24410: Haiti Action: new publication

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

>From Haiti Action Committee <haitiaction@yahoo.com>

Dear Friends,

HAC is pleased to announce the publication of We Will Not Forget: The
Achievements of Lavalas in Haiti on this first anniversary of the U.S.-led coup
in Haiti.  The full version is available on-line at www.haitiaciton.net.  We
also have beautiful, hard-copy pamphlets available for purchase.  (See order
information below.)  Please help us distribute this booklet widely -- it's
important that as many people read this booklet as possible.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 28, 2005
Contact: Laura Flynn, Pierre LaBossiere or Robert Roth, 510.483.7481

New Pamphlet Explains Why Haitians Still Call for Aristide’s Return

While a U.S.-led disinformation campaign has sought to demonize Haiti’s
elected president, a pamphlet released today shows that, despite hug
impediments, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his Lavalas movement
were able to build schools, increase literacy, fight AIDS, increase the
minimum wage and more, before being forced from power by the United
States.

A year after the Feb. 29, 2004 coup, the Haitian people continue to
demand the restoration of democracy.  Braving police gunfire, wholesale
arrests and beatings, they are taking to the streets holding up their
five fingers, signifying their determination that Aristide complete his
five-year term.  This past weekend in Cap Haitien thousands of people
demonstrated to protest the coup.  In Port-au-Prince the police
unleashed a wave of terror in the poorest neighborhoods, which left
scores of people dead.  Despite the violence, pro-democracy organizers
have vowed to take to the streets again today to mark the anniversary.

  Why do Haitians insist on Aristide’s return?  Why have they been so
resolute in their opposition to the coup and the subsequent U.S./U.N.
occupation?  Answering these questions requires a close look at Haiti’s
democracy dividend, the result of nine years of constitutional, elected
government.

  We Will Not Forget: The Achievements of Lavalas in Haiti, a
meticulously-researched16-page pamphlet from the Haiti Action
Committee, highlights the most significant Lavalas accomplishments in
healthcare, education, and economic justice. According to We Will Not
Forget authors Laura Flynn and Robert Roth, the Aristide government was
able to solidify these gains, despite the fact that the international
community embargoed economic aid to Haiti from 2000-2003.

"Lavalas was bringing health and education – breaking down Haiti's
socio- economic exclusion of the majority. We weren't there yet, but
these accomplishments represented a huge step forward in guaranteeing
the full participation of the poor majority in the social, economic and
political life of the nation." said Pierre Labossiere, of the Haiti
Action Committee.

  Since last February’s coup, most of these advances have been
reversed.
We Will Not Forget provides a context for understanding the social and
economic dynamics behind the coup d’etat, demonstrating that Aristide
was overthrown not because he failed to change Haiti, but precisely
because profound transformation was underway.

We Will Not Forget is being published on the anniversary of the
overthrow of Aristide.  It underscores the stark reality that the U.S.
(with Canada and France) substituted a popular democracy that was
making substantial gains, for the chaotic, violent, corrupt,
U.S.-appointed government in Haiti today.

The pamphlet is a project of the Haiti Action Committee.  Print copies
are available for $2 per copy ($1 for orders of 25 or more) including
shipping at HAC, PO Box 2218, Berkeley, CA 94702; the full text can be
downloaded at www.HaitiAction.net

Laura Flynn, Pierre LaBossiere and Robert Roth are available for interviews.