9246: U.S. protects Haitian terrorist leader (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: radtimes <resist@best.com>

      Alive and well in Queens, N.Y.

                      U.S. protects Haitian terrorist leader

       By G. Dunkel
       New York

       Some time after the U.S. Army sent troops to Haiti in 1994 on the
       pretext of restoring Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to
       power, Emmanuel "Toto" Constant moved into a comfortable,
       single-family home in Laurelton, Queens, a suburb of New York City.

       Although he was wanted in Haiti for mass murder and for
       participating in the violent overthrow of a legally elected Haitian
       government, he had no difficulty in obtaining residency and even
       permission to work. Tens of thousands of Haitians have been
       deported from the United States; thousands more have been picked up
       on the high seas, had their boats destroyed and been dumped in a
       Haitian port. But Constant had no problems with immigration.

       Who is Toto Constant? Why is he being protected by the U.S.
       government?

       Constant was the organizer of FRAPH, the paramilitary group that
       terrorized the Haitian people and kept them in line on behalf of
       the military during the time that Aristide was deposed in a coup.
       From 1991 to 1994, FRAPH was responsible for 3,000 to 5,000
       murders.

       The Haitian authorities can't be sure about the exact number killed
       because, when the U.S. Army occupied Haiti in 1994, one of its main
       items of business was to seize the FRAPH archives and ship them to
       the United States. These archives were known to contain "trophy"
       pictures, videotapes of torture sessions and other documents
       relating to how the FRAPH conducted its terror during the three
       years of the coup. They also contained sensitive information on the
       relationship between coup leaders and the United States.

       Stan Goff, a Vietnam vet and Green Beret, was one of the U.S.
       soldiers in the invasion force. His book, "Hideous Dream-- Racism
       and the U.S. Army Invasion of Haiti," is an exposé of the racism
       and hypocrisy that lurked behind the occupation. Goff was arrested
       and expelled from the country for resisting orders to treat FRAPH
       like a "legitimate political opposition."

       Part of the U.S. Army's treatment of FRAPH was to conceal its
       atrocities and the fact that its leaders, particularly Constant,
       were on the CIA's payroll. That's why the U.S. kept the FRAPH
       documents for the past seven years and let Constant live and work
       in Queens.

       On Sept. 30 in Gonaïves, the city where Haiti's independence was
       declared in 1804, President Aristide presided over a ceremony
       marking the coup that had overthrown him 10 years ago.

       He pointed out that the people's misery is growing. Haiti is at the
       mercy of the giant imperialist financial institutions. For example,
       it has been forced to pay $8 million in interest on loans from the
       Inter-American Development Bank, even though the loan money has not
       yet been released to Haiti. The bank's excuse for holding back the
       money is that the last election in Haiti was not conducted fairly.
       Like the U.S. election, perhaps?

       Talking about the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., Aristide said, "The
       United States is a victim of terrorism. We too are also victims of
       terrorism. All those who are hungry, who are poor and suffer now
       because of the coup d'etat are victims of the terrorism of the
       army."

       He announced that the U.S. has finally returned the FRAPH
       documents.

       Speaking after Aristide, Haitian Sen. Gerald Gilles said, "The
       United States wants bin Laden. We demand Emmanuel 'Toto' Constant."

       - END -

            Reprinted from the Oct. 18, 2001, issue of Workers World newspaper