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29790: Potemaksonje (News) Patrick Elie comments on the latest UN massacre (fwd)
From: pote mak sonje <potemaksonje@yahoo.com>
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=11749
CKUT Radio: Haiti - A Rough 2007
Patrick Elie comments on the latest UN massacre
Patrick Elie interviewed by
Aaron Lakoff
December 31, 2006
CKUT Radio
Aaron Lakoff (AL): I'm joined on the line right now with
Patrick Elie. Patrick is a long time human rights and political activist. He
joins us from Port au Prince, Haiti. Good evening Patrick.
Patrick Elie (PE): Good evening Aaron.
AL: So, what we'll be talking about is recent events that have
just happened in Port au Prince. We have reports, I guess it's gone out quite a
bit now, that the UN was engaged in quite a large attack in Cité Soleil, in
Port au Prince, on Friday December 22nd. Patrick can you tell me a little bit
about what you know about what happened on December 22nd in Cité Soleil?
PE: Yes. I can tell you that what happened was, in our
opinion, a catastrophic [inaudible], for the UN forces and maybe some elements
of the [PNH]...descended and attack[ed] Cité Soleil with military means and
military force, and of course, everybody could have predicted that this would
have caused a lot of what is being called now 'collateral damages,' but it
means kids, women, people who have nothing to do with nothing at all, being
killed by stray bullets. And, of course, anybody could have predicted that any
kind of military operation in Cité Soleil would have resulted in that kind of
collateral damage. It is a very, very bad decision; it is one that was
prepared, in a way, by a campaign against the legitimate government, trying to,
if you want, to push it into an all-repressive mode, and the results are
terrible, terrible. What is happening is, in our opinion, an attempt at a new
coup d'état, where they will not in fact kidnap the President, but they
will impose on the elected regime an agenda that's the exact opposite of what
the people took to the streets and took to the polls to impose. And we are
hoping that the government will change course and stand with the people rather
than bow to the pressure of the traditional elite and the chanceries - you know
it's the same, it's the U.S., it's the French embassy, and it's the Canadians,
not the Canadians, I should say the Canadian government, trying to
'domesticate' the new regime. And if that happens Haiti will suffer more,
because, you see, whenever you have this will to impose on the people and the
will to resist, the result is more violence, and we don't need more of that,
really.
AL: Some reports have compared this recent massacre to the one
that was carried out by MINUSTAH, a very well known massacre, on July 6, 2005.
Of course, back then the justification on MINUSTAH's part was that they were
going in to take out a gang leader at the time, Dread Wilme. Can you talk a
little bit about what the MINUSTAH justification was for this raid, whether the
context has changed?
PE: I must tell you that there has been a new wave of
insecurity in Haiti of late; kidnapping targeting precisely schoolchildren, and
the minute we saw that, we understood that it was a wave of purely political
kidnapping, to set the mood for an all-out repression. And, it's interesting
that you mention Dread Wilme. Since his assassination, instead of things
becoming more peaceful, they've gotten worse. And I think this new wave of
repression is only going to make things worse. The population of Cité Soleil is
completely adamant, because they've seen what has happened, you know, people
getting killed miles away from the actual theatre of operations, because the UN
is using [20mm rapid fire] cannons [and] .50 calibre machine guns, and if
anybody knows Cité Soleil, which is a shantytown, it is not the type [of
neighborhood that can sustain damage from] these kind of weapons. People are
really, really, very very fed up with what has happened.[1]
AL: For a long time now or certainly since the United Nations
has been in Haiti, but more specifically in Cité Soleil. The residents of Cité
Soleil have been demanding that MINUSTAH get out, and as far as I understand,
the MINUSTAH mandate will be up again for review in a couple months. Do you see
MINUSTAH's presence continuing in Haiti for a long time or do you see the
Haitian government and Preval kind of giving in to the will of the residents of
Cité Soleil and asking for the UN to leave?
PE: To be frank, I do not see the present government asking
for the MINUSTAH to leave. And of course, you know, if you want to ask for the
MINUSTAH to leave, then you have to take the necessary steps to secure the
country, and that means, really, to give the Haitian people the means to secure
themselves. We have to have, in this country, a security force that will not be
against the people, that will be formed from the people themselves. And that's
the only way we will secure this country, you see. MINUSTAH, unfortunately, has
proven, and recently with that attack on Cité Soleil, that it is no friend of
the Haitian people, and we definitely have to get rid of them. But of course,
we also have to have our own security in our hands. And we hope the present
government, which certainly has the legitimacy, will be bold enough to do that.
AL: Do you seen any kind of resolution to these UN attacks
that are taking place, in terms of the security situation in Haiti? What needs
to happen for them to stop?
PE: I think that come early January, if the present government
does not very very resolutely state that it stands resolutely with the people
that elected them, and change the course of the policies its been waging, I
think we are in for a very rough 2007. I'm certainly hoping that this is not
what will happen, but if the government does not respond to the people's
resolution with a resolution of its own, I think we are in for a very rough
time.
AL: And just one last question: as 2006 comes to a close, of
course, most importantly with the elections and with the inauguration of Rene
Preval this year, what do you see happening in terms of the current context
with the main popular demands of the Haitian people in terms of Aristide coming
back to Haiti, in terms of the release of all the political prisoners, in terms
of retribution for the crimes committed under the Latortue government. Where do
you see those popular demands going?
PE: I think if these popular demands are not addressed, we
have some very rough waters [ahead]. You know, the de facto
[Latortue-Alexandre] government has really set a trap for this [Preval-Alexis]
government in many ways. For example, in firing thousands of people in a
country where, as you know, the level of unemployment is very high. But they
have also hired a lot of people they have not paid, and that the new legitimate
government is now stuck with. It's a time to be bold as the Haitian people were
bold in last February, you know when everybody said that nothing could be done,
and the Haitian people mobilized and snatched victory away from the enemies of
democracy - now it's time for the government to be bold, and they will have to
do some serious change of policy in the beginning of the year that comes.
Otherwise, we are heading for serious trouble.
AL: I've been on the phone with Patrick Elie from Port au
Prince, Haiti. Thank-you very much for speaking with is tonight Patrick.
PE: Hang in there and have a better 2007. Kembe la.
http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/aaron@resist.ca/1074-1-20061227-Elie_dec27.mp3
[1] The following clarification and addition was received by
ZNet from Patrick Elie via e-mail:
"In one of the inaudible portions, I was referring to the UN
using 50 caliber machine guns and 20mm rapid fire canons in a shanty town.
I...have seen the kind of damage these weapons have caused in Cité Soleil.
These projectiles can go through many of the typical houses of Cité Soleil and
if they do not hit you directly, the fragments will kill you. You should also
note that after an operation involving more than 500 soldiers and supposedly
well-targeted at particular gang of kidnappers, no hostage were freed, none of
the wanted gangster was captured or killed and no weapons seized. This recent
orgy of violence by the UN troops should be denounced in the strongest terms.
The objective, of the elites and the UN acting as proxy for the US, France and
Canada, is to impose a people-less democracy."
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=11749
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