Environmentalists Against War

Haitians Are Being Slaughtered

March 3rd, 2004 - by admin

by Marguerite Laurent / Haiti Action –

http://globalresearch.ca/articles/LAU403A.html

(March 2, 2004) — Members of Congress Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel and Randall Robinson have confirmed that the President and Mrs. Aristide said they were forced on an airplane, at gunpoint, with US and French soldiers guarding. The plane eventually landed in the French/US de facto protectorate known as the Central African Republic. Aristide reiterated he did not resign and that he was being held hostage surrounded by French and U.S. soldiers in a place called the Chateau De Renaissance, in the Central African Republic.

The duly elected President kidnapped by US Marines and flown out of the country at gunpoint and is being held hostage in the Central African Republic under US and French guard.

Our Black people in Port-au-Prince Haiti are being slaughtered. [On February 29] it is reported that, under US marine escort the former FRAPH/FAHD thugs rolled into Port-au-Prince. Aristide’s private residence has been raided and pillaged.

The first order of business for these US-supported death squad leaders (Guy Philippe, Jean Tatoune and Louis Jodel Chamblain) was to go to the National Penitentiary and forcibly break out all the 2,000 prisoners there. Now these murderers have more murderers to help them terrorize Haiti.

Practically every building Aristide and the Haitian people built these last 10 years is being burned down and destroyed. Meanwhile the US troops, French troops, Canadian troops are protecting their own edifices in Haiti. No one is protecting the more than $850 million [annual] investment hard-working Haitians of the Diaspora have invested in the security, development, shelter and nurturing of their relatives, children and family in Haiti.

Last night these opposition thugs ran through the slums of Belaire, La Saline and Cite Soleil, well known for its support of the elected President and indiscriminately fired, killing countless numbers, according to an independent reporter in Port-au-Prince.

The Lavalas Party has been threatened and warned to remain quiet and not denounce the Coup d’Etat and abduction of Aristide, his wife, a brother-in-law and two security people from Haiti.

The Repression of the Lavalas Party

Dissenters, specifically Lavalas officials, are being told if Lavalas demonstrates in Haiti and protests or defend their right to free speech and association, or for the return of Aristide and against the opposition and their Jean Tatoune/Guy Philippe/Louis Jodel Chamberlain triumvirate, then presumably the international community, that is, US/ France/Canada along with the opposition they broker for, will make sure that the Lavalas party is not allowed to participate in any upcoming elections!

Moreover, Prime Minister, Yvonne Neptune is technically a prisoner in his office. US/Euro soldiers surround the Prime Minister’s building. He cannot leave his office and his home has been ransacked.

From these reports, it appears any good works towards justice in Haiti that had flickered has been destroyed. Supposedly a Triumvirate has been created, made up of 1). One member of the International Community, 2) One member of the so-called opposition and 3) One member of Lavalas.

It is reported, this Triumvirate will, in turn, pick a nine or so member council to work towards elections and governance. The Supreme Court Judge has been appointed interim President of Haiti and it is rumored the former Haitian army head, Herald Abraham is back in office calling all former army soldiers back to their post!

According to some on-the-ground observers, Former Haitian military are right now walking side by side with US Marines and French and Canadian troops.

Violations of Domestic, Regional and International Law
So many laws have been broken; I am not sure where to begin.

l. It is against the UN Charter, the OAS, the CARICOM charter to violently overthrow a constitutionally elected President;

2. It is against all these above-mentioned charters and international law and US federal law to kidnap and take hostage, not only a President of a sovereign country but his U.S. citizen wife and the brother and two security guards. If this operation goes up Bush, if he had anything to do with this covert operation and abduction, we are talking about High Crimes and Misdemeanors, not to mention that impeachment resolution should begin to be drafted right now.

3. It is against international law to enter a sovereign country without an invitation. All the foreign troops, French, US, Canadian, etc. who invaded Haiti on February 29, 2004, to conduct and maintain this crime-against-humanity-debacle are in violation of international law and treaties and Haitian sovereignty.

4. Secretary Colin Powell, Roger Noriega, US Ambassador Foley and all those directly or indirectly supporting the reign in Haiti of convicted criminals — like Jean Tatoune, Guy Philippe, and Jodel Louis Chamblain and all their other terrorist, and an unelected, platformless opposition — may be charged as accomplices in the killings and slaughter of the Haitian people being murdered right now in Haiti by these ex-soldiers and death squad leaders and possibly now, their new prisoner recruits from the National Penitentiary.

5. The cover-up and/or current dismissal by the major news media and press of President Aristide’s abduction and forced resignation violates all journalistic ethics…. For instance, the fact that Guy Philippe — an accused drug trafficker (confirmed by the US Drug Enforcement Administration) [and] accused Coup d’Etat leader under both Preval and the Aristide administrations — is today traveling with his own embedded AP reporter. (It would be like Bin Laden traveling with his own embedded AP reporter). All this is evidence of the mainstream media’s outrageous and depraved indifference to the sufferings of the Black people of Haiti.

A ‘Racist’ Undertone to Haiti Reporting in US
There is a racist tone, which is deplorable, for instance the guest yesterday on George Stephanopoulos’ ABC News show, said that the United States has a stake in Haiti “because we have to control the flow of refugees and disease” into the US.
The media’s treatment of the vast majority of Haiti’s… plight [is]… mainly playing into deep racists fears and stereotypes….

It was a Coup d’Etat. US Marines came to his house with Morino, a US representative to the US Ambassador Foley and told him they were withdrawing his US security details, that he had to leave or face Guy Phillippe who was being escorted into Port-au-Prince by US soldiers.

Call your local Congressperson. Call the White House. Call Secretary of State Colin Powell and the Haiti Desk at the State Department. Ask that the US withdraw all support for these opposition thugs and secure the safe return of the Constitutionally elected Haitian President and Mrs. Aristide to Haiti.

Marguerite Laurent, Esq., is Chair, Haitian Lawyers Leadership.