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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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