HAITI: Challenging Canada's complicit role in Haiti's repression and exploitation
Sunday, November 14, 2004
HAITI: Letter from (The Association Vwa Zanset - vwazanset@mail.com)
Canadian-Haitians to Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada, scheduled to
visit Haiti today. Please send your own letters of concern to the Canadian
officials listed below. If you want on-off this elist:
info@rightsaction.org
***
Montreal, November 11, 2004
Honorable Mr. Paul Martin,
Prime Minister of Canada
24 Sussex Drive, OTTAWA
Dear Sir:
The rather silent, if not silenced, majority of taxpayers of Haitian origin
were nothing less than befuddled and outraged to come to the realization
that Canada, the country perceived as peace-loving and generous, is now
party to Haiti’s young and hard-earned fragile democracy’s demise
with
President Aristide’s forcible removal from power on February 29, 2004,
in
favor of an illegal, a non-elected regime, whose only allegiance is to
foreign interests and to the oligarchs and the rich.
The de facto government is not only contemptuous of the poor, who represent
95 percent of our nation, but also is now involved in political witch-hunts
and assassinations. Ever since the coup thousands of people from among the
underprivileged had been killed and dumped in mass graves at Titanyen.
Strangely enough the same press and your government that were so vocal
against the legitimate government are now silent.
To mask their participation in crimes against our people they coined the
word “chimere” to tag the people, whom their protégé,
Gerard Latortue,
intends to kill in order to impose the dictatorship the US and France are
trying to implant in Haiti.
This is the mess in which your government got involved and which you will be
condoning by engaging in any personal contact with the bandits and criminals
that are now leading our country.
We are certain you must have been kept in the dark about what is actually at
stake in Haiti for the very Liberal government we, Haitians, used to support
so massively, to be lending credence to our malefactors.
Since we wish to give you the benefit of the doubt, we suggest that you find
out about the thousands of young Haitians being driven into hiding, being
incarcerated or being killed. If, Sir, your contacts are not confined to the
government, the privileged, the foreigners and the international
organizations, if you succeed in paying attention to what the Haitian people
has to say you will have to come back with a real sense of disillusionment
and remorse for the amplitude of the crime being perpetrated against our
national pride, against our poor, and against our Heritage.
To have a sense of the situation, please find, herewith, pertinent
documents, now available to the people of the world and which should be
useful to any bona fide world leader involved in the Haitian problem.
Mr. Martin, travel to Haiti as you undoubtedly will, but may each step you
take there give you a clearer picture of the Haitian tragedy in progress,
and which is leading straight to a genocide
With our best regards,
Vwa Zanset
vwazanset@mail.com
===
PLEASE SEND NOTES OF CONCERN TO:
Paul Martin: pmartin@fin.qc.ca/ pm@pm.qc.ca.
Pierre Pettigrew, Ministre des Affaires étrangères, Édifice
Lester B Pearson
Tour A, 10e étage, 125 Promenade Sussex, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G2, or
2348
Jean-Talon Est, Pièce 200, Montréal, Québec.H2E 1V7.
pierre@pierrepettigrew.ca/ pettip@parl.qc.ca/ Pettigrew.P@parl.gc.ca/
pettigrew.p@parl.qc.ca/.
Jacques Saada: jsaada.mp@videotron.ca/ saadaj@parl.qc.ca.
Irwin Cotler: cotlei1@parl.gc.ca.
John Graham: grahab@teammartin.ca/ grahab8@parl.gc.ca.
Stephen Harper, chef de l’opposition officielle, Chambre des Communes,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A OA6. info@oneconservativevoice.com/
harper.s@parl.gc.ca.
Stockwell Day, Affaires étrangères: days1@parl.qc.ca/ Day.S@parl.qc.ca/
days@parl.qc.ca.
John Reynolds, leader de l’opposition à la Chambre des Communes:
kathieangelo@shaw.ca/ Reynolds.J@parl.qc.ca/
Ted Menzies, coopération internationale: menziest@tetus.net/
Menzies.T@parl.qc.ca.
Chuck Strahl, leader adjoint de l’opposition à la Chambre des Communes:
mp@chuckstrahl.com/ Strahl.C@parl.gc.ca.
Josée Verner, Agence de développement économique du Canada
pour les régions
du Québec, la Francophonie: vernej@parl.qc.ca / VerneJ@parl.qc.ca.
Gilles Duceppe, Chef du BQ: ducepg1@parl.qc.ca/ Duceppe.G@parl.gc.ca/
ducepg@parl.qc.ca.
Francine Lalonde, Affaires étrangères et présidente du
caucus des Affaires
étrangères: lalonf@parl.qc.ca/ Lalonde.F@parl.qc.ca.
Odina Desrochers, Amérique latine et Afrique: desroo@parl.qc.ca/
desroo@parl.qc.ca/ Desrochers.O@parl.qc.ca/ desroo1@parl.qc.ca/
Diane Bourgeois, Coopération internationale: bourgd1@parl.qc.ca/
D.Bourgeois@parl.qc.ca/ bourgd@parl.qc.ca/
Guy André, Francophonie internationale: andreg1@parl.qc.ca/
Andre_G@parl.qc.ca/
NPD-Québec: info@npd.qc.ca/
Jack Layton, Chef du Npd: jack@fed.npd.ca/ Jack Layton, chef du NPD, Chambre
des Communes, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A OA6, layton.j@parl.gc.ca/ 279 Laurier
West suite 300, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5J9.
Bill Blaikie, Chef-adjoint du NPD: Blaikie.B@parl.qc.ca/ blaikbl@parl.qc.ca/
Alexa McDonough, Affaires étrangères: mcdonough.a@parl.qc.ca/
McDonough.A@parl.qc.ca/ alexa@hfx.eastlink.ca/
===
Amnesty International «Haiti: Illegal and arbitrary arrests continue --
Human rights hampered amid political violence»
www.web.amnesty.org/library/index/engamr360562004
Journal Haiti-Progrès, vol 22 no 30, «Anniversaire du coup d’Etat
du 30
septembre 1991 Encore la répression!»
http://www.haitiprogres.com/actu10-06.html
Journal Haiti-Progrès, vol 22 no.31, du 13 au 19 octobre 2004 «Les
arrestations contre les dirigeants de Fanmi Lavalas» Arrestations La
légalité suivant le «juge» Boniface-Alexandre. www.haiti-progrès.com
Journal Haiti-progrès, vol. 23 No. 30, du 27 octobre au 3 novembre 2004
«un
enfant sauvagement massacré par les policiers.
www.haitiprogres.com/bottom10-27.html
Journal Haiti-progrès vol 22 no 34 du 3 au 9 novembre 2004 «Massacre
dans
les quartiers populaires: poursuite de l’opération phoenix.
Znet «Media Disinformation on Haiti» by Antony Fenton, October 25th
2004,
www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=6492
Znet «Tearing up the UN Charter: The UN's erosion continues in Haiti”
by
Kevin Pina, October 20th 2004.
www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=6456
Human right violation in Haiti by Antony Fenton,
www.dissidentvoice.org/July2004/Fenton0727.htm#n1
===
COMMENTARY by Rights Action:
* Haiti’s situation of repression and poverty – already precarious
– has
spiraled worse since the western-backed February 2004 coup.
* Canada played a complicit role - along with the USA and France - in
supporting and legitimizing the February 2004 coup that overthrew the
elected government of Haiti. Canada's mainstream media provided biased
coverage, that served to legitimize the incoming regime.
* The United Nations has played a complicit role that legitimizes the
February 2004 coup and legitimizes the present State repression and
brutality.
* In this context, it is a dire situation for Haiti's community-development
and human rights leaders, political opposition, and - in general - the poor
majority population that largely supports the deposed President Aristide.
* Pressure is needed on the governments of the USA, France and Canada as
well as the political leadership of the United Nations. These governments
and institution, so much part of the problems in Haiti, must be pressured to
act to restore the rule of law and functioning democracy in Haiti.
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