Ron Paul -- No Need for "Civil" War to Get Rid of Slavery

Paul: "Other Western nations all got rid of slavery without a Civil War."

Hughley: "You just make way too much sense, you can't be a Republican."

Ron Paul, the former Republican candidate for President was on the D.L. Hughley program on CNN. He opined (at 7:50) that the Civil War did not need to be fought. The North should have just "bought" all the slaves from the South. After all, he stated, other nations did not fight a "civil" war to free their slaves.

Congressman Ron Paul, the slaves of Haiti bought their freedom from the French, English and Spanish IN BLOOD, more than 60 years before American slaves were "freed." Haiti was the first successful slave rebellion in the world. Haiti was a beacon for the enslaved blacks of North America and the Western Hemisphere. Haiti was the second republic in this hemisphere after the US, but stood first as a truly liberated country -- since the U.S. still held slaves in chains. The slave revolt in Haiti (1791-1803) inspired white abolitionists and black slaves in the US, such as Gabriel Posser, Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey and John Brown. Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to give up his ambition to build an empire in the new world. He sold the Louisiana Territory to Jefferson for a song -- doubling the size of the United States. The South American leader Simon Bolivar of Caracas, Venezuela was the second of his country man (Francisco Miranda -- the first to come, died in a Spanish jail) to come to Haiti seeking aid in fighting to end colonialism. The Haitian president Alexandre Petion provided him with provisions, arms, ships and men with one stipulation; free the slaves too. Bolivar went on to liberate a vast portion of South America comprising the present day countries of Colombia, Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador.

Congressman Paul, maybe the wars to free the slaves in Haiti and South America were not "civil" as you say... but they bloody well did the job of tolling a death knell for chattel slavery in this hemisphere. In fact, other nations did fight to keep slavery, but lost to the heroes of the Haitian Revolution and their protege, Simon Bolivar.

Haitians Shackled by Debt &
Dependency -- Fight Back

In Haiti, the neoliberal policies of the U.S. government have bought about debt and dependency at every geopolitical level.

As Haitians continue to struggle for autonomy and sovereignty, a younger generation is taking up the fight to empower themselves. Their inspiration comes from Haiti's founding father Jean-Jacques Dessalines who declared Haiti's independence in 1804 after a bloody 13 year war.

UPDATE:

HISTORY MATTERS: The Brutal US Occupation
of Haiti - 1915 to 1934

Charlemagne Péralte is a national hero. He took up arms to defend Haiti against the US military occupation of 1915. His army, the Cacos was made up of poor people. In 1919 the US Marines assassinated Pèralte, nailed his body to a door and put him on public display. Haitians saw the parallels to Jesus in the manner of the atrocity, thus solidifying his heroic image.

Charlemagne Peralte's call to arms:

People of Haiti!

Soon a day like the 1st of January 1804 will rise. For four years the [American] Occupation has been insulting us constantly. Each morning it brings us a new offense. The people are poor and the Occupation still oppresses us with taxes. It spreads fires and forbids us to rebuild wooden houses under the pretext of keeping the city beautiful.

Haitians, let’s stay firm. Let’s follow the Belgian example. If they burn our cities, it doesn’t matter! As the inscription on the tomb of the great Dessalines states: “At the first canon shot, giving the alarm, cities disappear and the nation stands up.”

The holy battle in the North is led by brave citizens. The South is only waiting for the right man to follow its wonderful example. Don’t worry, we have the arms. Let’s get rid of those savage people, whose beastly character is evident in the person of their President Wilson—traitor, bandit, trouble maker, and thief.

Die for your country.
Long live Independence!
Long live the Union!
Long live the just war!
Down with the Americans!

From Charles the Great Massena Peralte High Commander of the Revolution in Haiti to The French Minister in Haiti Port-au-Prince

****

Honored Minister,

Despite the principles, of international law usually adopted by civilized nations, and coming out of Great War in Europe, the American Government got involved in the internal affairs of the small republic of Haiti and imposed a rule whose approval by the Haitian Parliament was guaranteed enforced by military occupation.

We were ready to accept this rule and follow its obligations, despite the threat to our autonomy and the dignity of our free and independent people. But the false promises, given by the Yankees, when they invaded our land, brought in almost four years of continuous insults, incredible crimes, killings, theft and barbarian acts, the secrets of which are known only to Americans.

Today we lost patience and we reclaim our rights, rights, ignored by the unscrupulous Americans, who by destroying our institutions deprive the people of Haiti of all its resources and devour our name and our blood. For four years, cruel and unjust Yankees brought ruin and hopelessness to our territory. Now, during the peace conference and before the whole world, the civilized nations took an oath to respect the rights and sovereignty of small nations. We demand the liberation of our territory and all the advantages given to free and independent states by international law. Therefore, please take into consideration that ten months of fighting has been in pursuit of this aim and that our victories give us the right to ask for your recognition.

We are prepared to sacrifice everything to liberate Haiti, and establish here the principles affirmed by President Wilson himself: the rights and sovereignty of small nations. Please note, honored Consul, that American troops, following their own laws, don’t have any right to fight against us.

Dear Sirs (sic), please, accept our distinguished salutations.

Signed by the High Commander of the Revolution M. Peralte

followed by 100 other signatures

Source: History Matters: Bandits or Patriots?: Documents from Charlemagne Péralte

End the U.S. War on Haiti

The following is an article from the Haiti Action Committee Website. It expresses for me the aspirations of many Haitian activist (including myself), who are endeavoring to see Haiti regain its sovereignty and ability to be a self-sustaining, viable and thriving democracy. Haiti is a country with a proud heritage which deserves the world's respect and honor.


HAITI 2008
by Nia Imara

“The United States is at war with Haiti. Congress has never sanctioned the war. Josephus Daniels has illegally and unjustly occupied a free foreign land and murdered its inhabitants by the thousands. He has deposed its officials and dispersed its legally elected representatives. He is carrying on a reign of terror, brow-beating, and cruelty, at the hands of southern white naval officers and marines. For more than a year this red-handed deviltry has proceeded, and today the Island is in open rebellion. The greatest single question before the parties at the next election is the Freedom of Haiti.”

- W.E.B. Du Bois

Du Bois wrote this succinct statement in 1920, five years into the first US occupation of Haiti. Replace the words “Josephus Daniels” with “George W. Bush” or “Condoleeza Rice,” “southern white naval officers” with “United Nations,” and you have an accurate description of the crisis situation in Haiti today and of the United States’ role in instigating that crisis.

February 29, 2008 marked the fourth anniversary of the US Government’s kidnapping and subsequent exiling of democratically elected Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Following the kidnapping, US Marines invaded Haiti and thousands of United Nations troops soon followed in their murderous footsteps, with the express mission of perpetuating a reign of violence and destruction upon the Haitian people. During the past four years of the occupation, the US Government and the United Nations have ignored the call for Aristide’s return to Haiti; locked up thousands of political prisoners; murdered tens of thousands; and raped and brutalized tens of thousands more. All this in the name of creating stability and security.

Yet during the past four years, Haitians have fought persistently and unceasingly for their freedom. In spite and because of the daily violence of poverty; the regular harassment by the elite upon the poor; and the deficiency of education, healthcare, clean water, and jobs, Haitians have continued to fight the occupation which cultivates these crimes.

And where do we, in the US, stand after four years? Taken wholly, it seems that the American public is scarcely more just in its attitude towards Haiti than it was 88 years ago when Du Bois wrote in The Crisis. The mainstream media is certainly as racist and unfounded in their depiction of Haiti. Though maybe expressed a touch more euphemistically, Haiti is still the tiny black country that can’t get its act together and that is of no special significance to the greater concerns of the world.

But since it would be worthless to look to the corporate media for sound analysis or context, perhaps the question should be put to those of us who consider themselves progressives or on the “left.” Certainly, those that are demanding an end to the murderous US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan must also be calling, just as loudly and articulately, for an end to the US occupation of Haiti? Those that see through the US media’s demonization of Chavez and Venezuela’s Bolivarian revolution must also, at the least, be suspicious of the gratuitous lies printed about Aristide and Lavalas? And those understanding that racism still informs Washington’s policy towards the great majority of the black and brown world must have some idea of what’s at stake in Haiti? But this is not the case. When it comes to Haiti, it appears that many progressives are left mystified and confused. This may be one reason why in leftist discussions concerning the United States’ patronization and exploitation of Latin America, for instance, there is rarely any mention of Haiti.

The revolt of Haitian slaves that began in 1791 and culminated in the country’s independence in 1804 directly influenced and inspired the revolts of slaves in the rest of the Americas, ultimately leading to their emancipation throughout. The Haitian revolution threatened the very foundation of American society in 1804, as in 2004. Anyone who believes that the world would be safer, healthier, and more just without the hegemony of the United States and its partners in crime will find that Haiti has long been in an especially strategic position of defiance against the reigning imperialist regimes. It just takes a little diligence in blowing away the smoke that has shrouded Haiti in obscurity and mystification.

Haiti 2008 is under occupation. Even after elections in 2006, it is not a democracy, for there can be no democracy under occupation, even if the troops are wearing blue helmets. A people’s leaders are not kidnapped or exiled, and there are no political prisoners in a democracy. Haitian human rights activist Lovinsky Pierre Antoine, kidnapped last August, is still missing. Thousands of political prisoners still languish in deplorable conditions. Families living a hand-to-mouth existence are still struggling to find the means to send their children to school. And the schools that do serve the poor are still harassed by local officials who are more interested in securing Haiti for the elite than providing children with education. None of this paints the picture of a democracy. And the United States is a driving force of the current crisis in Haiti.

Nevertheless, Haiti 2008 is a place of constant struggle with dignity. By working in solidarity with the Haitian people to end the occupation, we are doing them no favor. In a small way, we are merely returning a debt to a people who continue to struggle in the legacy of their ancestors—ancestors that founded a birthplace of freedom more than half a century before the concept was even partially put into practice in the United States. Now as then, the fight for liberty in Haiti is a fight for the liberty of people the world over.

At the Helm of Trouble in Haiti Jesse Helms Dead on the 4th of July

Dead on the Fourth of July, what sweet poetic justice. The Nation termed his legacy "the mark of the white hands". Helms formented, tormented and hated so many and is justly reviled far and wide.

"The Republicans are still working those fault-lines. Indeed, some of the people who worked most closely with Helms as he transformed what began as an anti-slavery party into a comfortable retreat for white-backlash voters are now key players in the campaign of John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president. " (Jesse Helms, John McCain and the Mark of the White Hands)

Helms and his protégés succeeded in the ouster of the democratic government of Haiti. Helms branded Aristide a "psychopath and grave human rights abuser", paving the way for Washington's right-wingers, Paris and Haiti's ultra-rich to engineer "regime change" that resulted in the killing of thousands. The ensuing chaotic years that followed led to the current occupation of Haiti by UN "peacekeeping" forces (who have been responsible for genocidal acts, rapes and other crimes against humanity).

Can the US claim "victory" in Haiti? This was the cynical declaration of the US State Department amid the food riots, kidnappings/disappearances, political imprisonments...etc. Can the forceable removal of a democratic government and the replacement of said government with a neo-colonial regime that is not accountable to the people of Haiti but is to Washington be called a "victory"? That is myopic thinking. This is not long-term victory. What a hollow victory that is predicated on the continuing misery of the Haitian masses.

"His notorious race-baiting and Red-bashing political campaigns molded the modern Republican party"

"Jesse Helms may be gone. But if you follow politics, he cannot be forgotten. For every time Republicans win a state in a presidential election by placing a gay marriage ban on the ballot. Every time you hear a member or associate of the McCain campaign question Barack Obama’s patriotism. Every time Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConell sets a new record for obstruction by filibustering another bill. The presence of Jesse Alexander Helms on the American political stage can still be felt."
The Toxic Legacy of Jesse Helms
-- Published on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 by The Guardian/UK by Cliff Schecter

MORE...

"The Haitian people, desperately looking for something or someone to bring them out of the grinding poverty, found hope and inspiration in Jean Bertrand Aristide. A parish priest influenced by liberation theology, Aristide worked with the poorest of the poor. Loved by the Haitian people, he was elected president by a landslide in 1990. For the first time in recent history, Haitians believed that the government would represent them and that it would work to resolve the needs of the poor majority.

Aristide's call for populist economic programs set off alarms for the richest Haitians and in Washington D.C. Leading the charge against Aristide was Senator Jesse Helms, then the chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee; Roger Noriega, Helm's chief of staff and Otto Reich, a fanatically anti-Castro policy maker in the Reagan and Bush administrations.

Aristide's populist experiment in Haiti was not to be allowed by Washington. Guy Philippe and other members of FRAPH, a U.S.-backed death-squad, carried out a coup that killed between 3,000 and 5,000 Haitians just months after Aristide's election."

Coup Against Aristide | U.S. Occupies Haiti, by Cherrene Horazuk

Winter Pastor: Americans at War

The main stream media (MSM) aired America's dirty laundry non-stop yesterday. The focus was on Barack Obama's former Pastor, Jeremiah Wright of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ.

The story of the soldiers gathered to give testimony about the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions was ignored by the MSM. The event is called Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan. Hundreds of soldiers are gathered in Silver Spring, Maryland from March 13-16 in the time honored tradition of war protest as exemplified by the 1971 Vietnam hearings.

It was a very cathartic day for some and uncomfortable day for others.

Here is a preview of the Winter Soldier event from YouTube (Listen live here):




Here is a video of one of Barack Obama's appearances on the MSM:



The cynics say, "the soldiers, the pastor and the presidential candidate must hate America." The optimists say, "they must love it that much more because they care enough to speak the truth and isn't that the sign of a real patriot?" The pragmatists say "I wonder how this will affect the primaries in Pennsylvania?"