23743: (net) radtimes: Distorted Picture of Violence in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: radtimes <resist@best.com>

Distorted Picture of Violence in Haiti

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Nov2004/Engler1105.htm

by Yves Engler
www.dissidentvoice.org
November 5, 2004

Haiti's a mess. That's about as much we get from Canada's dominant media.

The media have been unable to correctly articulate which Haitian
constituency has played the larger role in the country's on-going
destruction. And, of crucial importance, there has been little mention of
the fact that Canada is heavily implicated in Haiti's deterioration.

The picture of Haiti we receive through the media is greatly distorted by
uncritical reporting of both the Canadian (and US) government's position on
Haiti as well as those of installed President Gerard Latortue's regime. Our
media simply reprints government statements that point to former president
Aristide's supporters as the main agitators in any instance of violence.
Most notably in reporting about the recent upsurge in violence the media
parroted out the term, "operation Baghdad", coined by Latortue in reference
to the violence allegedly caused by Aristide supporters.

Probably of more significance in the overall media distortion, however, is
the downplaying  (omission) of information contrary to the Canadian
Government line that would have us not only believe that supporters of
former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide are to blame for Haiti's problem,
but that Canada's presence (100 RCMP officers who command the UN police
contingent) is helping Haiti out.

The following are a few recent examples of important information the
mainstream media downplayed.

Last Tuesday, according to numerous eyewitnesses, Haitian police rounded up
12 young men in the Fort National slum. The police forced them to lie down
and shot them in the back of the head. Ambulances waiting nearby
immediately took away the bodies.

Even though numerous international media organizations reported on the
affair and the United Nations special envoy to Haiti cited the incident as
needing investigation Canadian media barely reported on the killings. CBC
online ran a article but nothing in the Globe and Mail, National Post,
Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star or Quebec's Le Soleil.
Montreal's La Presse printed a passing mention of the incident halfway
through a 150 word blurb on Haiti.

Similarly, last Thursday four young men from Bel Air, a slum stronghold of
Aristide, were executed by Haitian Police. Again this story was reported by
a number of international media organizations though I have yet to see
anything about the killings in the seven previously mentioned papers or
elsewhere in the Canadian media.

Two weeks ago, according to Haitian journalist Kevin Pina, the Port au
Prince morgue director announced that it was filled to capacity with 600
dead bodies. No major media outlet has reported on this announcement and
Canadian papers continue to run articles claiming there have only been 79
people killed since September 30th when violence resurged.

On October 13th Gerard Jean-Juste, a prominent Catholic priest and Lavalas
(Aristide's Party) supporter was arrested while serving food at a soup
kitchen he runs for poor children. A couple of Canadian newspapers reported
on the arrest from the government's perspective and then still, not
prominently. And none of the seven papers I mentioned earlier followed up
on the story even though mainstream groups such as Amnesty International
released statements condemning the arbitrary arrest and it was revealed
that three children were shot during the operation.

Jean-Juste was arrested for disturbing the peace, which according to
Haitian law demands an 11 gourde -- 40 cent -- fine. More than two weeks
later he's still in jail with a dozen high-ranking Lavalas officials and
untold hundreds of less prominent Lavalas supporters (or people who simply
live in poor neighborhoods). England's Observer reports that as of Sunday
only  "21 of the nearly 1,000 inmates [in the penitentiary] have been
convicted of anything."

Two Sundays ago, according to the Associated Press, ten armored cars lead a
major military/police incursion into Bel Air. Canadian Police led the raid
yet it was barely of interest to our media (the Gazette had 50 word on the
event) even though entering an Aristide stronghold to provide cover for
house-to-house searches and arrests is highly political. Many observers
have criticized the United Nations (two Canadian forces in the UN command
structure) for disarming anyone aligned with Aristide while allowing the
paramilitaries to control large swaths of the country. The former soldiers
who killed police during the revolt against Aristide have still not been
charged with any crimes and they openly intimidate people by brandishing
weapons in demonstrations across the country.

The issue of paramilitaries controlling major regions of the country and
terrorizing the population has been denounced over the past several months
by numerous rights organizations, however, you wouldn't know that by
reading Canadian papers. This past week Guyana's foreign minister Rudy
Insanally remarked: "rebels are parading around the country with all sorts
of consequences." His comments were part of a statement reiterating
Guyana's opposition to reestablishing Haiti's membership within the
15-member Caribbean Community (Caricom), which has been frozen since
shortly after Aristide's February 29 ouster. Canadian media rarely
acknowledges that Caricom refuses to recognize Haiti because to do so would
bring into question the legitimacy of Canada's operations in Haiti.

Reporting on Caricom's rationale for freezing Haiti's membership -- they
don't want to support an illegitimate government -- would lead Canadians to
ask, "was my government involved in removing an elected head of
state?"  And "have their actions lead to the death of hundreds, if not
thousands of people?" An empathic yes would undoubtedly be the informed
conclusion.

Instead the media  (and Liberal government) cite Canada's military mission
in Haiti as a good reason to increase funding for the armed forces. Why
not, there is barely any information or prominent people contradicting the
government's position on Haiti. But it is an article of faith on the left
that military funding ($13 billion annually) should be cut and the money
spent on social programs. Yet, Canadian unions, mainstream left wing
columnists and especially the NDP have been unwilling to challenge Canada's
military (political) involvement in Haiti.

How come? Certainly there is substantial compassion for Haiti's
impoverished population, as evidenced by the outpouring of aid after
Haiti's recent floods. In addition, how can we (the left) argue that
military funding is a waste when we are unable to stand up and say "no
Canada's military is not a force for good in Haiti"?

Yves Engler lives in Montreal and is author of Playing Left Wing from
Hockey to Politics: The Making of a Student Activist. He can be reached at:
yvesengler@hotmail.com.

.