26576: Port Haiti: The Diaspora is not taken seriously in Haiti - Send money, but don't you dare tell me what to do (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Port Haiti <porth@starband.net>


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The Diaspora is not taken seriously in Haiti - Send money, but don?t you
dare tell me what to do
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Dear Friend,

What I want to talk to you about here are the cold, hard facts as read by me
- as neutral of an observer as you are going to get. The Diaspora is not
taken seriously in Haiti. What they are saying to you in essence is "Send
money, but don?t you dare tell me what to do."

I have worked for Mr. Siméus for almost eight years. During that time, I
have heard many of you ask him to run for president of Haiti. On August 17,
2005, Dumarsais Siméus declared his candidacy for president. In doing so, he
put his business in someone else?s hands to run. He gave up his peaceful
life, which allowed him to take quiet walks everyday and sit with his father
on the porch in Pont-Sondé. He has not seen his mother in months. He is a
virtual prisoner in his own country, and his fellow countrymen are
slandering him and saying that he is not even Haitian.

Many people want to know why he is doing this. He is doing it because it is
the right thing to do for the country that gave him birth and gave him an
excellent high school education to build on when he went out into the world.
Because you and many of the leaders in Haiti have convinced him that he
should bring the experience of his lifetime home and put it to use on behalf
of the 8 million people who need his help. He is doing it because someone
has to lead the way to open up the country for the Diaspora to return home
and help bring Haiti into the 21st century, to stop corruption and create
jobs and opportunity for those who were not able to travel to other
countries where opportunity existed.

The fight against Siméus by the status quo is a fight against the Diaspora
and proof of the opportunity they know exists if you are allowed to come
home. They know a victory for Siméus is a victory for the Diaspora. Your
victory is the end of their dominance and their enslavement of the 8 million
brothers and sisters you left behind.

Unfortunately, the feedback we are getting in Port-au-Prince is "Where is
the Diaspora? Is Siméus in this fight alone?" I am sorry to bear this news,
and I know this does not apply to each of you individually, but it does
reflect the way the Diaspora is perceived generally by the international
community in Haiti.

You, the Diaspora, have a choice to make today:

- Continue your current activities which are seen as ineffective by the
international community and have been totally ignored by the CEP, Prime
Minister, President and other Haitian officials

- Change

Here is what I suggest:

- Book a flight to Haiti to this week - stop at the CEP office as you leave
the airport and everyday while you are there. Call the PM and President to
try to book an appointment. (I word it this way because I know neither of
them are brave enough to actually see you.) Come... even if it is only for
24 hours... get in their face.

- Recruit others to join you in Haiti - form delegations of 5, 10, 20

- Like the movie clip we have all seen so many times, scream at the top of
your lungs "I?m mad as hell and I?m not going to take it any more! Put
Dumarsais Siméus back on the ballot." Do it by phone, email, fax, every way
you have... just do it.

- Call your local Haitian radio show tonight to tell them what you think and
what you are doing

- Contribute to the campaign

- After you have set the right example, call your friends and ask them to do
the same

- Forward this message or your own message to every Diaspora on your mailing
list

Mr. Siméus continues to fight, but he needs your help... now. Next week may
be too late. This is not me being dramatic. These are the cold, hard facts.
Status quo or change? It is your decision to make today.

Best regards,

Vanessa

Vanessa Brown
Executive Director
Simeus Foundation
Vanessa1023@yahoo.com

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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SIMEUS DEMANDS ACTION AGAINST CEP LAST MINUTE
ATTEMPT TO SILENCE PRO-DEMOCRACY CRUSADE

CEP ignores Supreme Court Ruling and Issues a New
"Official Presidential Ballot" Without Siméus Candidacy

Pro-Democracy Reformer Decries Action as "Witch Hunt Against Democracy"

November 12, 2005 (Port-au-Prince) - Dumarsais Siméus, the Haitian-born
businessman who has been nominated by a broad-based reform coalition of two
Haitian opposition parties, hailed the nomination of new U.S. Ambassador to
Haiti, Janet A. Sanderson, and called on her to stop the latest attempt to
silence the pro-democracy movement by the Tet Ansanm candidate.

Yesterday afternoon, Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) ignored the
unanimous Supreme Court decision confirming Dumarsais Siméus as a Haitian
citizen and rightful presidential candidate, and issued a new Presidential
ballot, leaving off the Siméus candidacy and one other. "It is a last-minute
attempt to silence our pro-democracy crusade, the voice of eight million
Haitians aching for free elections and ready for a new system of fair
government," said Siméus, who called the move, "A witch hunt against
democracy" and "another shameful attempt by this same small clique of power
hungry anti-democracy forces attempting to mastermind the outcome of Haiti's
Presidential election."

"The Supreme Court has unanimously spoken. I am Haitian. We have every right
to run in these elections and all Haitians have the right to freely choose
their representative," said the Artibonite-born unifier nominated by Tet
Ansanm "All Together" party.

"I urge the CEP to comply with the Supreme Court order, and respect the
rights of the Haitian people to freely choose their next leader. This
attempt to supercede the legitimacy and authority of our nation's highest
legal body and ultimate election authority undermines the fairness and
transparency of this fragile election process and the future for eight
million Haitians who suffer daily from poverty, violence and corruption,"
said Siméus, the son of illiterate peasants in the rural village of
Pont-Sondé who worked his way up from the rice paddies to found one of the
world's largest black-owned businesses and The Siméus Foundation to bring
clean water and health care to his birthplace in the Artibonite Valley.

* October 11, 2005, Haitian Supreme Court unanimously ordered that the CEP
include Dumarsais Siméus campaign on the ballot
* Mid October 2005, Prime Minister Gerard Latortue interceded and created
the Commission on Nationality (Comision d'Etat), an unconstitutional panel
offered powers above the Supreme Court. With 1,000 parliamentary candidates
and 38 presidential candidates, their "investigation" has focused primarily
on Dumarsais Siméus while convicted criminals remain on the ballot.
* October 18, 2005, CEP member Patrick Fequiere, in a letter to fellow CEP
members raised alarm about Prime Minister Latortue's actions to unilaterally
change electoral law by removing the Supreme Court as the final authority
through the creation of the Commission on Nationality
* November 4, 2005, CEP issued the final list of presidential candidates,
including Dumarsais Siméus, in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling
* November 8, 2005 The Commission on Nationality confirms Siméus candidacy
and requests new documentation not required by the CEP, electoral law or the
Supreme Court
* November 8, 2005 The members of a high-level committee created to improve
the organizations of the elections and help the CEP resigned, citing lack of
support from the government
* November 11, 2005 The CEP issued a new Presidential ballot, leaving off
Siméus and one other candidate

This challenge follows a series of election abuses by government insiders
who employed a string of back-door tricks in the ill-fated attempts to
exclude the formidable reformer from the ballot, including actions by
government and the electoral council to:

* Attempt to deny the Haitian nationality that belongs to Siméus by birth;
* Ignore electoral laws requiring the CEP to file objections within 72
hours;
* Falsify and forge documents which are clearly not in his handwriting;
* Use police powers of the state to "find" immigration cards;
* Intervene outside the Prime Minister's constitutional authority to block
Siméus;
* Register criminals and other candidates holding French and U.S. passports
while blocking Siméus;
* Even "losing" and then "finding" the candidate's CEP registration files.

"Haiti is on the brink of a tailspin. Only direct intervention by the
international community will sway the interim government to act according to
the mandate they have been assigned and immediately cease their illegal
maneuvers and actions.

"We call on new U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Janet A. Sanderson to step in, to
demand free and fair elections as called for by U.N. Secretary General Kofi
Annan and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. We are the voice, the
hope and the future for millions of Haitian men, women and children who are
dying from disease, violence and corruption. It is not me the CEP will
silence with this move, it is the cries of the malnourished, impoverished,
the scared and the ill... the anguished cries of all Haitians whose hope for
a better future lies in our democracy crusade."

"We have a chance right now to bring the light of democracy, transparency
and freedom, to lift Haiti from the crushing weight of despair, and it is
slipping away by the second," continued Siméus.
"We will bring real business-know how from the outside world here to Haiti.
And we will stand tall for all that is fair and good and truth so that that
every child can grow up to achieve the Haitian dream," continued Siméus.

"The choice is clear and it is in all of our hands. Do we continue the same
old failed politics that has beggared our beloved country continue to or do
we bring real change to our nation, with strong new leadership that has
actually created real jobs, built businesses in the real world, brought
health care and clean water to the people of Haiti, and put food on the
table for thousands of people around the planet?" asked the global
businessman, owner of one of the world's largest black-owned companies.

"This is our chance to sweep away the failed, corrupt politics of the past
and join hands to build a bold new vision of unity, prosperity and success,"
continued Siméus.

About Dumarsais Siméus
The presidential campaign of Dumarsais Siméus is the result of a draft
movement which began last spring, as delegations of key Haitian business,
civic and charitable leaders called on the global businessman, asking him to
consider running for President and leading the land of his birth in a bold
new direction.

A native son of the Haitian soil, Siméus grew up on a farm in Pont-Sondé,
Haiti. Siméus earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from Howard
University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of
Business. He has since become a global business success story with expertise
in management and corporate finance, holding international leadership
positions at a variety of companies including PromoCapital, the first
investment banking firm in Haiti, Atari, Inc., KB Homes, and as President of
TLC Beatrice Foods, a $2 billion multinational corporation with operations
in over 25 countries - a budget larger than the total revenues of the
Republic of Haiti.

During his campaign he accepted the nomination of Tet Ansanm "All Together"
party, a broad based pro-democracy reform coalition with 30 Senatorial
candidates and 99 candidates for Deputy in the Haitian Congress. Fully 100%
of local cartel elections (similar to City Councils in the United States)
include candidates nominated by Tet Ansanm alliance. With the momentum of
today's Supreme Court victory, Dumarsais Siméus and the Tet Ansanm coalition
will continue to reach out to more political parties, political leaders and
others in the coming weeks.

In 1999 he founded The Siméus Foundation, a non-profit charitable
organization, to carry out his mission of bringing far-reaching assistance
to Haitians. The Foundation's health clinic in Artibonite offers low-cost,
reliable health care to 400 patients a month, and its water project has
brought clean, safe water to thousands of Haitians - decreasing the risk of
disease and instilling new hope in the people of the Republic. Today,
Dumarsais Siméus is Founder and Chairman of Siméus Foods International,
Inc., one of the largest Haitian-owned and black-owned businesses in the
world.

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