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16834: Haiti Reborn: A Day of Action for Haiti! Get Involved -- Wash, DC
From: Haiti Reborn <haiti@quixote.org>
National Day of Action for Haiti
September 30, 2003
"New Partnership with Haiti"
Talking Points
As we approach Haiti's Bicentennial Celebration it is fitting to reflect
on the role of U.S. policy towards Haiti over the past two hundred
years. On the eve of 2004, the Let Haiti Live: Coalition for a Just U.S.
Policy invites you to call on the U.S. government to create a New
Partnership with Haiti.
Below are the three talking points for the Day of Action on September
30, 2003. The bold statements are the main messages. When calling,
writing to or visiting your Congressional representatives, we suggest
you deliver the main messages and then choose one or more of the
bulleted points below each to illustrate why this step must be taken by
the U.S. government in order to create a new partnership with Haiti. Be
sure to emphasize the need for this new partnership throughout your
call/letter/meeting.
(1) The U.S. Government must immediately de-link humanitarian aid,
including funding from international financial institutions, from the
political situation in Haiti.
* Haiti's population is deeply impoverished. Withholding aid has
already deepened the suffering of the poor. Over 80% of the
population lives in poverty. 7 out of 10 Haitians are unemployed.
* A national health crisis is already underway. Haiti's infant and
maternal mortalities are the highest in the hemisphere, and life
expectancy at birth has dropped to below 50 years.
* Very few Haitians have access to clean drinking water. In a recent
water poverty index, Haiti is ranked 147 out of 147 countries.
Contaminated water may very well be the leading killer of Haitian
children.
* The HIV/AIDS rate in Haiti has climbed to more than 6%. Thousands
of Haitian children are orphaned by the disease each year.The
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has promised $317 million to
Haiti in future loans. The U.S. Executive Director at the IDB must
support the disbursement of this aid.
(2) The U.S. and the Organization of American States (OAS) must support
elections by the end of 2003, as mandated by the Haitian Constitution.
* Haiti's protracted political stalemate has deepened the suffering
of the Haitian people while undermining their confidence in
participatory democracy.
* Democracy building in a country without a democratic legacy is a
long-term process. The U.S. should take the lead on setting
realistic expectations for Haiti's democratic development. The U.S.
and the OAS should provide technical assistance to the electoral
process and should encourage the opposition coalition to
participate in upcoming elections.
* Security concerns have been raised by members of the international
community and Haiti's opposition parties. The U.S. should fulfill
its financial obligations to the OAS Special Mission, enabling the
Mission to send 100 police trainers to strengthen the Haitian
National Police and security for elections.
* The only way to move beyond the political standoff that has
paralyzed Haiti for three years is to put the decision in the hands
of the Haitian electorate.
* If elections are not held this year, most of Haiti's legislature
will expire in January 2004, creating a crisis that is much more
serious than the one that has gripped Haiti's young democracy since
2000.
* The US and the OAS must recognize that the opposition’s refusal to
participate in elections is undermining Haiti’s nascent democracy
by forcing the government into a Constitutional dilemma.
(3) The U.S. must repeal its discriminatory and illegal policy of
indefinite detention for Haitian refugees.
* Haitians are currently being held in indefinite detention in
violation of their human rights even after begin granted political
asylum.
* The U.S. should immediately cease the prolonged and arbitrary
detention policy and consider Haitian asylum seekers for release on
a case-by-case basis.
* Haitian refugees should be treated with the same dignity and
respect as other countries.
* Release should be granted to Haitian families with minor children,
Haitians granted political asylum, unaccompanied children, and
Haitians granted bonds.
* At the very least, detained Haitians must be treated in accordance
with Homeland Security Detention Standards, and on-site space for
consultations must be restored at the Krome Detention Center.
* U.S. must end secret transport of detained asylum seekers between
detention centers and must notify attorneys a reasonable amount of
time before transfer is scheduled to occur.
What should I do if I cannot come to Washington, DC?
Call you representatives on September 30, or send faxes and e-mails to
their offices using the talking points above. Also, please take a moment
to write letters to President Bush and Colin Powell send copies to Haiti
Desk Officers! Below are addresses for President George W. Bush, the
Secretary of State Powell, State Department Haiti Desk Officers, U.S.
House of Representative and the U.S. Senate:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Telephone: 202-456-1414
Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Telephone: 202-647-4000
Joseph Tilghman, Haiti Desk Officer
TilghmanJF@state.gov
202-647-5088, fax: 202-647-2901
-or-
Lawrence Fly Connell, Haiti Desk Officer
202-647-6765, fax: 202-647-2901
-at-
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
WHA/CAR – Room 4906
Washington, DC 20520
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Telephone: 202-224-3121
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Telephone: 202-224-3121
Note that you should visit www.congress.org to obtain your reprsentative
fax number and e-mail address.
For more information about this National Day of Action for Haiti, please
contact Haiti Reborn/Quixote Center at 301-699-3443 Ext 110 Eugenia
(eugenia@haitireborn.org) for Creole speakers and Ext 121 Melinda
(melinda@haitireborn.org) for English speakers.