In Haiti, A 7 Year Nightmare Continues as Duvalierist Clamour for "Reconciliation" & for Aristide's Condemnation

A Swat team escorts Jean-Claude Duvalier after his arrest. Duvalier is released before the day is over. Photo by Susan Phillips

These coup d'etat people have cognitive dissonance. They want Aristide "condemned" for crimes, but they don't seem to have an understanding of what constitutes "crimes against humanity."

Crimes against humanity are particularly heinous offenses that are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority. They include, murder; extermination; torture; rape; political, racial, or religious persecution and other inhumane acts and only reach the threshold of crimes against humanity if they are part of a widespread or systematic practice. Isolated inhumane acts of this nature may constitute grave infringements of human rights, or depending on the circumstances, war crimes, but would most likely fall short of being in the category of crimes against humanity.

"... after scouring Amnesty International reports, Peter Hallward, a UK based researcher, wrote “Amnesty International’s reports covering the years 2000-03 attribute a total of around 20 to 30 killings to the police and supporters of the FL [Aristide’s party] — a far cry from the 5,000 committed by the junta and its supporters in 1991-94, let alone the 50,000 usually attributed to the Duvalier dictatorships.”

-- "The Council on Hemispheric Affairs Deserves an F for Article on Haiti" by Joe Emersberger

The coup d'etat folks never fail to point out the death of Journalist Jean Dominique as one ordered by Aristide. A fact they choose to ignore or omit from the accusation is that Aristide was not president during the time of Jean Dominique's murder. Jean Dominique was assassinated under René Preval's first term.

Aristide was in office 7 months and then 1 year after his 1994 return, during which he put together elections. Also, since Aristide demobilized the military during his first term, he can hardly be said to have been in charge of the military apparatus of Haiti.

Aristide was duly re-elected in 2001, but the Duvalierist set up a parallel un-elected government. He was allowed 3 years in office before a second coup on February 29, 2004.

Who committed crimes against humanity in Haiti?

Crimes Against Humanity occurred under the Duvaliers from 1957 to 1986, when between 60,000 to 100,000 Haitians were assassinated, disappeared, jailed, tortured, raped...

Crimes Against Humanity occurred under the Raoul Cedras/Michel "Sweet Mickey" Francois/FRAPH death squads of the George H. W. Bush Sr sponsored 1991 coup, when 5,000 to 8,000 Haitians were slaughtered.

Crimes Against Humanity occurred under George W. Bush Jr. Haiti regime change. The crimes were perpetrated by the U.S. supported Group 184, the GNBist (gren nan bounda), Lame Timanchet, under the U.S. installed puppet government of Boca Raton native Gerard Latortue. All these atrocities occurring with firepower cover of US Marines first, then under the UN/MINUSTAH occupation, which began in June 2004. The 2004 coup d'etat resulted in the worst human rights violations in the Western Hemisphere, with between 14,000 to 20,000 innocent Haitians slaughtered.

For 7 years now, the Duvalierists and neo-Duvalierists have brought Haiti an unbroken nightmare, starting with kidnappings, which began after the kidnapping of President Aristide by U.S. forces out of Haiti.

7 years of apartheid, famine, exclusion; a slaughtering rampage; with no development, as the UN/MINUSTAH make a staggering $800 million plus a year in Haiti for 2010. The UN requested an additional 164 million for the cholera outbreak they imported into Haiti!

A 7 year nightmare as over 200,000 Haitians got infected and as 4,000 plus have died from MINUSTAH/UN imported cholera.

By the way, is the "international community" really interested in protecting "democracy" in Haiti? They cynically brought in a majority COMMUNIST country's military (Nepal), with similar infrastructure, educational and political issues to occupy Haiti where the democratic government was removed illegally.

Haiti has been made over into a training ground for the world's military forces and for the burgeoning mercenary military industry.

A 7 year nightmare continues for Haitians equal only to the time of Duvalier as USAID's NGOs reign; laundering public donation funds into private profit.

7 year nightmare while Eurasian Mines and Majesco, et al.. pillage and plunder Haiti's gold and copper resources in the North.

7 year nightmare as the people die of famine from Bill Clinton's food aid and subsidies for Arkansas farmers, which had all but destroyed Haiti's breadbasket even before the cholera was unleashed in the rural area by UN Nepalese military waste matter dumped into the Artibonite.

A 7 year nightmare as the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) do nothing to advance real development, but propose HOPE sweatshops, THEIR idea of "development" for Haiti.

A 7 year nightmare as rigged elections or elections-without-an-electorate ("selections") have been the norm.

A 7 year nightmare as almost 4,000 Haitians are indefinitely detained in prisons under MINUSTAH/UN occupied Haiti without EVER being charged for a crime, seeing a lawyer or any kind of due process at all.

Seven years of destabilizing Haiti to exclude the people, to pursue foreign profits and geopolitical interests and culminating in this attempt to bring back the pre-1986 dictatorship era of Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.

Radyo Kiskeya Journalist: Jean Richard Louis-Charles: Executed 02.09.2011

Dr Aristide returning home is a start on the road to a sovereign Haiti, but be prepared for the Western countries who armed Guy Philippe and Jodel Chamblain to block his return.

Already the brutality has escalated and a young, promising journalist was executed today by someone on a motorcycle in broad daylight in front of school children.

Jean Richard Louis-Charles of Radyo Kiskeya was only 29 years old. He and a companion died today in a hail of bullets. RIP. He leaves behind a girlfriend and two daughters, Cynthia and Shelsy. His traumatized colleagues at Radyo Kiskeya put out a statement, which read in part:

"This sudden and tragic disappearance of a young man as promising as Jean Louis Charles Richard is a real disaster for the station, the press and the country. He has worked at the station since 2005. Next May would have been sevent anniversary of the collaboration.

Radio Kiskeya thanks all those in the press and all other sectors who expressed their sympathy during this extremely difficult time."

Aristide's passport was issued on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 and is in the hands of his lawyer Ira Kurzban.

Preval government in Haiti and it's Foreign Ministry abroad have failed since 2006 to answer the constant requests of Aristide and his supporters to allow his return by issuing a diplomatic passport. Now that the passport has finally been issued, Mr. P.J. Crowley of the U.S. State Department has declared that Aristide's return would be an "unfortunate distraction" and potentially divisive.

Is it up to the U.S. to decide which Haitian citizen can return home and which cannot? Foreigners must stop violating Haiti's constitution by butting into Haiti's sovereign affairs!

Not surprisingly, the U.S. had no such objection to the return of the brutal dictator "Baby Doc" Duvalier, who is accused of crimes against humanity, charged with corruption for stealing millions from the state before he was ousted by the people in 1986.

What a laughing stock the U.S. is making of itself this month because of their evident hypocrisy! In Haiti, in Egypt, and other locales where autocrats are part of their "client state" empire.

As David Sirota said in a recent article: "Just as you cannot be sorta pregnant, you cannot kinda support democracy, and only when it does what you want. That's not "supporting democracy"; that's imperialism. Indeed, the ideal of self-governance is as uncompromising as America's views on terrorism: You're either with democracy, or you're against it -- and as Martin Luther King noted, we are too often against it."

It's been 7 years since the 2004 Bush regime change in Haiti. Seven years of struggle for a real democracy is ENOUGH!

Preval's government has done the right thing in finally issuing the diplomatic passport to Dr. Aristide. Preval's government must show true courage now and annul the fraudulent elections in order to save Haiti's sovereignty.

HatTip to Ezili Danto of HLLN

_____________________

BACKGROUND:

• Political Fallacies: Aristide is as bad as or worse than the Duvaliers
  by Harry Comeau


• For what became of the charge that Aristide was part of drug trafficking in Haiti read this: Haiti: The Politics of Drugs | The Dominion

UPDATE -- Friday, Feb. 11 2011
According to Radyo Kiskeya: The radio's journalist, Jean Richard Louis-Charles, who was killed on Wednesday, was apparently the victim of an attempted robbery. Louis-Charles is the first journalist to be killed in the Western Hemisphere this year according to Reporters Without Borders. RWB said they are "troubled" by the circumstances of Louis-Charles death and await the conclusions of the investigation. The other man killed at the scene was Jean Wilner Duperval, one of the three suspected robbers. The two accomplices are still being sought. Police are deploying undercover police to try to curb crime in the area.

Father of two children, Jean-Louis Richard Charles was shot twice in the head and neck Wednesday at noon at the Capois Street (downtown Port-au-Prince) shortly after completing a transaction in a commercial bank.

His alleged killer, was identified as Jean Wilner Duperval, a prison escapee, who was immediately shot down by a plainclothes policeman.

According to the spokesman of the National Police, Frantz Lerebours, the man, who was actively sought, had escaped from the National Penitentiary, the civil prison in the capital, along with nearly 5,000 other prisoners in the minutes that followed the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010."

Why is the International Community Financing Sham Elections in Haiti?

The Fanmi Lavalas party slogan embraces unity: "Everyone around the table." In Kreyol: "Yon Sèl Nou Fèb, Ansanm Nou Fò, Ansanm, Anssanm Nou Se Lavalas."

For the second time this year, U.S. Lawmakers are expressing concern about the exclusion of Fanmi Lavalas and 33 other parties from the November 28 elections in Haiti.

October 8, 2010: Reuters reports that U.S. lawmakers warn of flaws in Haiti vote process:

"The lawmakers urged Clinton to demand the elections include all eligible political parties and easy access to voting for all Haitians, including 1.5 million people displaced by the quake that wrecked Port-au-Prince and killed up to 300,000."

June 30, 2010: A report issued by Senator Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee highlighted the same concern. U.S. lawmakers are also quoted as deferring to Hillary Clinton for her support on the issue.

Secretary Hillary Clinton has yet to state her position on the exclusion of Fanmi Lavalas and other parties from the Haitian elections. She's got more pressing issues to address. In September speaking along side Haitian Prime Minister and France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, the U.S. Secretary of State expressed her frustration with those displaced Haitians in the death camps who were complaining about the slow pace of aid, branding them "whiner." The most pointed headline was: "US and France Scold Displaced Haitians and Other Whiners for Being 'Impatient' and 'Unrealistic'."

The Clinton's who recently purchased a palatial 7000 square foot residence in New Bedford, NY evidently have good intentions, but don't seem to be making much leeway in helping the 1.5 million Haitians living in squalid, horrid and dehumanizing conditions in what some call "death camps."

The Bill Clinton charity, Clinton Global Initiatives is widening efforts in Haiti after his recent visit. The charity, headed by daughter Chelsea Clinton (who has so far not visited Haiti) is donating a cool half-a-million dollars to Sean Penn.

Haiti's Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) showed their appreciation for the Clinton visit, but many camp residents held spontaneous demonstrations for the return of President Aristide. The protests must not resonate with ex-president Clinton; if they did he would surely have demanded a free and fair election in Haiti where all parties are allowed to participate.

The election campaign continues for the remaining approved nineteen presidential candidates. Two of the candidates have hoped to benefit from the support of Fanmi Lavalas.

Leslie Voltaire & Yves Cristalin are both claiming they have the support of Fanmi Lavalas. Fanmi Lavalas is evidently not as "irrelevant" as some pretend. A Fanmi Lavalas representative is denying that it endorses any candidate for the presidential elections:

"Felix Ansyto Commission Mobilization of Fanmi Lavalas, said that "the Lavalas political organization, does not endorse any candidate in the presidential masquerade" recalling that the charter of the Organization in its Article 8, prohibits its members to belong to any other political party for any reason whatsoever. "Clearly we are not concerned with elections announced", recalling that the organization of Jean Bertrand Aristide was removed from the electoral process."

--Haiti Libre

The Haiti presidential "selection" is comprised of candidates without a constituency or electorate. The question of the legitimacy of elections without the majority party is evidently an issue for some in the U.S. Congress.

The obvious question is: Why is the international community financing sham presidential elections in Haiti?

“In order for peace to reign, one must speak the truth, and that is why I have spoken of a political abduction, ... ... Far from my own country, but in deep communion with all Haitians, including Haitians abroad, I continue to launch an appeal for peaceful resistance.”

—Jean-Bertrand Aristide

UPDATE 10.20.2010: State Department asked to explain Haiti elections policy, but a spokesperson has no answers... and evidently is not too concerned about the issue.

Last week the U.S. State Department was asked about the issue for the second time, yet once again did not have an answer. The exclusions problem has dragged on for months, becoming a growing scandal.

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Weisbrot said. “The U.S. has known about this problem for months, and it has been reported numerous times in the international press, not to mention that it is a major bone of contention in Haiti. Imagine if we had an ‘election’ in the U.S. and both the Democratic and Republican parties were not allowed to participate. The Obama Administration’s inability to explain why U.S. taxpayer dollars are being used to support such a blatantly anti-democratic process is inexcusable.”

[...] After the letter from 45 members of Congress was sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week, a reporter asked for comment during the State Department daily press briefing. It was the second time the issue had been raised during the briefings (the first was September 15 after an open letter [PDF] to Clinton signed by over 20 NGO’s). The exchange reveals the State Department’s lack of concern regarding the issue.

Read more at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Haiti's Humanitarian Crisis Ignored as Media Focuses on Failed WyClef Bid

WyClef' Jean's candidacy dies with a wimper.

August 19, the night of the expected announcement from the Provisional Electoral Council (SEC), heavily armed United Nations blue helmets patrolled the streets in armored cars on the alert for a riot that never came. However, about 300 of WyClef's supporters did march through heavy rain to protest outside Haiti's electoral office in Port-au-Prince.

The Council rejected the singer-songwriter's candidacy because of the constitutional requirement that candidates who run must have lived in the country for five years prior to the November 28 election. WyClef moved to the United States when he was nine years old and his primary residence is New Jersey.

WyClef released a statement the next day that he would cooperate with the decision made by the SEC. "We must all honor the memories of those we've lost -- whether in the earthquake, or at anytime -- by responding peacefully and responsibly to this disappointment," he said.

That was then, now WyClef has announced that he is not abandoning his presidential bid. He will appeal the decision rejecting his candidacy. He plans to send a lawyer to a Haitian court to appeal the electoral commission's decision to keep him off the list of eligible presidential candidates. He says he has a document "which shows everything is correct" and that he and his aides "feel that what is going on here has everything to do with Haitian politics." Evidently, the appeal is being based on WyClef's honorary status as "Ambassador at large" for Haiti, a "post" he claims exempts him from residency requirements.

The whole elections process is a charade to begin with, given that it is being carried out under a brutal occupation, so it is not surprising that WyClef and his lawyers are pushing for inclusion in the elections in spite of being officially rejected. Unfortunately, the process is tainted, as WyClef suspects, but not because, "They are trying to keep us out of the race." It is primarily because Haiti is under occupation by the UN military (MINUSTAH).

Additionally, the legitimacy of the November 28 election is also questionable because Haiti’s largest political party Fanmi Lavalas has been barred from the election.

WyClef is being criticized not only because he is not qualified to run, nor because he does not meet the constitutional requirements, but because he does not have the political skills or savvy to deal with Haiti's multitude of problems. The elitist private business sector in Haiti will make mincemeat out of him. He is also not equipped to deal with the legions of multinational interests that occupy and run Haiti through the pulling of purse strings and the muscle of MINUSTAH’s occupying force.

WyClef has not even outlined a comprehensive political platform, except for the declaration that “Haiti is open for business” and other very general statements. It stands to reason that with the neophyte WyClef at the helm, Haiti will be open to further exploitation and the continued apartheid between the super-rich and the ultra-poor. The apartheid class system in Haiti needs to be addressed and acknowledged by Haiti’s next leader. There is also an urgent need to addressed the stranglehold that Non-governmental Agencies (NGOs) have on Haiti in order to determine how to regulate their activities.

Even if he were qualified to run, WyClef’s political constituency is tenuous at best. He has not built a base or electorate. People are asking: What's his platform? He’s a musician. While some are fans and enjoy his music, that does not necessarily translate into voting for him to be Haiti's next president.

Above all, the Haitian majority needs someone in the Presidency who will champion human development (education, health, food, security, housing and infrastructure), above sustaining foreign and private business interests which continue to plunder Haiti for cheap labor and rich natural resources, but do not support the local economy. A notable exception is the Irish-based cell phone company Digicel, which has promoted "the kind of grass-roots entrepreneurship long ignored by the business elite."

While all of the distraction over the candidacy of WyClef is going on, forced evictions continue in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps… and Haitians are tired of sleeping on garbage.

People are living in the streets and no homes are being built, but already they’ve announced plans to build a new textiles factory. Sweatshops should not take precedence over people’s health and well-being.

In this day and age of technology, Haitians are being taught how to sew. This move cements Haiti's role as the low-cost, low-wage, low-tech center of the world.

In the meantime USAID is giving money to countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in Europe to train high tech workers.

The media attention should focus less on the distraction of WyClef Jean’s failed presidential bid and the ensuing circus, and more on the desperate humanitarian situation on the ground in Haiti.

Dark Controversy Surrounds Miss Haiti 2010 Sarodj Bertin

Covering Up the Ugly Truth About the Assassination of Mireille Durocher

Sarodj Bertin has been selected to represent Haiti at the 2010 Miss Universe pageant. Miss Bertin is a 24 year old lawyer who has lived in the Dominican Republic since she was 9.

There is fierce debate in the Haitian diaspora about Miss Bertin's selection as Miss Haiti. The controversy centers around her long-time residency in the Dominican Republic (15 years), her light complexion, her "Dominicanized" persona and most disturbingly, the execution style assassination of her mother Mireille Durocher Bertin in 1995. Given the divide, it remains to be seen whether Miss Haiti will "give hope to a devastated country."

The assassination of Miss Haiti's mother was a terrible tragedy. Unfortunately the sad event is being used by many to demonize Haiti's first real democratically elected government and the Lavalas political party. Lies, misinformation and insinuations about the event are being presented on a daily basis. Often excluded from the dialogue is the fact that the Aristide government made at least two arrests in the case. One Haitian suspect arrested was linked to the U.S. military.

Nevertheless, the implication of some articles is that the Aristide government or Lavalas (Haiti's largest political party) was somehow involved in her execution style murder. This implication is to be viewed with skepticism since Mrs. Durocher's murder was never solved and there are agendas at work here that need to be examined in order to be understood. This includes the continuing demonization of President Aristide and his political party Lavalas, not only in the U.S. mainstream media but also by the coup d'etat cabal who see Haiti as their very own private piggy bank.

Here's the paragraph addressing the issue from a Google News article which seems to imply that President Aristide was somehow involved in the assassination (they misspelled the name of Haiti's capital city):

"Sarodj Bertin had a privileged childhood in Puerto Principe [Port-au-Prince] until age 9, when her mother, lawyer and opposition leader Mireille Durocher Bertin, was gunned down after announcing the creation of a political party that would compete with that of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the upcoming elections."

Another article from the LA Times from 1995 offers more details about the death, including the investigation, revealing that there were a number of arrests. Two Haitians, the LA Times reported, including a translator working for the U.S. military, were arrested and "several high-powered assault weapons and radios were seized." This is how the Haitian government came to be aware of a plot to assassinate Mrs. Durocher:

"Gen. George A. Fisher, the U.S. military commander here, knew at least 10 days before Mireille Durocher was murdered that the outspoken anti-government figure was the target of a serious assassination plot allegedly involving Haitian Interior Minister Mondesir Beaubrun [a charge Beaubrun vehemently denied], American and Haitian sources said Wednesday.

These officials said Fisher wrote to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's government, outlining the plot. As a result, Justice Minister Jean-Joseph Exume called Durocher in and told her that U.S. military intelligence believed she was in real danger. Although advised "to take all precautions," she did not get protection from U.S. or Haitian forces, the sources said.

[...] Durocher, 38, was a lawyer closely linked to former Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, the Haitian army commander who led the September, 1991, coup that overthrew Aristide. She also served as chief of staff for Emile Jonassaint, the puppet civilian president installed by Cedras in 1994."

According to a NY Times article, Mrs. Durocher was the passenger in a car being driven by a very shady character by the name of Eugene "Junior" Baillergeau, when it was attacked in broad daylight by gunmen who fired two shots at the car engine and numerous shots into the car. The article reveals that Baillergeau may very well have been the target of the assassination. Junior Baillergeau was a reputed drug trafficker with "known association with illicit business circles close to the former military Government." Reportedly, an autopsy report the NY Times obtained at the time showed that Baillergeau was shot "many more times" than Mireille Durocher.

The NY Times article also indicates that Junior Baillergeau had an ongoing dispute with "American soldiers at the airport." Baillergeau was a pilot who had retained Mrs. Durocher to represent him regarding damages to his plane by the U.S. military.

Another bizarre and disturbing twist is that Mrs. Durocher held a high profile position on a violent death squad organization responsible for the deaths, rapes and torture of thousands of Haitians. More about the paramilitary group: Advancement of Progress of the Haitian People or FRAPH is available at History Commons and Peace not War.

Ben Dupuy had this to say about Mrs. Durocher Bertin in an article at Third World Traveler.

"But the dream didn't last for long. As 1995 progressed, friction between Aristide and the U.S. began to surface. For example, on March 28, three days before President Clinton was to visit Haiti, a putschist political figure, Mireille Durocher Bertin was publicly assassinated. The hit was never solved but its highly professional execution suggests it was a CIA operation carried out to smear Aristide and embarrass Clinton.

In the U.S. mainstream press, Bertin was lionized as an "opposition figure" and "an expert in international law." Listen to the beginning of a March 31 Associated Press dispatch movingly titled, "Her Last Days" by Michelle Faul: "She was setting up an opposition party running her busy law office, redecorating her home, writing and publishing a newsletter, and making time to educate her four children."

The killing was indeed seen as an embarrassment to the Aristide government. As noted in the NY Times article:

"There is no doubt that President Aristide's reputation has been severely blemished," said a prominent intellectual critical of the old order. "The killing is a major blow to President Aristide -- and to President Clinton."

Miss Haiti, Sarodj Bertin is evidently unaware of the finer details of her mother's political involvements. On Miss Bertin's blog this is what is said about her mother: "Mireille, Sarodj's mother, was a woman highly admired by the Haitian people, she was a fighter; dreamed with having a country with more opportunities, being able to institutionalize the country and guarantee their rights to the haitian citizens."

Perhaps her father Jean presented her mother's death to her as being at the hands of Aristide "thugs." It's not a stretch to come to that conclusion given his statements after the murder.

In the couple's massive stone house in the hills high above the city, John Bertin recalled it differently. "I, as head of the family, was not notified," he said stiffly, and added that a phone call from the Justice Minister [Jean-Joseph Exume] to his wife told her only not to worry and did not warn of the plot.

It is very dangerous business when one represents a paramilitary group which is guilty of overthrowing a democratically elected government. Mrs. Durocher's involvement apparently caught up with her on March 28, 1995. A reasonable conclusion is that the killings were calculated to embarrass the Aristide administration. What is in serious doubt is whether Aristide or his Lavalas party had much to gain from the spectacular nature of Mr. Durocher's demise. Especially given the fact that, the Clinton administration had "advised" Aristide to make nice with his "opponents." This was a particularly onerous demand by the U.S. since these were actually the sworn enemies of the Aristide government and of any real democracy in Haiti. These same "opponents" had been involved in the traitorous military Coup D'etat of October 31, 1991. The Advancement of Progress of the Haitian People (FRAPH) overthrew the government while President Aristide was on a visit to the UN in New York.

Some quick facts about FRAPH. The second in command of FRAPH Louis-Jodel Chamblain was convicted in absentia for the Raboteau Massacre and the assassination of pro-democracy advocate Antoine Izmery (who was dragged from church during mass and executed). Chamblain was also a death squad leader under the tyrannical regime of Jean Claude "Baby" Doc Duvalier. The leader of FRAPH, Emmanuel "Toto" Constant has acknowledged that he was in the employ of the CIA and paid $500 a month for his services. On 60 Minutes Mr. Constant said that in "daily meetings" with the CIA, he was never confronted about FRAPH's criminal activities.

Constant was convicted of mortgage fraud in Brooklyn, NY in 2007. The case, Doe vs. Constant was a civil case brought against Constant on behalf of three women who survived attempted killings, rapes and torture at the hands of Constant's paramilitary group FRAPH.

At Constant's trial, two Haitian women testified in court behind screens about the horrors they suffered. The case is summarized at The Center for Justice and Accountability website (CJA). CJA filed the criminal fraud case against Constant on Dec. 22, 2004. More about the case is also available at the Center for Constitutional Rights website.

In his article, "The Attempted Character Assassination of Aristide," Ben Dupuy is critical of the media for not exposing the truth about Mrs. Durocher's involvement with FRAPH: "They never say that she defended the slaughter of over 5,000 people by Haitian soldiers and FRAPH thugs during the coup. Indeed, she sat on the leadership committee of the death squad FRAPH."

The ugly truth is that Mrs. Durocher was deeply involved with a death squad. FRAPH's weapon of war against Haitians (for their family's political affiliations) was the signature atrocity of sexual violence against women.

It would be either dark irony or fitting justice if Miss Haiti were to choose as her platform the defense of women against sexual violence. That would be a gesture that could bridge the divide between the privileged, anointed class in Haiti and the downtrodden masses who are often their victims.

Background:More on the motives for the double murder from
Haiti Info, Vol. 3, no. 13, 8 April 1995

Double-Murder Significant

The most famous attack was the well-executed assassination of staunch coup supporter Mireille Durocher Bertin and Eugene Baillergeau, a former pilot for coup-leader Lt. General Raoul Cedras, obviously timed to throw a wrench in the celebrations.

The case has all the necessary ingredients: the more well-known victim is an outspoken enemy of Aristide and the democratic movement, two brothers, labeled "ultra-leftists" by the local and international reactionary press, have confessed to a similar plot and have implicated Aristide's Minister of the Interior, and well before the murder (in mid-March), rumors of a "hit list" of Aristide enemies began to surface in the U.S. (not the Haitian) press.

Whether the intended victim was Durocher Bertin, a lawyer who was frequently at anti-Aristide demonstrations, who led the effort to impeach Aristide, who served as counselor to de facto President Emile Jonassaint's ministerial council and who recently founded a political party which was said to be supported by the National Democratic Institute, or Baillergeau, as some have speculated, the other intended victims were obviously Aristide and Clinton.
Beginning before March 31, the sectors opposed to Clinton used the murders in an attempt to tarnish the celebrations of one of his few "foreign policy successes," and the assault has continued. Yesterday Senator Jesse Helms renewed his attack on Aristide and demanded Clinton block all aid to Haiti until the murder investigation is completed.

READ MORE

Scandal Plagued Rapper Wyclef Jean for Haiti President?

The news is that Wyclef Jean will be announcing his candidacy for the Haitian Presidency on Larry King Live today, never mind that the man is not qualified for the office. Number one, his candidacy violates the Haitian Constitution. The requirements are that a candidate must have resided in Haiti for a period of 5 years and kept a home in Haiti in that time. Jean's primary residence is New Jersey.

Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) still has to validate Wyclef Jean's candidacy, so let's see what happens. Let's keep in mind that Haiti's majority party Fanmi Lavalas has been barred from running in the next elections because of a manufactured technical issue by the CEP. The CEP has said that Lavalas has not provided them with a proper signature from the party head (President Aristide). Not so, of course. It will be interesting to see how the CEP justifies inviting Wyclef Jean to take part in their electoral circus. There are currently 54 parties registered and the possibility of 54 presidential candidates from each. The U.S.-France-Canada cabal must be commissioning their "mission accomplished" sign right now.

Chris Matthews of MSNBC's prediction that Jean will easily win the Haitian presidency aside, Jean is being scrutinized closely for a number of serious matters such as: failing to pay his taxes, the fact that he paid his mistress with money from his charity, for personally banking money from the charity fund, and whatever else may crawl out of his closet.

This morning Wyclef Jean announced he is resigning from his charity. The move hardly puts a distance between Jean and the matter of alleged misappropriation of funds, as this occurred while he was at the helm of his scandal plagued charity, Yéle.

In a timely article that came out August 2nd at the SF BayView, Charlie Hinton outlines more reasons why Wyclef Jean should not get our support for a run for the Haitian presidency.

"PLEASE SPREAD THE NEWS: “WYCLEF JEAN IS NOT A FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT OF HAITI.” The floating of his candidacy is just one more effort by the international forces, desperate to put a smiley face on a murderous military occupation, to undermine the will of the Haitian majority by making Wyclef Jean the Ronald Reagan of Haiti."

Below is an excerpt of the article:

Wyclef Jean holds a Haitian flag as he considers running for president of Haiti. Beware! Wyclef is Haitian, but he is no friend of the Haitian people as a whole, who remain loyal to President Aristide.

To cut to the chase, no election in Haiti, and no candidate in those elections, will be considered legitimate by the majority of Haiti’s population, unless it includes the full and fair participation of the Fanmi Lavalas Party of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Fanmi Lavalas is unquestionably the most popular party in the country, yet the “international community,” led by the United States, France and Canada, has done everything possible to undermine Aristide and Lavalas, overthrowing him twice by military coups in 1991 and 2004 and banishing Aristide, who now lives in South Africa with his family, from the Americas.

A United Nations army, led by Brazil, still occupies Haiti six years after the coup. Their unstated mission, under the name of “peacekeeping,” is to suppress the popular movement and prevent the return to power of Aristide’s Lavalas Party. One must understand a Wyclef Jean candidacy, first of all, in this context.

Every election since a 67 percent majority first brought Aristide to power in 1990 has demonstrated the enormous popularity of the Lavalas movement. When Lavalas could run, they won overwhelmingly. In 2006, when security conditions did not permit them to run candidates, they voted and demonstrated to make sure Rene Preval, a former Lavalas president, was re-elected.

Preval, however, turned against those who voted for him. He scheduled elections for 12 Senate seats in 2009 and supported the Electoral Council’s rejection of all Lavalas candidates. Lavalas called for a boycott, and as few as 3 percent of Haitians voted, with fewer than 1 percent voting in the runoff, once again demonstrating the people’s love and respect for President Aristide.

When Lavalas candidates were barred from the ballot for the Senate election of April 19, 2009, almost no one voted; even some poll workers refused to vote. That's how loyal Haitians are to the Lavalas Party. - Photo: Alice Smeets

Fanmi Lavalas has already been banned from the next round of elections, so enter Wyclef Jean. Jean comes from a prominent Haitian family that has virulently opposed Lavalas since the 1990 elections. His uncle is Raymond Joseph – also a rumored presidential candidate – who became Haitian ambassador to the United States under the coup government and remains so today. Kevin Pina writes in “It’s not all about that! Wyclef Jean is fronting in Haiti,” Joseph is “the co-publisher of Haiti Observateur, a right-wing rag that has been an apologist for the killers in the Haitian military going back as far as the brutal coup against Aristide in 1991.

“On Oct. 26 [2004] Haitian police entered the pro-Aristide slum of Fort Nationale and summarily executed 13 young men. Wyclef Jean said nothing. On Oct. 28 the Haitian police executed five young men, babies really, in the pro-Aristide slum of Bel Air. Wyclef said nothing. If Wyclef really wants to be part of Haiti’s political dialogue, he would acknowledge these facts. Unfortunately, Wyclef is fronting.”

As if to prove it, the Miami Herald reported on Feb. 28, 2010, “Secret polling by foreign powers in search of a new face to lead Haiti’s reconstruction …” might favor Jean’s candidacy, as someone with sufficient name recognition who could draw enough votes to overcome another Lavalas electoral boycott.

Wyclef Jean supported the 2004 coup. When gun-running former army and death squad members trained by the CIA were overrunning Haiti’s north on Feb. 25, 2004, MTV’s Gideon Yago wrote, “Wyclef Jean voiced his support for Haitian rebels on Wednesday, calling on embattled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to step down and telling his fans in Haiti to ‘keep their head up’ as the country braces itself for possible civil war.”

During the Obama inaugural celebration, Jean famously and perversely serenaded Colin Powell, the Bush administration secretary of state during the U.S. destabilization campaign and eventual coup against Aristide, with Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.”

Jean also produced the movie, “The Ghosts of Cite Soleil,” an anti-Aristide and Lavalas hit piece, which tells us that President Aristide left voluntarily, without mention of his kidnapping by the U.S. military, and presents the main coup leaders in a favorable light. It features interviews with sweatshop owners Andy Apaid and Charles Henry Baker without telling us they hate Aristide because he raised the minimum wage and sought to give all Haitians a seat at the table by democratizing Haiti’s economy, a program opposed by the rich in Haiti.

It uncritically interviews coup leader Louis Jodel Chamblain, without telling us he worked with the Duvalier dictatorship’s brutal militia, the Tonton Macoutes, in the 1980s; that following the coup against Aristide in 1991, he was the “operations guy” for the FRAPH paramilitary death squad, accused of murdering uncounted numbers of Aristide supporters and introducing gang rape into Haiti as a military weapon.

Wyclef Jean’s movie, “The Ghosts of Cite Soleil,” an anti-Aristide and Lavalas hit piece, features interviews with sweatshop owners Andy Apaid and Charles Henry Baker without telling us they hate Aristide because he raised the minimum wage and sought to give all Haitians a seat at the table by democratizing Haiti’s economy, a program opposed by the rich in Haiti.

It uncritically interviews coup leader Guy Phillipe, without telling us he’s a former Haitian police chief who was trained by U.S. Special Forces in Ecuador in the early 1990s or that the U.S. embassy admitted that Phillipe was involved in the transhipment of narcotics, one of the key sources of funds for paramilitary attacks on the poor in Haiti.

Read the full article at SF BayView

Protesters Demand Sarkozy Pay Up & Return Aristide to Haiti

by Kevin Pina

Port au Prince, Haiti - HIP — Thousands of supporters of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide took to the streets on Wednesday as French president Nicolas Sarkozy toured the earthquake ravaged capital of Port au Prince. Holding pictures of the ousted president aloft they chanted for France to pay more then 21 billion dollars in restitution and reparations and to return Aristide as Sarkozy's helicopter landed near Haiti's quake damaged national palace. Their demands stem from a long held dispute over compensation a nascent Haiti was forced to pay French slave owners in exchange for recognition of their independence and France's role in ousting Aristide in 2004.

READ FULL ARTICLE: HaitiAction.net

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Protesters clash with police following rain in Haiti

by Kevin Pina

Port au Prince, Haiti - HIP — About one inch of rain fell on the capital of Port au Prince early this morning sparking angry protests that tied up traffic near the airport for nearly four hours.

At 4:30 am as the rain began to fall a collective wail could be heard rising from the makeshift camps of those left homeless due to a massive earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12. Cries of helplessness and misery quickly turned into shouts of anger and invectives against Haitian president Rene Preval as thousands then took to the streets in several spontaneous street demonstrations.

READ FULL ARTICLE: HaitiAction.net

Outrage Over Rigged Feb. 2010 Elections in Haiti

Photo credit: blackagendareport.com

Once again, Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has barred Fanmi Lavalas from participation in scheduled Congressional and Senate elections in Haiti. The vote is scheduled to be held on February 28, 2010.

"Ninety-eight of the 99 seats in the legislature's Chamber of Deputies will be at stake in the February election, along with one-third of the 30-member Senate. The vote for the remaining lower house seat will be held at a later date."--J. G. Delva (Reuters)

Fanmi Lavalas is Haiti's most popular political party. It is the party of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide has spent six years in exile in South Africa since the US, France and Canada backed "Coupknapping" of Feb. 29, 2004. In spite of this, the CEP sought his signature on the application presented to the council by Fanmi Lavalas representative Dr. Maryse Narcisse. Such a signature has not been required prior to (boycotted) elections held back in February of this year (2009). Ideally, the CEP sought Aristide's presence in Haiti for the elections, which he graciously declined. See Aristide's letter to the CEP--translated below.

For several perspectives on this move by members of the "proxy" René Preval government--read here, here, here and here.

The systemic attempt to marginalize Fanmi Lavalas and instituting "constitutional reforms" in order to steal the vote from the poor majority is in full swing. Please take note that in an article on the right-wing Boulos family funded Haiti Democracy Project website titled "Getting Back to a Constitutional Electoral Commission," the [former] president of the Provisional Electoral Council, Frantz Gerard Verret, wrote that "Since Professor Leslie Francois Manigat [defeated 2006, received 12.40% of the vote] left power in 1988... the Republic of Haiti exited constitutional legality and never returned to it."

In preparation for the "selection," Preval's party Lespwa is attempting to reinvent their party with a new name. The "new coalition close to President Rene Preval" is now a party called "Unity."

Interestingly, the "UN independent human rights expert Michel Forst admitted on Monday that he did not have access to all the files and information relating to the Provisional Election Council (CEP)’s decision to bar Fanmi Lavalas from upcoming elections." Wonder if the CEP will provide this "independent" UN body with this much sought evidence? Unfortunately, the CEP has neglected to mention what the missing "legal requirements" are that are the basis for its exclusion of FL. One can only speculate from what sources close to the CEP have told Reuters. Apparently the CEP is being extraordinarily cautious and "the decision to bar the party was motivated by suspicions that the signature on a faxed letter sent by Aristide, authorizing local representatives to register the party, was falsified."

June 21, 2009 — An ominous message by the UN is understood to mean that if Haitians don't vote, there will be more violence and hunger. Ironically, not even MINUSTAH showed a full ballot box with their own election propaganda displayed inside polling sites. Click image above to open the article from June Photo and caption credit: Haitiaction.net

The CEP can now be assured of the authenticity of the signature, because President Aristide has confirmed that he has authorized Dr. Narcisse to register the party.

"In a rare interview, Aristide confirmed on local Radio Solidarity on Wednesday that he had given authority to Narcisse to register the party, and questioned whether Haitian officials wanted to hold fair and democratic elections.

"That will depend on whether the electoral council wants to organize an election or to make a selection," Aristide said by phone from South Africa. "If they want to organize elections, I encourage them. But if they want to make a selection I urge them not to take that path because it will not serve the country's interests."

A copy of his letter to the head of the CEP, Gaillot Dorsivil, is posted on the Fanmi Lavalas website, here.

Whatever "legal requirements" the CEP can dream up next will most likely be insufficient to persuade any Haitian that they will be conducting democratic, free and fair elections next February. The Haitian populace are sure to have a problem with their exclusionary "selection" of a majority of the seats in the Haitian Senate and Congress.



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Aristide's letter to the head of the CEP authorizing Dr. Narcisse to register FL candidates

Mr Gaillot Dorsinvil
President of the Provisional Electoral Council
Republic of Haiti

Mr Dorsinvil,

I salute you and thank you for the letter that you wrote to me dated 9 November 2009. I would have been happy to participate in the meeting of 13 November, but unfortunately the notice was too short. The green-light from the Haitian government has not yet arrived here in South Africa; I will come for a future occasion.

In the meanwhile, I mandate Dr Maryse Narcisse to represent Fanmi Lavalas before the Provisional Electoral Council. She has the authority to register, for the post of deputy and senator, Fanmi Lavalas candidates who are prepared to participate in elections that are free, honest and democratic. She has the authority to speak with the Provisional Electoral Council in the name of Fanmi Lavalas until I return.

Mr Dorsinvil, when you deem it necessary, you can always write to me, as you did in your 9 of November letter.

I am happy to salute you again, and I hope that this time, this new Provisional Electoral Council will find the full and complete freedom to organize elections that are free, honest and democratic.

Every person is a human being.
Every person counts.
The vote of every person counts.

Patriotically,

Dr Jean-Bertrand Aristide
18 November 2009
Pretoria, South Africa

Translation courtesy of Haiti.net.

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UPDATE: 12.04.2009

Haiti the Struggle Continues, a radio program which airs on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York on the Pacifica Radio Network, covered this issue. Listen to the program here.

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UPDATE: 12.10.2009

Interview with President Jean-Bertrand Aristide November 25, 2009 on Radio Solidarité in Port-au-Prince. Listen to the hour long program on the Fanmi Lavalas website.

Lovinsky Pierre Antoine, Disappeared in Haiti One Year Ago

08.07.07 -- Lovinsky navigates the delegation's rented SUV through the dusty streets of Port-de-Paix, Haiti. 08.07. 07 -- Fanmi Vanyan, a women's group and a young peasant movement leader speak as Eugenia Charles listens. Lovinsky hovers in the shadows behind Eugenia.

August 12, 2008 will be the one year anniversary of the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre Antoine. It's a sad anniversary and a sad commentary that Lovinsky has not returned to his family. I really do not believe that Lovinsky is dead. I keep building scenarios in my mind where he could possibly still be alive and well somewhere. I knew him, not well, but well enough to like him. We enjoyed a couple of beers together when we visited Mole St. Nicholas. Lovinsky's favorite beer was a Haitian brand that tastes a lot like Heineken. That's what I said when he offered me one. That day (August 9) we met with the leadership of Mole St. Nicholas. In that city we were told, people who had

Lavalas affiliations kept that a secret. It could be deadly if you revealed your politics. Many former members of the Haitian army hold positions of power there. One man who called himself a "professor", and seemed incensed by Lovinsky's presence, voiced criticism about Aristide. At that point, Lovinsky slowly got up from his seat on the panel, and strode outside to smoke a cigarette. I asked him once if he knew President Aristide. He didn't say anything, he just held up two fingers and intertwined them together. Lovinsky was a man of few words, but he made you feel comfortable and safe in his presence. Ironic, that no one thought he needed protection. There we were in a gated house with guards, while he was left vulnerable to... who knows what. We spent most of the day on the road back to Cap Haitian, stopping briefly in Gonaive to see the damage from the mud slides and rains. There were many people traversing the ripped up roads on motorcycles. The roads had been ripped up to allow for drainage, but had remained that way for months. Lovinsky got recognized everywhere we went in Haiti and it was no exception that day. A man on a motorcycle greeted him with enthusiasm and stopped to discuss the condition of the roads and when they would be fixed. Residents had no services at all; electricity, water, garbage collection... etc. The situation was very dire. Standing puddles of water invited insects and disease. It was the evening of August 11 and me, three members of the delegation were riding into Port-au-Prince, with Lovinsky driving, from our afternoon in the town of Dessalines. As we drove by a section of the outskirts of town, a member exclaimed, "is this where they bring the bodies?" She pointed to the right and ahead of the car. "Yes, that's it," said Lovinsky. He then explained, about the mass grave site, where the bodies of murdered political activist, Lavalas members and others connected to the Aristide government were buried. We spent the next day (August 12) touring the farm cooperative run by Bolivar Romulus in Miragoine. Bolivar is a former member of the Haitian parliament. His organization FOPAH works with students, peasant organizations and women's organizations in four of Haiti's departments (counties) to build sustainable farm cooperatives. Lovinsky took a picture of me as I sat on a little chair and typed notes on the laptop in the middle of one of Bolivar's neat rows of plants. The night of August 12, Lovinsky brought in my bag that I usually keep close to me, but I had left it in the SUV. I was very grateful, because I had money and personal items like my notebook in it. The last person in the house to see Lovinsky, was our host, who saw him smoking in the back of the house at around 10 p.m. A Canadian member of the delegation gave me the news on the afternoon of August 13. This man is courteous and well-mannered, so it surprised me to hear him swear. "Today was fucked-up, he said, Lovinsky never showed up. We don't know where he is." The kidnapper called the delegation leader from Lovinsky's cell phone. He spoke in Kreyol. He said he was a "professional." When the delegation was told about the call from Lovinsky's phone, the fear and apprehension was palpable. The kidnapper demanded $300,000. He said not to go to the police. As we discussed the situation, I said something lame like, "the first 48 hours are the most important" -- as if that really mattered here in Haiti. It's not as if they have a crack investigative team ready to go to work to find human rights activist who are kidnapping victims. That afternoon the rented SUV was found on Delma. Some information indicate that Lovinsky disappeared between Delma 31 and Delma 40. More info (Marguerite Laurent, head of Haitian Lawyer's Leadership on Haitian radio. English translation not available). The Canadians offered to go to their embassy the next day to ask for help in finding Lovinsky. The delegation leadership continued to talk to Lovinsky's friends and family and attempted to raise the ransom. Human rights and cultural activist, Marguerite Laurent, sent out an alert the evening of August 13, 2008. A lawyer and "negotiator" came to the house and interviewed a leader of the delegation. The then Port-au-Prince Police Chief, was contacted, but he did not make an appearance at the house, nor did anyone else from the Haitian police. The police Chief said that they did not have the means to track Lovinsky's cell phone. The cell phone company Digicel has a virtual monopoly on cell phone service in Haiti, but may or may not have been contacted by the police for assistance. I believed that the Chief was genuinely concerned, just not equipped to deal with the situation, mostly for unspoken political reasons that everyone comprehends. Haiti is under occupation by people who are not interested in the health and well-being of Haitians in opposition to the occupation. I remember riding in the SUV into the town of Dessalines, on August 10 as they held celebrations commemorating Bwa Kayiman. Dessalines is a historic town that had been named after a Frenchmen who took part in Napoleon's invasion of Haiti. It was renamed Dessalines when Aristide took office. The town is in a valley surrounded by mountains and served as a base for one of the Haitian revolution's fiercest and most successful leader, Dessalines. There are still cannons at strategic locations in the hills above the town that stand as a testament to the ingenuity, bravery and historic significance of the world's first successful revolution of an enslaved people. Lovinsky embodied Haiti. Haiti's spirit of independence, struggle, wisdom and knowledge of self. At Dessalines that day, there was a makeshift check point set up at the town entrance. The men who were stopping cars did not have guns, they had thick batons. One walked up to the car and explained that the "toll" was voluntary. Lovinsky fearlessly said he was not paying since it was voluntary. The man was taken aback but let us pass. On our trip to different cities in Haiti, I learned more about the 2004 coup and how much danger Aristide's supporters faced. Lovinsky's personal narrative is pretty chilling. Lovinsky loved his country. He went into exile after the 2004 coup, but he soon returned, leaving his wife and family behind in Washington. I asked him if he missed his family? He told me he had to come back. He could not stay away. He wanted to help his country. He knew so much about Haiti's history and as a psychologist, the Haitian psyche and at the core he is a man of peace who sought to find a way to serve his country. He planned to run for elected office, but he may have been made into a martyred hero, by people who had other plans for Haiti. 08.11.08 Update: At the U.S. Embassy, we met with the "Political Officer." That's what his name tag read. He was very courteous, professional and attentive. He was a Black man who wore a bow tie and a wool jacket. A wool jacket in the luxurious, well appointed, cool conference room that he ushered us into was understandable. He did not have to step outside into the punishing heat. He listened to our concerns about Lovinsky, but offered that he could not help. It just was not in his job description, nor in any one elses job description at the U.S Embassy to help. So, the subject of Lovinsky's kidnapping was quickly exhausted. We moved on to other topics. In particular, one of the Canadians brought up his objections to U.S. foreign policy in Haiti. I chimed in with my strong objections. I remember distinctly that, he looked at me directly and warned; "You know, they kidnap Americans too." Although I don't know what that had to do with U.S. foreign policy. I'm sure he did not mean it as a threat.