30766: Batay Ouvriye (News): Brazilian Conlutas Delegation Visits Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Batay Ouvriye - batay@batayouvriye.org


BRAZILIAN DELEGATION’S VISIT TO HAITI

> From June 26th to July 3rd, a Brazilian delegation met with us in Haiti. 
Following two of our visits to Brazil, we had shown the organization CONLUTAS 
the interest of such a trip, given the specific relationship presently existing 
between our two countries and this organization’s often reiterated stand of 
rejection of the occupation.
The delegation included twenty persons, mostly union representatives but also 
members of peasant organizations, professionals, students, neighborhood 
organizations, women’s’ groups, retirees, organizations fighting racism… and, 
finally, political parties, such as the PSTU (Unified Workers’ Socialist Party) 
and the PSOL (Socialism and Liberty Party). Reporters and photographs also 
accompanied the group (see http://www.solidariedadehaiti.blogspot.com/). All 
were members of CONLUTAS (the National Coordination of Struggles), an 
organization born of the “National Workers’ Congress (CONAT” held from May 5th 
to 7th, 2006.
This delegation first met various Batay Ouvriye leaders in Port-au-Prince and 
Cap-Haitian. Then, they participated in open assemblies, including participants 
in Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitian and Ouanaminthe, counting industrial workers and 
workers from different other categories, whether of Batay Ouvriye or not.
It also met the university milieu. First, during an open student assembly, 
mostly from the School of Ethnology, with presence of the dean; later, with the 
university governing body, with the University President and Research 
Vice-President, as well as certain professors, who, upon invitation of the 
governing body itself, participated in the meeting.
At the St. Martial auditorium, the human rights’ sector principally, workers’ 
defense and solidarity organizations in general, as well as the representatives 
of political parties, were present in an open meeting for the public in 
general.
The members of the delegation also wished to present their position to the 
national and international authorities. Thus meetings were held with the 
President of the Republic, with the ambassador of Brazil and then Chili, with 
the Labor Direction of the Ministry of Labor and with the Direction of Free 
Trade Zones of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
In all these meetings and equally, the Brazilian workers’ delegates informed of 
their position against the occupation which they denounced not only as a 
violation of our sovereignty as a people, but also because it is a concrete 
support to the project of exploitation and domination which the multinational 
imperialists (of the textile industry in particular) relay to their local 
managers and the national governments at their service. This exploitation 
project is so cruel and antagonistic, and the Haitian ruling classes’ and their 
reactionary State’s incapacity so flagrant, that the occupation to take care of 
it and see to its accomplish has become necessary for them.
This is the same project that the ruling classes of Brazil and the reactionary 
classes that always loyally accompany them are presently attempting to implant 
there as well. So it is a fight we have in common in which the enemy of the 
workers and the peoples is everywhere the same, the general situation similar, 
even while the specificities of each country convey  particular aspects, namely 
the fact, precisely, that it is presently Latin-American military troops, under 
Brazilian command, that, in our country, are confirming this class domination, 
in this extreme case of occupation, shameful for both countries.
The recent presence, at the Ouanaminthe free trade zone, of the Brazilian 
Vice-President’s son, who is, in his country, the most important owner of the 
largest textile industry; the launching  - at least in words – of the ethanol 
project, by the US and Brazilian presidents; the various “free trade” treaties 
and the frenzied privatization process of the public services… all partake of 
this global dynamic of exploitation and neoliberalization that multinational 
imperialism seeks to impose to dominated peoples in general and those having 
“cheap labor”  in particular, using the latter as a “comparative advantage” in 
the context of international capitalist competition, under imperial dictates, 
with governments and financial institutions in support.
The “Letter to the Haitian People” conveyed by the members of this comrade 
delegation, read and transmitted at each of the meetings, reveals this logic 
and their partisan support, crystal-clear and historical. It is attached, in 
original form as well as translated.
*
We should note the variety of reactions manifested during the different 
meetings.
At the popular encounters, meeting with the workers who suffer so from the 
bourgeois exploitation that maintains them chronically in such a high level of 
extreme misery and from the deadly attacks of the MINUSTAH which supports this 
state of affairs unreservedly, all applauded loudly the declarations of the 
Brazilian comrades that denounced so clearly the causes of their sufferance and 
brought them a more than brotherly solidarity, sign of the unity of a future 
people and of budding common struggles. Songs, free speech and appropriate 
comments filled the full rooms: a region was creating before our eyes; a 
homeland of a new type began to be felt. One of the Brazilian comrades went so 
far as to say that if, one day, the Haitian people stood up against this 
project of domination, exploitation and occupation by multinational capital, 
and, in this heroic and historical act, burned the Brazilian flag, he would 
stand by the Haitian workers in this!
Amongst the middle classes, hesitations linked to their nature and internal 
quarrels between fractions appeared most strongly and, in this, generally made 
the debate duller. Naturally, also, their adhesion to this position, although 
historically such an important one, was more lukewarm, even if some speakers 
did demonstrate an interesting theoretical precision and patriotic vigor.
Needless to say, the Haitian and Latin-American authorities tried with evasive 
and quite weak arguments to uphold an untenable position. The Latin-American 
authorities showed condescendence towards the Haitian people (which our “big 
neighbors of the North” already accustomed us to), in order to pat themselves 
on the backs, all the while hiding their real project of exploitation and 
domination. The Haitian authorities, for their part, revealed quite clearly the 
odious submission and abdication of responsibility they are guilty of. Some 
went so far as to declare themselves “against the occupation” although 
convinced of its “necessity”, revealing in this way not only the inconsistency 
and incoherence of their position as “national authorities”, but also 
demonstrating a high level of irresponsibility: faced with their total 
incapacity, they prefer to leave it to the fatality of such a situation. The 
president of the Republic himself wasn’t able to answer these contradictions 
which, for him, appear inextricable.
*
Threats and intimidations accompanied this encounter (see our “Communiqué” 
concerning this), revealing quite clearly the limits of the so-called 
“democracy” and “civil liberties” this bourgeoisie so rants about.
Meanwhile, the “independent press” shined by its absence. Only the National 
Television covered both events and Alterpress was the only one who made it to 
our final press conference. A general invitation had been distributed to all, 
including the public program in its entirety. No comment.


BATAY OUVRIYE, Port-au-Prince, July 11th, 2007

--------------------------------

CARTA AO POVO DO HAITI

“Nenhum povo pode ser livre se oprime outro povo.”

Mais uma vez, o Haiti está sendo ocupado, agora, por tropas latino-americanas. 
São países oprimidos oprimindo um povo ainda mais oprimido.
Debaixo do falso manto da defesa da democracia, impõe-se a opressão, a 
exploração, a miséria, manchando o solo de vosso país com sangue de vosasa 
gente.
Na realidade, uma intervenção que fere a soberania de vosso povo, permitindo ao 
imperialismo explorá-lo ainda mais e transformar o território haitiano em uma 
plataforma de exportação dos produtos das empresas multinacionais.
O governo brasileiro de LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA detém o comando das tropas 
militares neste território, cumprindo assim um nefasto papel de agente do 
imperialismo opressor. Os trabalhadores e o povo brasileiro não respondem por 
este crime.
Ao contrário, ao heróico povo haitiano, que protagonizou a primeira e única 
revolução de escravos vitoriosa, a primeira nação a conquistar a independência 
na América Latina, que com bravura enfrentou tantas ditaduras em sua História e 
que acolheu Simon Bolívar fortalecendo seus ideais de liberdade, queremos dizer 
que:

Estaremos juntos na luta pela desocupação do vosso território e seremos mais 
que solidários, pois somos parte de uma mesma luta.
Embora à distância, travamos uma única batalha contra a colonização
imperialista. Acreditamos, como Sandino, que Liberdade não se pede, se 
conquista...

Nós, que assinamos esta carta, estamos no teatro de operações, somos parte 
deste cenário. Partilhamos as angústias e os sofrimentos do vosso povo e também 
nos somamos na trincheira da resistência, da busca da autodeterminação de 
nossos povos.
Sonhamos o mesmo sonho de liberdade. A vossa luta é a nossa luta, a vossa 
vitória é a nossa vitória, a liberdade de um povo é motivo de júbilo em toda a 
humanidade.

Pela imediata retirada das tropas brasileiras e de outros países do Haiti.
Pela autodeterminação do povo haitiano

---------------

LETTER TO THE HAITIAN PEOPLE

"No people can be free if it oppresses another."

Here, once again, Haiti is occupied! But, this time, it is Latino American 
troops that are in charge. An oppressed country oppresses another which is so 
even more.
Under the false guise of "defending democracy", it imposes oppression, 
exploitation, misery, soiling the ground of your country with the blood of your 
people.
In reality, this intervention tramples your sovereignty, with the objective of 
allowing imperialism to exploit the workers and transform the Haitian territory 
into a platform for multinational corporations’ exportations.
The LUIZ IGNACIO LULA DA SILVA government has the command of the international 
military troops on this territory, thus playing the reprehensible role of agent 
of the imperialist oppressor. The workers and the Brazilian people do not 
answer of this crime.
On the contrary, to the heroic Haitian people, first and only people to have 
carried out a victorious slave revolution and who were also the first to 
conquer independence in Latin America and bravely faced so many dictatorships 
during its history, also welcoming Simon Bolivar and reinforcing his ideals of 
freedom, we say:
We will be with you in the fight for the liberation of your territory and we 
will be more than in solidarity, because we are all a part of the same fight.
Although from a distance, we are all carrying out but one and the same fight 
against imperialist colonization.
With Sandino, we believe that freedom is not requested, it is conquered...
We, the undersigned, are on the theatre of the operations, we a part of this 
scene. We share the same distress, have the same sufferings and are also in the 
same trenches of resistance, in the quest for the self-determination of our 
peoples.
We share the same dream of freedom.
Your fight is our fight, your victory will be ours: the freedom of one people 
is reason for rejoice for all of humanity.

For the immediate withdrawal of the Brazilian troops of Haiti.
For the self determination of the Haitian people.