27343: Haiti Progres (News) This Week In Haiti 23:46 01/23/2006 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Haïti Progrès <editor@haiti-progres.com>

"This Week in Haiti" is the English section of HAITI PROGRES
newsweekly. For the complete edition with other news in French
and Creole, please contact the paper at (tel) 718-434-8100,
(fax) 718-434-5551 or e-mail at editor@haitiprogres.com.
Also visit our website at <www.haitiprogres.com>.

                   HAITI PROGRES
          "Le journal qui offre une alternative"

               * THIS WEEK IN HAITI *

              January 25 - 31, 2006
                Vol. 23, No. 46



THE HAITIAN PEOPLE AT A CROSSROADS:
THE QUESTION OF RENÉ PRÉVAL'S CANDIDACY

Should people vote for the Lespwa coalition's presidential candidate
René Préval or should they boycott the de facto regime's elections now
scheduled for Feb. 7, 2006?

This question is now confounding the Haitian people and dividing the
forces struggling against the Feb. 29, 2004 coup d'état which toppled
Haiti's constitutional government.

The confusion has become even greater in recent days as a rift has
occurred in the putschist coalition which backed President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide's overthrow. On the one hand, Washington and the U.N.
occupation forces at its service want elections to be held on Feb. 7, no
matter what, so that they can "finalize" the coup d'état and replace the
hugely unpopular, repressive and corrupt regime of de facto Prime
Minister Gérard Latortue. They may even be ready to accept a victory by
former president and prime minister René Préval, who represents Haiti's
"enlightened" bourgeoisie, despite the reservations some
arch-reactionary sectors in Washington may have about Préval's coziness
with Cuba.

A Jan. 24 front-page article in the New York Times presents the Préval
candidacy in a very favorable light. It quotes a U.N. official
chastising Haiti's elite for thinking that "they could get rid of one
government and have the country to themselves and their friends." The
official adds bitingly that "Préval has come and ruined the party."

Indeed, representatives of Haiti's two ruling groups, the traditional
bourgeoisie and the big-landowners (represented by the neo-Duvalierist
or "Macoute" sector), are alarmed by Préval's manifest popularity, which
far surpasses that of any one of the other 34 candidates. This
popularity issues from Préval's perceived closeness to Aristide, a
rapport which even Préval admits is overstated. Bourgeois and
neo-Duvalierist politicians along with "civil society" spokespersons
have started to denounce and oppose the elections, seeing the
possibility that their candidates will not walk away with the
presidency.

Now some Haitian ruling groups have begun calling for an election
boycott and even alluding to disruption. De facto town officials and
hooligans in St. Marc brutally dispersed a Préval campaign rally on Jan.
18, burning two vehicles and destroying the campaign's rostrum. This
type of intimidation tactic has only encouraged more of the Haitian
masses to rally to Préval's candidacy. These masses hope that they can
reenact the election victory of Dec. 16, 1990, when the last-minute
dark-horse candidate, Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide, easily won
Washington-sponsored elections.

But the circumstances of Haiti's 1990 election and that of 2006 are
completely different, and the dangers and illusions of the Préval
candidacy must be made clear.

To begin with, in 2006, the elections are being held under a coup and a
foreign military occupation, with the de facto and occupation
authorities completely controlling and financing the polling. This was
not the case in 1990.

Under today's scenario, the Feb. 7 elections offer only three possible
outcomes, and they are all bad.

1) A Massacre: It is very possible that, no matter what Washington's
warnings, the bourgeoisie and the Macoutes could send out gunmen to
massacre voters on Feb. 7 if they sense that Préval may win. This is
what happened on Nov. 29, 1987 when the Macoutes feared a victory by the
bourgeoisie's candidate Gérard Gourgue. Macoutes and soldiers
machine-gunned and macheted dozens of voters to death, wounding
hundreds.

2) A Selection: Despite Préval's obvious popularity among the masses, it
is still possible that sectors controlling the election, through any
number of means, manage to have another candidate "selected." The Bush
Administration is not usually swayed by public opinion and is ready to
carry out brazen election theft, by which it has hoisted even itself
into power.

Also, de facto election authorities have already restricted the number
of voting stations in popular quarters, which can be an excuse or a real
way to restrict votes for Préval. Occupation and de facto authorities
will also have full control over the touch-screen machines and vote
counting.

3) Préval, the Portrait: Even if neither of these scenarios were to
unfold, and René Préval were to win the presidency, he would not be able
to implement a popular or progressive program, even if he wanted to. He
would preside under the auspices of a foreign military occupation. Mass
acceptance of his victory would mean legitimization of the 2004 coup.

Under much easier circumstances during his 1996-2000 administration,
Préval has already revealed that he was ready to bow to key elements of
the imperialist agenda, privatizing state industries like the flour mill
and the cement factory, signing treaties to allow the US military to
freely enter Haitian waters and airspace, and cracking down on
anti-neoliberal protests.

Furthermore, election engineers might allow Préval to win the
presidency, while making sure that the legislative races go to a less
"conflicted" party. The Haitian prime minister, in whom almost all
executive power resides, is drawn from the parliament's majority party.

For all these reasons, it is clear that a Préval candidacy is a
lose/lose/lose proposition. Whether he loses or win, the people lose. It
is a mirage, a trap, which can only lead the people to legitimate a coup
and occupation. Repression and neoliberal reform will continue. Préval
can be no more than either a hostage or a collaborator in Washington's
occupation regime.

Although Préval's candidacy is sponsored by the Louvri BaryP party and
the KOREGA (which make up the Lespwa, or Hope, coalition), many from
Aristide's Lavalas Family party are opportunistically defecting to the
Préval campaign in the hopes of getting a state job.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Lavalas Family party continues to say
that no free elections can be held until all the hundreds of Lavalas
political prisoners have been released, the Lavalas political exiles,
including President Aristide, are allowed to return, and a national
dialogue begun. In addition to these conditions, the National Popular
Party (PPN) says that no elections can be held under the auspices of a
foreign military occupation, which is against both Haitian and
international law.

For all these reasons, Haitian voters should boycott the Feb. 7
elections and not be lured by the illusion that the candidacy of René
Préval can resolve any of their problems. If Washington's strategists
chooses not to block Préval's candidacy, they will only use it to
legitimize their brazen and never internationally or popularly accepted
2004 coup through a classic bait-and-switch maneuver.



AS KANGAROO COURT IS PREPARED:
AN AILING FATHER JEAN-JUSTE WARNS HE MAY "DEPART FROM EARTH"

In recent weeks, as we have reported, several doctors have examined
Haitian political prisoner Father Gérard Jean-Juste in his
Port-au-Prince jail, determined that he suffers from leukemia, and
prescribed immediate medical treatment in the United States.

Last week, Jean-Juste and his supporters suffered a cruel blow. A
Haitian judge first dismissed charges that Jean-Juste was involved in
the murder of journalist Jacques Roche, which occurred when he was out
of the country. This raised expectations that he would be quickly
released and brought to Miami.

But these hopes were dashed when Judge Jean Peres Paul, who arrested two
journalists for "disrespect" last September (see HaVti ProgrPs, Vol. 23,
No. 27, 9/14/2005), then indicted Jean-Juste on lesser charges of
weapons possession and criminal conspiracy, thereby keeping him in jail.

"It is simply outrageous," said Kevin Pina, the North American
journalist who was arrested along with his Haitian colleague, Jean
Ristil, by Peres Paul. "I was there when Peres' team was searching
Jean-Juste's house, and they made it very clear that they had found
absolutely no illegal weapons. For them to concoct this charge now is
just incredible."

Brian Concannon, Jr. of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti
(IJDH) explained in his weekly Haiti update that the charges are
"without legal or factual foundation."

" They are based," he writes, "on Fr. Gerry's employment as a chaplain
at the National Palace under Haiti's ousted constitutional government.
His position entitled him to five security guards, who were issued a
total of three pistols and two shotguns by the government. The
ordonnance [indictment] charges Fr. Gerry with illegal arms possession,
even though there is no evidence that the security guards lack a valid
license, that their employment has been terminated, that the National
Palace authorities have asked for the guns back or that the guns were
involved in any illegal activity. The conspiracy charge does not allege
that Fr. Jean-Juste or anyone else planned or engaged in illegal
activity; its sole basis is that he refused to tell the judge the names
of his five security guards."

Concannon goes on to explain that Jean-Juste would be tried by a single
judge, not a jury, where his chances of conviction are high. "As the
ordonnance is written, the prosecutor would not need to prove that the
guns are illegal or that anyone engaged in or planned any illegal
activity," he explains.

The conspiracy charge carries a sentence of forced labor for 3-15 years.

The de facto Haitian government and the U.S. embassy are pressuring
Jean-Juste's IJDH lawyer, Mario Joseph, not to appeal the ruling but to
go to trial. They promise that Jean-Juste would be pardoned if
convicted.

Meanwhile, Jean-Juste remains in jail, although "the prosecutor could
release Fr. Gerry for life-saving treatment with less than 30 minutes'
paperwork," Concannon concludes. "Fr. Gerry, who wants to clear his name
in a fair trial and has appeared at court or the police station every
time he has been summoned, has promised to return if he is provisionally
released."

This week, a letter from Jean-Juste was smuggled out of jail. In it,
Jean-Juste explains how the "Big Boss," presumably the U.S. government,
limits his contacts with the media. He also poignantly but bravely
describes how he is preparing for death, if he remains deprived of
qualified medical treatment in prison.



Friends, Compatriots and All:

It is not easy for me to communicate to you through the media. It is
forbidden by my jailers. That order comes from the Big Boss, the
invisible one in Haiti.

With heart broken I have followed most of the big events in Haiti. Year
2005 has been very rough in Haiti. Tragedy after tragedy. As we have
survived it, I remain grateful to God for you and for me. With the grace
of God, I hope that you and I and all men and women of good will are
doing our best to drastically improve life in Haiti.

My health is quitting me. Some physicians say that a type of cancer
called leukemia is attacking my cells. Death may come soon if I do not
receive treatment. Supporters from Haiti and around the world are
keeping the pressure on. Others are calling to the living God with tears
in their eyes. Unfortunately, some people think I am faking. They wish
my death. Whatever position someone may take does not matter to me.
Doing God's will has been my motto.

On February 7, 2006, I will reach the age of 60 years. I think I was
very lucky in this life. Most of my compatriots died between 45 and 55
years. I am already an exception. If I can, I would like to take the
opportunity to raise the death issue before I depart from earth. Each
one of us has to go. Unfortunately, I will leave more work for you.
However, I believe God always arises new workers for his vineyard. Plus,
from above, I'll be so busy meeting God's family members who enter
heaven, so do not worry about me.

As I am writing this communique, some people, friends of mine, enter the
jail crying, with tears flowing down their cheeks. That makes me
uncomfortable, but what can I do to stop it? Death in the risen Christ
is not the end of life. It is a passage, a necessary one from earth to
heaven. I am looking forward to discover, thanks to Jesus, the glorious
heavenly life. So many ancestors, friends, relatives, parents, martyrs,
militants, justice and freedom lovers to greet.

Do not worry for me, as Jesus once told us, worry for yourselves. Worry
for yourselves. You have work to do. You do not have the means yet, or
the means may be hidden. Please listen to God, enjoy putting his gospel
into your lives and with him God the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit, you will build a better world.

Open your intelligence, open your hearts and minds and be creative to
exploit the wealth in our own world, to make a better living for each
other. Yes, you can. Yes, we can. Let love triumph, let its fruits be
shared and happy days for all.

Finally, let me tell you as a Christian, I believe in miracles. Miracles
individually and collectively. Nothing is impossible for God. God may
directly touch me and I may live a few more years with you. He may work
marvelously through physicians and make miracles take place. Be in
peace! Do your best. Let the will of God be done. Au revoir!

Gerard Jean-Juste

All articles copyrighted Haiti Progres, Inc. REPRINTS ENCOURAGED.
Please credit Haiti Progres.

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