Find out why
> Aristide told them no. Find out whose name the Haitian companies that
stood not to
> profit were in? Hmm, Aristide's wife, perhaps?

I'm not aware of any offer by General Electric or any other company to "come
in for free and take care of things."  I know that companies like GE and
AT&T have wanted to get their hands on some of Haiti's state-owned
enterprises, which President Aristide very wisely refused to allow.  If this
is what you are talking about, then you are way off base.  Aristide didn't
privatize the companies because doing so would have starved the government
of revenue and just made things worse, as privatization always does.  Haiti
only had $36 per head in tax revenues.  In the rest of the region the
average is $800 per head.  In the U.S., it is $6,000 per head.