KrazyRabidSheep
18th October 2004, 05:32
I just found this article about Haiti, which as you remember recently underwent a revolution removing Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office
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Haitian Leader: Aristide Behind Violence
Sun Oct 17, 5:53 PM ET
By AMY BRACKEN, Associated Press Writer
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Haiti's interim prime minister accused ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of directing a wave of violence from exile, while 95 Chinese police arrived Sunday to participate in their first U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Western Hemisphere.
The Chinese police joined an overextended peacekeeping force that has struggled to keep order as violence has surged in Port-au-Prince, with at least 55 people killed in clashes since Sept. 30, when supporters of the ousted leader took to the streets to demand his return.
Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue also said the South African government, which is hosting Aristide, was violating international law by letting the former president organize Haiti's ongoing violence while in exile. Aristide has denied any links to violence in Haiti.
Aristide "is the symbol of violence. He believes in that," Latortue told reporters, adding that South African President Thabo Mbeki is "taking a big risk" in his actions involving Aristide.
"No respectable president would allow a person in his territory to organize violence in another country," Latortue said, without giving specifics. "Mr. Mbeki is not respecting international law."
The South African government had no immediate response.
Aristide has accused France and the United States of "kidnapping" him when he left the Caribbean country on a U.S.-chartered plane Feb. 29 amid a bloody revolt. France and the United States deny the accusations.
Latortue spoke after laying a wreath at the tomb of independence hero Jean-Jacques Dessalines on the 198th anniversary of his death. Dessalines' battle cry against French colonizers was "Cut off their heads and burn down their houses!"
Some Haitians said they feared the anniversary could spark more violence, but the capital appeared largely calm, with street merchants selling bread and church-bound families wearing dresses and neckties as they walked through trash-strewn streets.
Aristide backers say the police started the bloodshed some two weeks ago, while the government blames Aristide militants and a terror campaign dubbed "Operation Baghdad."
Police reportedly killed two protesters on Sept. 30 and the bodies of three beheaded police were found the next day.
Latortue charged that Aristide "knows how to kill" and "how to arm young people — 12, 13, 14 years old." He also said that when Aristide stayed in Jamaica for 11 weeks earlier this year, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson "did not let Aristide organize violence."
The 95 Chinese police joined more than 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers in a Brazilian-led force that was supposed to have 8,000 members. U.N. officials say more troops should join soon.
Thirty more Chinese police arrived earlier. They are to help to train Haitian police and provide security.
While Latortue and interim President Boniface Alexandre laid the wreath in honor of Dessalines near the National Palace, streets in the nearby slum of Bel Air were still blocked by torched cars and scrap metal put there in recent days by Aristide loyalists.
Haitian police and Jordanian riot police from the U.N. force tried to clear roadblocks Saturday in Bel Air but came under heavy gunfire and quickly withdrew, witnesses said.
Among those at roadblocks Sunday were two 10-year-old boys who sang a song demanding Aristide's return.
One who gave his name only as Sonson added: "I'd like Americans to come here so we can fill them with bullets because it's Americans who came and took Aristide from us."
Gunfire often erupts in the slum. A man wearing a camouflage shirt at another Bel Air roadblock said he was commemorating Dessalines by "saying 'no' to the occupation... and to the kidnapping of our president."
The man, who refused to give his name, demanded the release of dozens detained in the violence and said: "If, by Tuesday, the government has not responded to our demands, we will respond in the strongest way possible."
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Originaly posted @ http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._am_ca/haiti_45 (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=13&u=/ap/20041017/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/haiti_45)
KrazyRabidSheep
18th October 2004, 15:44
Haiti established the world's first Black republic, making a commitment to end all slavery everywhere along with helping Venezuela, Peru and Colombia to achieve independence under such revolutionary leaders as Bolívar and Miranda.
Toussaint L'Ouverture abolished slavery in the neighboring Dominican republic. Threatened by this attack on slavery and colonialism, the United States and Western Europe instated sanctions against Haiti. In addition to this economic blow, in 1825 France demanded "reparations" to former slaveholders, amounting to 90 million gold francs (equivalent to $21.7 billion today). Haiti continued to make payments to France until the 1950s.
Haiti has since become the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and has been plagued by political violence and corrupt dictators for most of its history. In 1957, François Duvalier, "Papa Doc", ruled the nation, becoming dictator in 1964. He was known for his army of sunglasses-clad volunteers, the Tonton Macoute. He was followed by his son Jean-Claude Duvalier, "Baby Doc", at the age of 19, in 1971. "Baby Doc" was deposed in 1986.
Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military coup d'etat, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996.
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François Duvalier known as "Papa Doc" (possibly April 14, 1907 - April 21, 1971) was the President of Haiti from 1957 and later dictator from 1964 until his death.
He was raised in Port-au-Prince and trained as a doctor, serving in rural areas. There he won acclaim for helping the poor fight typhus and other diseases. He married Simone Ovide in 1939, and became director general of the national health service in 1946. In 1949, he served as minister of both health and labour. After opposing the coup of Paul Magloire, he was forced into hiding until an amnesty in 1956.
Backed by the army, Duvalier won the 1957 Haitian elections; he had campaigned as a populist leader, attacking the "noirist" elite. Duvalier revived the traditions of vodun and later used them to consolidate his power, claiming to be a hougan himself. Duvalier deliberately modeled his image on that of Baron Samedi in an effort to make himself even more imposing.
He worked to consolidate his rule; after surviving a coup in mid-1958, he purged the army. He then rewrote the constitution and then won the 1961 election: the official count was 1.32 million votes for Duvalier and none against. He established himself as president for life in 1964 and his rule assumed a more brutal and repressive character. Wary of the army, he created a militia in 1959, known as the VSN (Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale) from 1962, to protect his power outside the capital. The VSN became better known as the Tonton Macoute (or Makout). Because they received no official salary, they had to make their living through crime and extortion. To protect his person, Duvalier used the Garde Présidentielle.
Duvalier came under pressure from the government of John F. Kennedy due to evidence of corruption over aid. Aid was officially suspended in 1962 but the pressure eased following the death of Kennedy. The country assumed the mantle of an anti-communist presence to balance that of nearby Cuba. After Kennedy's assassination, Duvalier claimed that the killing was a result of his placing a curse on Kennedy.
In April 1963, Haiti was almost attacked by the Dominican Republic. Only the lack of senior military support for Juan Bosch y Gaviño prevented the Dominicans invading; instead, the conflict was mediated by the OAS.
By the mid-1960s it was clear that Duvalier had no intention of stepping down. In June of 1964 he was proclaimed president for life and began to create a personality cult around the image of himself as the physical embodiment of the Haitian nation. Like some of his predecessors, Duvalier was often rumored to be contemplating making himself Emperor of Haiti, and ruling the nation as a monarch.
Within the country Duvalier used both political murder and expulsion to suppress his opponents; estimates of those killed are as high as 30,000. Attacks on Duvalier from within the military were treated as especially serious; in 1967 bombs detonated near the Presidential Palace led to the execution of twenty Garde Présidentielle officers.
His reign of terror kept the country in his grip until his death in early 1971, after he had set his 19-year-old son Jean-Claude Duvalier to succeed him.
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Jean-Claude Duvalier (nicknamed Bébé Doc or Baby Doc) (born July 3, 1951) was President of Haiti from 1971 to 1986. He married Michèle Duvalier.
He was born in Port-au-Prince, and in April 1971, he assumed the presidency of Haiti at the age of 19 upon the death of his father, François Duvalier (nicknamed "Papa Doc"). He held on to power until February 7, 1986 when, in response to three months of protest against the government's political and economic repression, he fled the country and settled in France.
Following the ouster of the elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, Duvalier announced his intention to return to Haiti.
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Henri Namphy (born 1932) was a Haitian general and political figure. He served as president of Haiti between 6 February 1986 and 7 February 1988. He served again from 20 June until his deposition on 17 September 1988.
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Leslie François Manigat (b. August 1930) was the first democratically elected president of Haiti (1988).
According to the Provisional Electoral Council (Conseil Electoral Provisoire, or CEP) he won the presidential elections of January 17, 1988 with 50.29% of the votes, defeating ten other candidates. He was inaugurated on February 7, 1988, but was overthrown by Gen. Henri Namphy on June 20, after only a few months in office.
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Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born July 15, 1953) was a President of Haiti (1991, 1994 - 1996, 2001 - 2004). Aristide's supporters laud him as "the first democratically elected leader of Haiti" and a friend of the poor. Critics claim that he became dictatorial and corrupt once in power, and he was twice overthrown. After being ousted in the rebellion of February 2004, he maintained from exile that he was still the legal and legitimate president and that U.S. forces had kidnapped him.
Aristide was born in Port-Salut, Haiti. He was educated at schools in Port-au-Prince and at the College Notre Dame, graduating in 1974. He then took a course of novitiate studies in La Vega before returning to Haiti to study philosophy at the Grand Seminaire Notre Dame and psychology at the State University of Haiti. After completing his post-graduate studies in 1979, he travelled in Europe, studying in Italy and Israel. Aristide returned to Haiti in 1983 for his ordination.
He was appointed curate of a small parish in Port-au-Prince and then a larger one in the La Saline slums, gaining the affectionate Creole nickname "Titide" or "Titid" (tiny Aristide). An exponent of liberation theology, he became a leading figure in the more radical wing of the Catholic faith in Haiti (the ti legliz - from the Haitian Creole for "little church"), broadcasting his sermons on the national Catholic radio. The Duvalier regime tried repeatedly to silence him. Only the collapse of the regime in April 1986 saved him. In September of 1988, Aristide was expelled from his Salesian order for "incitement to hate and violence (and) the exaltation of class struggle."
In 1995 Aristide left the priesthood. In 1996 he married Mildred Trouillot, an American citizen.
Following the violence at the abortive national elections of 1987, the 1990 polls were approached with caution. Aristide announced his candidacy for the presidency and following a six-week campaign (Lavalas) the "little priest" was elected President with 67 percent of the vote.
Aristide took office on February 7, 1991, becoming Haiti's second democratically elected leader (see Leslie Manigat). Like Manigat, he was forced out of office after less than a year: on September 30, 1991 a military coup d'état forced Aristide to flee. A large-scale exodus of boat people ensued. The United States Coast Guard rescued a total of 41,342 Haitians during 1991 and 1992, more than the number of rescued refugees from the previous 10 years combined.
Aristide spent his exile in Venezuela and then in the United States, working hard to develop international support. Under U.S. and international pressure, the military regime backed down and U.S. troops were deployed in the country. On October 15, 1994, Aristide returned to Haiti to complete his term in office. Military rule had dealt a strong blow to Haiti's weak economy and much of Aristide's time was taken with economic measures. He also purged the Haitian army of many School of the Americas trained officers and established a civilian police force. In the Assemblée Nationale elections of June 1995, a multi-party coalition, the Organisation Politique Lavalas (OPL) won a convincing victory.
Aristide's first term ended in February 1996, and the constitution did not allow him to serve consecutive terms. There was some dispute over whether Aristide should serve the three years he had lost in exile prior to new elections, or whether his term in office should instead be counted strictly according to the date of his inauguration; under U.S. pressure, it was decided that the latter should be the case. René Préval, a prominent ally of Aristide and Prime Minister since 1991 under Aristide, ran during the 1995 presidential election and took 88% of the vote. This marked the first time in Haitian history that there was a peaceful and democratic transition of power.
In late 1996, Aristide broke from the OPL and created a new political party, the Fanmi Lavalas. The OPL, holding the majority of the Sénat and the Chambre des Députés, renamed itself the Organisation du Peuple en Lutte, maintaining the OPL acronym. Elections in April 1997 for the Sénat chamber of the Assemblée Nationale drew only about 5 percent of registered voters and were plagued with allegations of fraud, the Préval government refused to accept the results.
New elections in May 2000 occurred for almost the entire Assemblée Nationale. Opposition-owned radio stations reported turnout of around 10%, but election officials and international observers reported around 60% turnout. The FL won a sweeping victory, but the methods used by the Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP) in counting the votes were rejected by opposition parties, which united as the Convergence Democratique (CD) and demanded that the elections be ignored.
Aristide won the presidential election in November of 2000 with 91.8% of the vote. Most of the opposition parties boycotted this election, claiming that they had no fair chance. After the election, the Organization of American States issued a report that the election was unfair and that the methodology for counting votes was flawed. Aristide supporters have questioned why the OAS, which tends to be dominated by the US and was well aware of the methodology beforehand, waited until after the election to question it. The International Organization of Independent Observers, a private volunteer organization, reported that the election went over smoothly and they witnessed no irregularities. In response to the election, the United States under President Bill Clinton, worked with the European Union to block a 500 million dollar loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to Haiti.
On February 7, 2001, Aristide was sworn in for his second term as President of Haiti. That same day, the CD swore in Gerard Gourgue as head of a new provisional government. Aristide agreed to reform the CEP, but he did not include any supporters of the opposition in the new body. Jean-Marie Cherestal was made the new Prime Minister in March 2001. The CD rejected both changes and in response the Government tried to have Gourgue arrested. The economy suffered as political control stalled. Aristide made moves to placate the opposition - in June 2001 certain senators holding contested seats resigned - but talks between the FL and the CD repeatedly failed. There was an attempted coup in mid-December 2001 and Cherestal resigned in January 2002, as the economy continued to slump.
Due to the objections of the opposition, elections were not held as scheduled in late 2003, and consequently the terms of most legislators expired in January, forcing Aristide to rule by decree. He promised to organize elections within six months, but the opposition refused to accept anything less than Aristide's resignation.
Aristide's opponents continued to accuse him of being corrupt and of using violence to attack political opponents. He maintained close ties not only to the Haitian police force, but also to street gangs such as the "Cannibal Army." His government built parks and facilities for the gangs in exchange for cooperation with his government. After the assassination of the leader of the Cannibal Army, Amiot Metayer, who had begun committing excessive acts of violence, that gang turned solidly against Aristide and joined the opposition.
In January 2004, political violence between Aristide supporters and supporters of the opposition escalated sharply, and on February 5, 2004, a rebel group calling itself the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front seized control of Haiti's fourth-largest city, Gonaïves, marking the beginning of a major revolt against Aristide. By February 22, the rebels had captured Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Haïtien, and effectively split Haiti between a rebel-held north and a government-held south. The rebellion, led by former Cap-Haitien police chief Guy Philippe, has been referred to as a "military coup" by Aristide's lawyer, who claimed that the heavy weaponry used by the rebels were shipped in from the Dominican Republic.
As the end of February approached, rebels continued to advance to within miles of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
In the early morning of February 29, 2004, after being harshly condemned by the governments of France and the United States, Aristide flew on a US-dispatched airplane to the Central African Republic. The circumstances surrounding this flight are a matter of controversy.
According to the Washington Times,
Mr. Aristide, who accuses the United States and France of conspiring to force him out of power, filed a lawsuit in Paris last week accusing unnamed French officials of "death threats, kidnapping and sequestration" in connection with his flight to Africa.
The Bush administration insists that Mr. Aristide had personally asked for help and voluntarily boarded a U.S. plane. "He drafted and signed his letter of resignation all by himself and then voluntarily departed with his wife and his own security team," Mr. Powell said.
Many media sources reported that Aristide had resigned and been refused asylum by South Africa. On March 1, 2004, US Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), along with Randall Robinson, a family friend of the Aristides, each reported that Aristide had told them using a smuggled cellular telephone that he had been forced to resign against his will by United States diplomats and Marines, and that he was abducted against his will, and continued to be held hostage by an undisclosed armed military guard. When asked whether Aristide was guarded in the Central African Republic by French officers, the French Defense Minister answered that Aristide was protected, not imprisoned, and that he would leave when he could; and that France had many officers present in the Central African Republic following the recent events in that country, but that they did not control Aristide's comings and goings.
Both Maxine Waters and United States congressman Charles Rangel, who also reported talking to Aristide via cellular telephone, said that Aristide said he had not been handcuffed while being led away, while the Agence France Press reported that the caretaker at Aristide's house claimed that Aristide had been handcuffed and led away at gunpoint. Other reports of Aristide being led away by heavily armed American troops have been made by an Aristide bodyguard and an Orthodox missionary. Aristide told CNN that there were unidentified civilian Americans and Haitians who had forced him to resign and board the plane leaving Haiti.
The United States vice-president Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell both reported that Aristide had resigned willingly. The Associated Press reported that the Central African Republic tried to get Aristide to stop repeating his charges to the press. Aristide has further alleged that the resignation statement that is being touted was altered to remove a conditional statement in which he stated,"'If I am obliged to leave in order to avoid bloodshed."; this was confirmed by a Reuters translation of Aristide's original statement, which matches up word for word except for the one line, in which the conditional has been removed. On 14 March 2004, he left the Central African Republic for Jamaica, to the dismay of the French and American governments, who felt that his presence in the area would have a destabilizing effect on Haiti. The American ambassador to Haiti, James Foley, issued a warning to Aristide to stay at least 150 miles away from Haiti at all times. Condoleezza Rice is reported to have said that she did not want him in the Western Hemisphere.
After arriving in Jamaica, Aristide gave a full interview, in which he claimed the following specifics (note: The US has neither confirmed nor denied these details, but has insisted that Aristide left willingly): He had met with US ambassador James Foley on February 28, 2004 -- the day before the rebels were supposed to attack the capitol. Foley agreed that Aristide should go on national television to appeal to the nation to remain calm, as he had done the night before. When he arrived at his residence, it was surrounded by "thousands" of troops, mostly Americans, which made him feel intimidated. The Americans told him they would provide him security as they escorted him to the media; however, instead, they took him straight to a white unmarked airplane with a US flag on the side. He was then obliged to board, followed by US troops in full gear who changed into civilian clothes once on board. On board were his wife and 19 members of DynCorp, a private mercenary corporation.
Aristide's account was directly backed up by two witnesses: a pilot and Aristide aide, Franz Gabriel; and an American security guard on the security detail, who told the Washington Post about the subterfuge to lure Aristide away: "That was just bogus. It's a story they fabricated."
On May 31, 2004, Aristide and his family flew to Johannesburg, South Africa along with US Congressmen of the Congressional Black Caucus. South Africa characterized his stay as "temporary".
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Gérard Latortue (born June 19, 1934) is the current Prime Minister of Haiti.
He was an official in the United Nations for many years, and he served as foreign minister of Haiti briefly during 1988. He was living in the United States when he was appointed to head the new provisional government in Haiti on March 9, 2004. He arrived in Haiti on March 10 and was sworn in on March 12, 2004.
The government of Percival Patterson in Jamaica has refused to recognise Latortue's administration, as has the government of St Kitts and Nevis.
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I've tried not to put any political spin on the topic, but Aristide is the only president actually chosen by the people of Haiti (except Manigat. . .4 month term, and Duvalier's electoral sweep, 1.32millon to zero. . .hmmm, popular guy)
The military of Haiti has otherwise chosen the president, except Gérard Latortue who is a puppet president, and an imperialistic capitolist stooge.
Haiti has not been a friend of western culture, oppressed for centuries by France (the slaves had to pay the OWNERS?), and driven into poverty and near anarchy by the United States and other empires.
Gringo-a-Go-Go
19th October 2004, 00:54
The problem with Aristide is that he sure talked a lot of socialist talk and became wildly popular with the masses while a priest in opposition; but when it came to power, he was willing to knuckle-under to the usual U.S.-imposed IMF SAP program.
A real marxist leader would never have gotten themselves into such a situation. He would have taken the blackmail directly back to the people and asked them to decide. But then, a real marxist leader would never have been allowed into office by the U.S. regime in the first place.
People are always saying that Aristide was walking a tightrope; he tried so hard against overwhelming odds, etc. All this is no doubt true -- but then, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, as they say. Problem with Aristide is: he's out of his league, and playing a very bad hand dealt him by sleazoid imperialism. A charismatic leader, no matter how gifted, is no substitute for a party with a program, truly. Here's a good object lesson on that!
Still: he's the people's choice these days. So you start with what the people want.
What the haitian workers and farm laborers really need are arms and resources and international support. And they need a lot of support from us in the imperial countries to counter the media lies and malevolent silence which aid and abet these murderous "Human Rights" operations.
I think an independent workers federation of Latin America could help guarantee the independence of Cuba, Puerto Rico and Haiti & Dominican, against U.S. imperialism.
So part of our helping the Haitians is also helping the Venezuelans, Bolivians, Ecuadoreans, Brasilians et al. to fight for full socialism in the near term.
It's all just around the corner, folks!
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