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25951: Brianhaiti: (radio report ?) Half-Hour for Haiti: Time for Congress to Stand Up For Justice in Haiti (fwd)





From: Brianhaiti@aol.com


August  9, 2005
Half-Hour for  Haiti:   Time for Congress to Stand Up For Justice  in Haiti
First, an apology-  many people found last weekâ??s alert confusing. We
appreciate you contacting us  about it, and promise to be more clear in future
alerts. If you want to sign  the _International  Declaration of Support for
the
Haitian People_
(http://www.ijdh.org/articles/article_halfhourforhaiti_august-2_2005.htm) ,
send  an email with your name, city and state to
haitideclaration@yahoo.com.
This weekâ??s alert is an opportunity to  convince our Congressional
Representatives to stand up for justice in  Haiti.  Rep. Maxine Waters has
asked all her
 colleagues in the House to join her in a letter to President Bush, urging
him to  immediately intervene for the release of political prisoner Fr.
Gerard
Jean-Juste.
Signing  Rep. Watersâ?? letter (below) should be an easy decision for any
member of  Congress who believes in justice.  It is well-documented and
obvious
that Fr. Jean-Justeâ??s arrest  was _illegal  and part of a campaign of
political
harassment._
(http://www.ijdh.org/articles/article_halfhourforhaiti_july-26-05.htm) .  Your
Representativeâ??s place on the political spectrum or opinion of
the Lavalas  movement is not relevant- what matters is a belief in the rule
of
law.
This is an excellent time to contact  Congress, because members are in the
districts for the summer recess, where they  are particularly attuned to
constituent concerns.  Weâ??ve been told that calls from a dozen  or more
friends,
family or members of your solidarity, church, school or other  group can get
this
action onto your memberâ??s radar screen.  Unfortunately, time is tight- the
deadline  for signatures is the close of business Thursday, so please act
now.
Action:  Contact your member of the House of Representatives; urge him or her
to sign  onto Rep. Watersâ?? letter to President Bush by Thursday.  The best
way top do this is to speak  with the Member at a local event.  Second best is
calling the Washington office, and asking to speak with  the legislative aide
who covers foreign affairs.  Send a follow-up email.  Local office numbers
should be in your  phone book, Washington offices can be reached through the
House Switchboard, (202) 224-3121.  Local event schedules, all numbers and
email
addresses are available on  each memberâ??s website.  To find  that, click the
_US House of Representatives website_
(http://www.google.com/url?
sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http://www.house.gov/&ei=xiD5QqLCFqa2YPDA5YQJ) , and
type in your
zipcode.
Talking  Points
1.      Fr.  Jean-Justeâ??s arrest was illegal:  he  was arrested without a
warrant while attending a funeral.  He had already been questioned twice in
the
preceding week on different charges by police and a judge, none of whom  found
any reason to arrest him (_more information on the arrest_
(http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?
sid=05/07/25/1340218&mode=thread&tid=25) .).
2.      The  arrest is the latest in a long series of politically-motivated
attacks against  Fr. Jean-Juste.  In October, he was  arrested illegally and
held for seven weeks in prison, with absolutely _no evidence  against him_
(http://www.ijdh.org/articles/article_onedown.htm) .
3.       _Amnesty  International_
(http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR360082005?open&of=ENG-HTI) ,  and
_Human  Rights First_
(http://action.humanrightsfirst.org/campaign/Jean_Juste/explanation) ,  among
others, have called
for Fr.  Jean-Justeâ??s release.
4.      Do not let the Member or aide dismiss you with concerns about the
Lavalas  movement.  Appeal to our shared  fundamental belief in justice and
freedom of conscience- that imprisoning people  for their political opinions
is
wrong, no matter what those opinions are.  â??Letting the Haitian justice
system
take  its courseâ?? is not acceptable: the last time Fr. Jean-Juste spent
seven
weeks in  prison illegally.  The  U.S. is the Haitian Interim  Governmentâ??s
principal patron, and has more than enough leverage to pry open the  political
prisons if it wants to.
_Click here for much more information on Fr.  Jean-Justeâ??s arrest_
(http://www.ijdh.org/articles/article_jean_juste.htm)
Already Standing Up For  Justice : Reps. Tammy Baldwin ,  Corrine Brown,
Sherrod Brown, Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick, John  Conyers,  Barbara Lee,
Kendrick
Meek,  Major Owens, Donald Payne and Jan Schakowsky have joined Rep. Waters
and
signed  the letter by Tuesday afternoon.  If  one of these members represents
you, please send a note of thanks for their  support of justice in Haiti.
_____________________________________________________________________
.
Support the Release of
Father Gerard  Jean-Juste,
Who is Unjustly  Imprisoned in Haiti
DEADLINE:   Thursday, August 11, COB
August 12,  2005
President George W.  Bush
The White  House
1600  Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr.  President:
We write to express our profound concerns about the unjust imprisonment of
Father Gerard Jean-Juste in Haiti.  We urge you to take  action at once to
seek
his immediate and unconditional release from  prison.
Father Jean-Juste is a widely-respected Catholic priest and a courageous
advocate for peace and human rights in Haiti.  During the 1970's, he  founded
the
Haitian Refugee Center in Miami, Florida, where he worked to provide
assistance  to refugees who were fleeing persecution under the Duvalier
regime.  He
returned to Haiti in 1991 and  currently serves as the pastor of Saint Claire
Church in Port-au-Prince and runs a  soup kitchen for impoverished children in
his parish.  Fr. Jean-Juste has  always spoken out forcefully against all
forms of violence.
Father Jean-Juste was arrested on July 21, 2005, while attending the funeral
for  Jacques Roche, a Haitian journalist who was kidnapped, held for ransom
and then  murdered.  Haitian police claimed he was arrested because a "public
clamor"  at the funeral accused him of murdering Jacques Roche, although he
was
in  Miami at the  time of the murder.  He currently is being detained in the
Haitian National  Penitentiary.
Amnesty International has determined that Father Jean-Juste is a prisoner of
conscience, who is detained solely because he has peacefully exercised his
right  to freedom of expression.  Amnesty International has urged that he be
immediately and unconditionally released.
We respectfully request that you urge the Interim Government of Haiti to
release  Father Jean-Juste immediately and unconditionally.  We appreciate
your
attention to our concerns.
Sincerely,


cc:      Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Special Representative Juan Gabriel Valdés, MINUSTAH
Ambassador James Foley, U.S.  Embassy in Haiti
Douglas M. Griffiths, Deputy Chief of Mission,  U.S. Embassy in  Haiti
Dana Banks, Human Rights Officer, U.S. Embassy in Haiti


For  more information about the  Half-Hour For Haiti Program,  the Institute
for Justice and Democracy in Haiti or human rights in Haiti, see  w

Brian  Concannon Jr., Esq.
Director, Institute for Justice & Democracy in  Haiti
(541) 432-0597
PO Box 745
Joseph, OR  97846
brianhaiti@aol.com
www.ijdh.org

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