26256: Jean Jean-Pierre (comments) Re:Daniel Simidor (26247)and Peter Dailey (26250) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JJEANPIERRE1@aol.com


Brother Daniel Simidor, far from making this an ongoing colloquy, this is  an
attempt on my part to touch upon only a few of the remarks you made as a
response to my post #26239.
--I never  suggested that Kevin Pina was not a Lavalas supporter. I said (and
maintain)  heâ??s an independent filmmaker as heâ??s been making documentaries
way before he  went to Haiti in  the early 90s. I think Kevin has the right to
support whoever he  wants.
--My point on the fascism of the present Washington  regime is that you
should not refer to Homeland Security as a paragon of  democracy or a model
when we
all have learned from most constitutional lawyers  that parts of the Patriot
Act, which is the basis for that new department  created in the wake of 9/11,
raise serious constitutional concerns.  Because this government is telling the
 citizenry every day that we should be scared, very scared, we should forget
about getting this very conservative (and sometimes reactionary) Supreme
Court  to reverse what a very scared Congress had passed.
My few trips to  Cuba as a  producer, musician and journalist have caused me
to be copiously searched  â??randomlyâ?? every time I travel (8trips) for the
past 3 years.  I know Iâ??m not the only one being fully  searched.  But every
single  time?
-- You said: â??I donâ??t recall such high minded  pronouncements from you
when
Aristide was shredding the constitution two years  ago.â??
I  grant you this: Most of us Haitians (yes, me included) are quite often not
 courageous enough to criticize publicly those with whom we agree either
wholly  or partly.  But I was perhaps one of  the first (if not the first) to
denounce the nefarious activities of the  Chimeres.  Here what I wrote in the
Village Voice on November  29, 2000.
â??A few weeks ago,  a spate of new warnings grew into overt threats when a
relative of a well-known  member of a new street gang named Chimères, after
the
mythological  fire-breathing monster, told a young female reporter at the
station, "We will  make sure that every one at Radio Haiti experiences
Dominique's
fate." Montas  recalled in a telephone interview from Port-au-Prince that
"Jean and I  used to listen together to recordings of similar threats a few
days
before his  murder."
The  Chimères, whose tactics uncannily resemble those of the dreaded Tonton
Macoutes, are made up of self-proclaimed allies of Fanmi Lavalas  (Lavalas
Family), the party founded by Jean-BertrandAristide, the former  president who
was reelected over the weekend. Strangely, Lavalas officials have  yet to
publicly dissociate the party from this gang, which has been rampaging on  the
streets of Port-au-Prince and other cities  with impunityâ??
Peter Daily, Iâ??m not certain if this will chagrin you,  but  I do not
subscribe to any party  in Haiti  (whether Lavalas or any among this plethora
of
particles existing there).
And no Iâ??m not equating Aristide violating the Haitian constitution by  (for
example) overstepping his bounds on the presidentâ??s prerogatives to a prime
minister (Gerard Latortue) chosen by the  US to serve for  18 months after
living in  Haiti for 2 days  instead of the 5 years prescribed by the
constitution.  I think then latter is a far more graver  breach.
But you can continue to call that an â??anomalyâ??; itâ??s your  prerogative.
By the way, if you check the articles I wrote or contributed to when I  was
working as a journalist, Iâ??m quite â??comfortableâ?? saying what I liked and
did
not like about the Aristide government.
I just want to pay my debts to  Haiti bro.  Whatever way I can.
jeanjeanPierre


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