23209: Esser: Canada in the Haitian Coup (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser <torx@joimail.com>

ZNet
http://www.zmag.org

Canada in the Haitian Coup

by Anthony Fenton and Derrick O'Keefe; Seven Oaks Magazine ; September
21, 2004

1. We hear so little about Haiti in the mainstream media. Most
networks don't even have correspondents there right now. What is the
reality on the ground in occupied Haiti?

Tragically, the reality in Haiti is very much like the reality of
Haiti in 1915, the Dominican Republic in 1965, and is similar in many
ways to the long list of military interventions in the hemisphere
since the U.S. became the dominant force. What’s being heavily
suppressed is that, far from ‘bringing stability’ to Haiti, the
imperialist intervention and subsequent installment and propping up
of an illegitimate regime is having dire consequences for Haiti’s
mostly impoverished masses. Continued political persecution of
anyone, and specifically leaders, known to be associated with the
Lavalas political party, or of those who are pro-Constitutionalist
generally, is the norm. It has been reported that Haiti’s jails and
penitentiaries are full of these types of political prisoners.

Fewer children are able to go to school, peasants are having their
land stolen from them by former landowners who will likely re-impose
feudal conditions on them, and the cost of living has skyrocketed. On
top of this the dreaded Haitian military is doing its best to be
formally reinstituted and this is not being seriously opposed by any
of the other forces operating in Haiti, as per, so it seems, the
original plan as hatched by the “imperial community.”

2. What political groups or tendencies are opposing the occupation in
Haiti, and what are they demanding?

The most active and vocal groups in Haiti have been consistently
demonstrating against the occupation and for the return of
Constitutional rule, or, the return of Aristide. They have done this
despite facing severe repression since February 29. They’ve also been
demanding the release of political prisoners. I’d also say that
they’re demanding that the citizens of the imperial countries who
stole democracy from them do what is necessary to hold their
governments to account for this miscarriage of justice. Certainly
these Haitians are vehemently opposed to the return of the murderous
army and will, rightly, oppose this. But they need voice to do this,
voice that is currently being silenced through repression, illegal
detainment, and the like, not to mention the predictably duplicitous
role of the media.

3. You have written extensively of Canada's involvement in the regime
change in Haiti. What was Canada's role in Aristide's ouster?

Canada is perhaps as deeply involved in Aristide’s ouster as any
client government has been historically in assisting the U.S. in
enforcing Monroe Doctrine-like principles in the hemisphere, and this
includes the present cover-up that is being undertaken.
Diplomatically, as the Jean Chretien regime was wringing their hands
in the face of popular opposition over their potential role in the
‘coalition of the willing’ in Iraq, they were helping to plan regime
change in Haiti. Three weeks before regime change, on February 5,
Pierre Pettigrew consorted with rebel “mastermind” Paul Arcelin, who
had previously been arrested for plotting a coup in 2003. Pettigrew
also has strong ties to Gildan Activewear, Hydro Quebec, and other
corporations that stand to benefit from a government that is willing
to follow the “American Plan” in Haiti. Just the person we want as
Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Since the coup, Canada has helped prop up the puppet regime and has
actively prevented the realities of post-coup Haiti from being heard
or seen by the ‘mainstream’ Canadian public. The Canadian Commander
of ‘Task Force Haiti’ deliberately evaded questions about extensively
documented human rights abuses that took place while Canadian
soldiers were still occupying the country. Among other things as
well, Canadian NGOs such as “Development and Peace,” “Rights and
Democracy,” and “FOCAL,” helped foment the demonization and
destabilization campaign against the elected government, and are
aiding and abetting this massive cover-up.

4. What specifically have you been able to uncover regarding the
Ottawa Initiative on Haiti meeting?

Not much beyond what Michel Vastel exposed originally on March 15,
2003, in L’Actualite . That, according to Denis Paradis and the
French government, a Kosovo-like “tutelage” for Haiti was discussed,
along with the return of the Haitian armed forces, and, of course,
the ouster of Aristide. Paradis recanted what he said not long after
Vastel wrote his piece, and again recently denied that "regime
change” was planned in Ottawa. Paradis reveals, however, in my recent
interview with him , that “the responsibility to protect” is a theme
that was discussed, which is part of a new language and dialogue that
imperialists are developing to help justify and legitimate
imperialist interventions in so-called “failed states,” by way of the
“tutelage” concept discussed in Ottawa in January 2003.

5. What are the causes of this so-called failed state, of Haiti's
poverty, which is the worst in the western hemisphere?

That’s the thing: those forces who deem Haiti to have failed are the
same forces that brought about Haiti’s “failure,” by destabilizing
the government, seeking to divide the electorate, and the Left, by
hammering away at public opinion with mountains of mis or
disinformation and propaganda, and by starving the country of
desperately needed economic aid and loans. There is also a tiny elite
in Haiti that controls most of the economy and in so doing prefer to
have Haitians uneducated, illiterate, and impoverished. Canadian
“development assistance” to Haiti began under the Duvalier
dictatorships, so we can see, historically, the kind of “development”
that has led to Haiti’s perpetual “failure” and extreme poverty.

6. How is Canada's role in Haiti related to changes in Canada's
overall foreign policy direction?

Canada has deep colonial roots, so it really only took the ‘right’
circumstances, such as a ‘war on terror’, to begin to bring these
latent imperial instincts to the surface. Ottawa is being more or
less explicit as they go about legislating Canada’s commitment to the
Bush administration’s “war on terror.” For example, with nary a
murmur of criticism, Canada tabled its first-ever National Security
Policy in April, styled on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
These developments are also in accordance with the ‘recommendations’
of the corporate community, primarily speaking, defense contractors
who know that Ottawa has to be in lockstep with the U.S. if they are
to profit from the windfall accompanying the perpetual ‘war on
terror.’

Clearly, Canada is becoming a more overt security state, and is thus
far, if somewhat silently, doing all of the things necessary to
achieve this: spending more money on security, increasing the size of
the Canadian forces, and creating the conditions whereby dissent
against this increasing militarism will not be tolerated. As stated,
I’m not sure if Canada has ever been so heavily involved in an
illegal intervention abroad such as in Haiti. So this is all quite
indicative of where Canada is headed; it’s not un-coincidental, mind
you, that Canada, being a settler-state with a penchant for the
internal colonization of Native peoples, has been able to make the
smooth “transition” to overt imperial/G-8 power abroad.

7. What actions should be being taken by those who are opposed to
Canada's participation in the ouster of Aristide, and in the
occupation of Haiti today?

It’s useful to remember that the Chretien and Martin regimes have
carried these things out in Canadians’ names. For those who are
working to expose this and to somehow help end this brutal
imperialist occupation, – carried out or supported by militaries,
CIA-trained death squads, and some NGOs – we have to ask ourselves
how can we hold the government(s) to account for these actions? Has
the Canadian Left ever successfully held the government accountable
for similar crimes? We must learn from previous experience, here and
elsewhere, and allow it to inform our tactics and strategies.

Clearly, we have to pressure people, media outlets, and/or political
parties that are in a position to give a wider voice to the horrific
realities in Haiti today. If these imperialists are never forced to
acknowledge their culpability in these crimes, then they cannot be
held accountable. They know this and it informs their actions;
accordingly, it should inform ours as well. Canadians can also
arrange delegations to go to Haiti, help organizations that are
taking great risks documenting the human rights and other abuses, and
help educate people in their communities, reach out to their MPs,
etc. The anti-war movement in Canada, especially given the extent of
Ottawa’s involvement, might consider means by which they can help
elevate the level of public consciousness on these issues.

Anthony Fenton will be speaking at a September 30 screening of two
documentaries on Haiti by Kevin Pina, 'Harvest of hope' and 'We will
bend but we will not break'. The event, hosted by the StopWar Latin
America and Caribbean solidarity committee, starts at 7p.m. at the
Chilean Coop, 3390 School Ave., Vancouver.

For more background on Canada's role in Haiti, check out Fenton's
recent interview with former Canadian Minister of State for Africa,
Latin America and la Francophonie Denis Paradis . For all the latest
from occupied Haiti, see www.Haitiaction.org/
.