This article originally appeared
on the web site of the Haiti
Action Committee. Because of the current reign of terror
in Haiti, the journalists of the Haiti Information Project
must remain anonymous.
Port au Prince, Haiti – While so many of us take for granted that
our votes will be counted in our own countries, Haitians continue
to struggle against the “turn the page” crowd that would forget
their choice in the last presidential elections. A majority of
Haiti’s people voted Jean-Bertrand Aristide president in 2000 and
expected him to serve out a five-year term in office. Those hopes
were dashed when Aristide was ousted in a coup on February 29,
2004. A majority of Haiti’s poor earnestly believe the coup
was organized and led by the US, France and Canada. This perception
continues to haunt the current US-installed government, the US
State Department and a United Nations peacekeeping mission who
all claim in turn to be re-establishing democracy in Haiti. Residents
in the poor neighborhoods of the capital, like the roiling slum
of Bel Air, oppose the goals of what they have come to call the “Koalisyon
lanmo” or the “Coalition of the Killing” (an evident play on the
words of Bush’s “Coalition of the Willing” in Iraq).
“They are the ones who taught us our vote counts
and we will never forget.”
December 31st in Bel Air began in a small dusty
room off the street of Delmas 2. Combatants, the name for the
most strident backers
fighting for the return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in
Haiti, patrolled the area as others painted signs demanding his
return with slogans recognizing the rights of the poor. This is
clearly ground zero for the movement in this country that considers
itself honoring the votes cast by the majority of Haiti’s poor
that led to Aristide’s election as president in November 2000.
At 10:am the crowd began assembling for another day of resistance
that has been unrelenting in Bel Air since the forced ouster of
Aristide on February 29th. Despite the previous slaughter of their
numbers by US Marines and the Haitian police, the citizens of Bel
Air showed the courage of their convictions by taking to the streets
yet again.
A spokesman for the demonstrators stated, “Since the Haitian police
[backed by the UN], attacked our peaceful demonstration on September
30, we have said no. Even though they call us bandits on the radio
we understand the campaign of social exclusion and that they want
to hide the fact that 70% of the population are calling for Aristide’s
return. Today they talk about reconciliation yet more than 3000
within Lavalas have been murdered, they reward the former military
that are responsible with large checks and they give them jobs
in the police. They imprisoned our leaders or forced them into
exile. Our children have no schools, We have no decent housing
and we have no way of securing a life for the majority of the poor
who elected Aristide president. They do not represent us. They
will never represent us as long as this injustice continues. We
would rather die with dignity than in our current misery without
justice. This is the only honor as citizens of a free and independent
Haiti we have left to us. To die for our independence and what
we believe in.
“The constitution must be respected. We played
the game fair and voted for our president. Aristide must be returned
or the UN and
the US must kill us all. We will never betray the democratic principal
they [the International Community] taught us is supreme in the
land. One man equals one vote and we elected Aristide as the president
of Haiti. They are the ones who taught us our vote counts and we
will never forget.”
The Haiti Information Project (HIP) is a non-profit alternative
news service providing coverage and analysis of breaking developments
in Haiti. Contact: [email protected]. |