18236: Esser: Haiti Report (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. E s s e r <torx@mail.joimail.com>


Haiti Report for January 25, 2004

Prepared by Haiti Reborn/Quixote Center

The Haiti Report is a compilation and summary of events as described
in Haitian and international media. It does not reflect the opinions
of Haiti Reborn. This service is intended to give a better
understanding of the situation in Haiti by presenting the reader with
reports that provide a variety of perspectives on the situation.

IN THIS REPORT:
- Opposition Protests Close Schools
- New Education Minister Announces Government Plans to Protect Schools
- Bishops Comment on their Compromise Proposal
- Major Pro-Government Demonstration in Port-au-Prince
- US Once Praised War Criminal Duperval
- Union Rights Condition of Loan in New Free Trade Zone
- Demo Calling for Respect of Schools
- CARICOM Meets with Haitian Opposition and Makes Recommendations
- Former Senator Toussaint Called to Court for Threats
- UN says Haiti not ready for Quick Elections
- Profile of Democratic Platform (Group of 184 and Democratic
Convergence) Representatives at Recent CARICOM Talks
- Randall Robinson on what US Must Do

Opposition Protests Close Schools:
Supporters of the opposition coalition stoned the facilities of the
College Saint-Francois d'Assise and the College Gerard Gourgue on
1/19 to prevent the schools from functioning. Several students were
struck by rocks thrown by demonstrators who said they wanted to
utilize all available means to prevent students from attending school
until the government is ousted. The violence is part of a campaign
against the schools that has been launched by senior leadership of
the political coalition directed by business leader Andre Apaid, Jr.
Evans Paul, Secretary General of the Democratic Unity Convention,
reaffirmed on 1/18 that the political platform is determined to bring
school activities, and even hospitals to a standstill across the
country. The important thing, he said, is to oust President Aristide.
In this context, threats of arson attacks were made against several
private and parochial schools that had been open to receive students.
The entrances to the College Marie-Anne of the Sisters of St. Anne as
well as the entrances of two other schools were set on fire the
morning of 1/19 in the Christ Roi area by supporters of the
opposition. Two schools have been set on fire in Leogane. Josue
Merilien, the Secretary General of the National Union of Haitian
Teachers in Training, read a list of schools on 1/19 that must close
their doors or else face reprisals. The schools are the College
Canado-Haitian, the College Saint-Louis de Gonzague, the College
Saint Francois d'Assise, the Lycee Francais and the Union School.
(Agence Haitienne de Presse, or AHP, 1/19)

A student demo turned violent on 1/19 when police used tear gas and
discharged their guns in the air to break up a protest. Within five
minutes start at the State University of Haiti, police told the group
they would have to take another route to avoid clashes with
government supporters. The students refused, sparking clashes between
protesters and police, who witnesses said hit some of the students
with clubs and fired tear gas and warning shots. Angry students then
threw stones at private schools that had stayed open despite requests
to close in solidarity. (Associated Press, or AP, 1/19)

New Education Minister Announces Government Plans to Protect Schools:
Government officials announced on 1/20 a series of measures to favor
a true resumption of classes in schools at the national level in
response to the campaign against schools that has been launched by
the opposition. The new Minister for Education, Camille Gouin, spoke
at the government's Tuesday Press Briefing, and recalled that
education is a civic and social obligation. Gouin appealed for
understanding from parents, students and above all, he said, from all
who would block the country's schools from functioning using all
available means. According to the Minister, legal measures will be
enacted against trouble-makers with the objective of preventing the
trampling of the efforts of parents and students. He also outlined
measures designed to improve the functioning of the country's
schools, notably by strengthening governance in national schools and
public high schools. (AHP, 1/20)

Bishops Comment on their Compromise Proposal:
The Haitian Conference of Bishops (CEH) declared on 1/20 that it has
observed that some difficulties have been preventing the
implementation of its proposal for emerging from the crisis that it
published last Nov. 21. In a news release read by Father Andre
Pierre, the bishops, who did not clearly indicate that the proposal
was being withdrawn, explained their position by the fact that some
sectors that had been invited to join in dialogue with a view to
resolving the crisis had ignored their invitation. The bishops also
explained the refusal of these sectors to negotiate as being due to
the acts of violence carried out on December 5 at the State
University of Haiti. In their proposal, the bishops had asked
President Aristide to name a council of nine members whose mission
would be to assist and advise the president following the expiration
of the mandate of the 47th legislature in January 2004. The American
and the French governments had supported the CEH proposal as a basis
for further discussions. (AHP, 1/20)

Major Pro-Government Demonstration in Port-au-Prince:
Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Fanmi Lavalas demonstrated on
1/21 to advocate respect for President Aristide's constitutional
mandate to serve out his five-year term in office. This demo in
support of peace and reconciliation also sought to ask the leaders of
the opposition political platform to put an end to the opposition's
campaign which the demonstrators described as anti-education and
anti-knowledge that was launched more than two weeks ago to prevent
schools from holding classes. The demo announced by leaders of the
opposition to call for the departure of President Aristide and to
prevent the resumption of classes in the schools was blocked, with
officials claiming that not all the legal requirements had been met.
According to a press release from the Haitian National Police, the
organizers of the demo had not only failed to inform police of their
plans in a timely manner, but they had also failed to provide contact
info that would have enabled police to get in touch with them to work
out details of the demo to guarantee adequate protection for the
demonstrators. (AHP, 1/21)

More than 20,000 Haitians marched in support of President Aristide on
1/21 after police used tear gas to prevent about 200 opponents from
demonstrating. "Long live Aristide!" shouted Bernier Civil, 44. "We
are marching because everyone should participate in elections. The
opposition is afraid to participate because we are the majority." (AP
and Reuters, 1/21)

Police blocked students from joining a protest on 1/21 while his
supporters demonstrated freely. About 1500 students marched in
support of Aristide and called for new legislative elections. (AP,
1/22)

US Once Praised War Criminal Duperval:
A convicted Haitian war criminal arrested in Orlando was once
considered "a loyal and faithful partner" of the US by the former
head of the US military. In a 1997 letter, Gen. Henry Hugh Shelton,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, praised Jean-Claude Duperval
and urged that his application for political asylum "be given every
possible consideration." Immigration agents picked up Duperval last
week at his Orlo Vista home, and he is expected to be deported to
Haiti within days. Duperval had been living there for about three
years after coming to the US in 1995. Duperval, a major general in
the Haitian military, was convicted in absentia by a Haitian Court in
2000 for his role in the 1994 massacre at Raboteau. An American
lawyer who helped prosecutors investigating the massacre said
Duperval was not accused of ordering or directly participating in the
killings. He was convicted, said Brian Concannon, because as the
army's second-in-command, he did nothing to stop the violence. In
fact, said Concannon, Duperval and other military leaders encouraged
it. "This was a very brutal regime," Concannon said, "And he stood by
while people in his command did these things." Amnesty International
says the Duperval case demonstrates a long-running problem with US
foreign policy. To achieve political or military goals, US officials
sometimes choose questionable friends, Amnesty's Vienna Colucci said.
In a report released two years ago, the group said at least 150 known
or suspected human rights violators were living in the US, but the
government had done little to prosecute them. (Orlando Sentinel, 1/21)

Union Rights Condition of Loan in New Free Trade Zone:
According to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
(ICFTU), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has finally
approved a loan of US $20 million the Dominican Republic free trade
zone operator, Grupo M, with an explicit condition that the company
recognize its employees' freedom of association and collective
bargaining rights. The approval of the loan, which will help Grupo M
develop a massive new free trade zone development in Ouanaminthe,
Haiti, on the Dominican Republic (DR) border, follows investigations
launched by the IFC into violations of workers' rights by Grupo M in
its other factories in the DR. In August and September 2003, the
ICFTU and the International Textile Garment and Leather Workers'
Federation, released video evidence and documentation on anti-union
actions by Grupo M, including threats, discrimination and violence
against workers seeking to organize unions. In October, the IFC board
made the loan contingent on the findings of an investigation into the
allegations about Grupo M's mistreatment of workers in the DR. The
week before 1/21, after determining that many of the allegations made
about Grupo M's anti-union practices were substantiated, the IFC
decided to include the obligation to respect freedom of association
and the right to collective bargaining as a loan condition. If these
rights are not respected, then the company will be considered to have
defaulted on the loan. The IFC has apparently also drafted a
"remedial action plan" that includes several measures for monitoring
observance of trade union rights at Grupo M facilities. (Haiti
Support Group, 1/22, for more on this story and the HSG campaign,
visit: www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org/zonefranche.htm)

Demo Calling for Respect of Schools:
Several thousand people, including university students, public high
school students and leaders of political parties held a demo on 1/22
to call for the re-opening of schools and university departments
across Haiti. The demo was organized by two student organizations,
the Federation for the Students for the Liberation of the State
University of Haiti, and Citizen Action of Haitian Students. (AHP,
1/22)

CARICOM Meets with Haitian Opposition and Makes Recommendations:
Leaders of the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) called on
Haitian President Aristide to immediately dismantle armed gangs,
provide clear rules for protest, and seek opposition backing for the
country's next prime minister. The requests were among a half dozen
proposals that leaders of the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago
agreed to during two days of talks in the Bahamas to solve Haiti's
political crisis. A 14-members delegation representing the country's
opposition attended the talks. Aristide did not send representatives,
but Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie was expected to travel to
Haiti to present the proposal to Aristide. "We believe Haiti is at a
perilous juncture," said P.J Pattrerson, prime minister of Jamaica,
who led the talks. "Opposing positions have hardened, and what is
really a fight for political power is taking place in the streets
with ensuing confrontations and incidents of violence. The potential
for greater violence and instability we regard as very elevated."
During the closed-door talks, several opposition leaders said they
wanted an international police force in Haiti to help prevent Haiti
from becoming a criminal state. The leaders support the idea of a
security force, but it was unclear 1/21 how many troops would be
needed and for how long. CARICOM proposals for ending Haiti's
political crisis: respect for freedom of the press, allowing of
peaceful protests, provision of a process for the speedy release of
people who have been arrested, establishment of conditions for
holding elections, financial and technical support from the
international community to assist with elections, appointment of a
prime minister with who has broad support, release of international
aid to Haiti. (Miami Herald, 1/22)

Former Senator Toussaint Called to Court for Threats:
Former Senator Dany Toussaint is being called before the courts for
questioning regarding threats he made during a radio broadcast in
which he said he was going to send 200,000 persons to forcefully take
the Palace and that Aristide would end up either "in prison or dead."
He is scheduled to appear before the Parquet on Monday, 1/26.
(Foreign Press Liaison Update and AHP, 1/22)

UN says Haiti not ready for Quick Elections:
A United Nations rights envoy said on 1/22 that rising violence and
insecurity mean that Haiti is not ready for quick elections. In a
report to the Geneva based Commission on Human Rights, the UN
independent expert on human rights in the Caribbean urged the
government to reform the police and judicial system. He also called
for the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights to open an office in
Haiti. (Reuters, 1/22)

Profile of Democratic Platform (Group of 184 and Democratic
Convergence) Representatives at Recent CARICOM Talks:
 From Charles Arthur at the Haiti Support Group: Any doubts about the
class interests represented by the opposition Democratic Platform
coalition will perhaps be removed by the following brief look at
those sent to the Bahamas to hold talks with CARICOM leaders on Jan.
21-22. (1) Hans Tippenhauer, consultant at the economic consulting
firm, Group Croissance, in Petionville, and a member of the
Washington-based think-tank, the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies' Caribbean Leadership Group. (2) Maurice
Lafortune, head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haiti. (3)
Pierre-Robert Auguste, head of the Artibonite Entrepeneur's
Association. (4) Lionel Etienne, representing the Franco-Haitian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (5) Fritz de Catalogne, head of the
Insurance Association of Haiti. (6) Lionel Delatour, representing the
Center for Free Enterprise and Democracy. (7) Gervais Charles, acting
President of the Bar Association of Port-au-Prince, a lawyer who
recently represented Andre Apaid, Jr, head of the Group of 184. (8)
Edouard Paultre, head of the Protestant Federation of Haiti.
All of these are representatives of the European Union-backed, Group
of 184. Reflecting its recent eclipse by the G184, the Democratic
Convergence sent only the following representatives: (9) Pastor Luc
Mesadieu, leader of MOCHRENA. (10) and (11) Victor Benoit and Micha
Gaillard, leaders of the CONACOM party. (12) Ariel Henry,
representing the Convergence. (13) Herve Saintilus, a former student
at the Faculty of Social Sciences, who is president of the State
University Students' Union. (Haiti Support Group, 1/23)

Randall Robinson on what US Must Do:
(Excerpts) Today Aristide - who stepped down at the end of his first
term and was re-elected to the presidency in 2000 - is under attack
again. Political unrest is rocking the poverty-stricken nation -
including protests both for and against the president. And a summit
of Caribbean Community representatives has begun a series of meetings
to resolve the crisis. This week they are meeting with Aristide
opponents who accuse him of trampling on civil rights and are
demanding he step down. Again, I stand with this leader and his right
to complete his five-year terms. And again, I urge the US - the
world's most powerful democracy - to resolutely embrace Haiti's
democratically elected president. How has Aristide - who was so loved
and revered - ended up the focus of calls for his ouster? Aristide
may have failings in his ability to negotiate the vicious power
divide between Haiti's economic elite and its broader masses, but US
policy has created an environment in which it is impossible for him
to succeed. Most troubling... has been US encouragement of Haiti's
opposition in its refusal to participate in elections that the
government continues to call for, but which the opposition knows it
will lose. The US has actually taken the position that there can be
no legitimate elections in Haiti if the opposition doesn't
participate, and that if elections do go forward without the
opposition, the US won't accept the results. This reflects terribly
on what American stands for as a nation, particularly in these times.
It is because of the opposition's rejection of elections that
Aristide has "failed to hold elections"; new parliamentarians have
not been elected, leaving vacancies in the parliament; that he has
"usurped the powers of government for his own dictatorial purposes."
So, yes, there are now those who demonstrate because the government
has been unable to "make life better." But the broad masses of
Haitian want no coups. They want democracy to work, stability for
their families, and the president to complete his term. The US must
live up to the standards required of the world's most powerful
democracy and support the Haitian government call for elections -
whether or not some elements of the opposition participate. The US
and Haitian Constitutions provide for the stability of the state with
specified terms of each president. The Constitution must be the final
authority in the US, in Haiti, and in all democracies, or anarchy
will prevail. The opposition in Haiti calls for the overthrow of the
democratically elected government. The US must unequivocally condemn
and distance itself from these proponents of insurrection and refuse
to recognize a government that seizes power. The US must take these
steps if it genuinely wants to support democracy and promote
stability in Haiti. Not to do this is bad for America. The rest of
the world must see the US as more than the embodiment of economic and
military might, but as the embodiment of such inviolable principles
as justice, equity and consistency. These intangibles are, in fact,
key to real and lasting security that all Americans crave. (The
Christian Science Monitor, 1/23)

http://haitireborn.org/news/haitireport/1-25-2004.php