From: nyxfer%panix.com@MIZZOU1.missouri.edu (N.Y. Transfer)
Subject: HAITI INFO #1 from Port-au-Prince
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Originator: daemon@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
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Resent-From: "Rich Winkel" <MATHRICH@MIZZOU1.missouri.edu>
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 19:40:34 GMT


Subject: Haiti Info No. 1 from Port-au-Prince

Via The NY Transfer News Service ~ All the News that Doesn't Fit


                            HAITI INFO

                      August 31, 1992, No. 1

News direct from the people and organizations of Haiti's
grassroots democratic movement

Published in Port-au-Prince every two weeks by the Haitian
Information Bureau <hib>@igc.org

NEWS:

RISING REPRESSION

Aug.  29, Port-au-Prince: Repression of civilians in Haiti has
increased dramatically and systematically over the past month,
according to numerous human rights groups.

More alarming still is the reorganization of the repressive
structures from the Duvalier era.

Even those allied with the coup d'tat leaders admit the situation
is beyond their control.  At a Senate hearing last week, a number
of outspoken enemies of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
complained about increasing violations in their departments.

Ministers from the illegal government were forced to acknowledge
the repression, but have attempted to diffuse the issue by
focusing on individual cases rather than admitting to its
pervasiveness.  The situation has gained the attention of
international organizations like Amnesty International.

Their new report on Haiti said "The security forces and thousands
of civilians acting in collusion with them carry out a wide range
of abuses... The old repressive structures, which the deposed
government had partly succeeded in dismantling, are back in
place." In a letter to the U.N. Centre for Human Rights, the U.S.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights said, "The executions in Haiti
simply do not stop -- I urge you once again to take immediate
action."

Paradoxically, the increase in repression has been accompanied by
an increase in "political space" as more people come forward with
reports.  Even the conservative Radio Metropole, often critical of
Aristide, broadcast a report on conditions in the Petion-ville
jail on Aug. 28.

"They call that room the cemetery, said a former prisoner. "They
beat you on the head, under your feet, in the stomach, they break
your bones, and hit you with six nail-studded whips tied together
they call `hot peppers.'"

>From the nature of the cases reported it is clear that much of the
repression is being carried out by an increasingly organized
structure. Under previous regimes, those structures were set up
and supported by the Haitian military as well as representatives
of foreign interests.

Today human rights organizations and others are trying to discern
who is supporting the "thousands of civilians" involved with the
military in repressive acts.

While there are still questions to be resolved, one thing is
apparent -- armed soldiers and civilians are boldly using the same
violent methods throughout the country. Church leaders, students,
journalists, peasant and union leaders are harassed, arrested,
tortured and killed.  There are also numerous "disappearances."

Members of democratic and popular groups see the reemerging
structures of repression as the main obstacle in the quest for a
democracy.  "It's not a question of investigating individual
cases," said one. "It's a matter of looking into the whole
system."

Washington, D.C., Aug. 27: The Organization of American States
today invited Marc L. Bazin, "prime minister" of the
military-backed de facto government, to send a representative for
"talks" here on Sept.  1.

The O.A.S. sent a mission to Haiti two weeks ago in an attempt to
end the crisis. Representatives met with members of the
constitutional government and parliament, church and non-
governmental organizations and coup-leader Gen. Raoul Cedras. [See
Behind the Headlines section]


PROFILE:  People working for democracy

LILIANE PIERRE-PAUL

"On the seventh of August I was on my way to the Congress of the
Federation of Latin American Journalists when at the Dominican
Republic's border I was arrested by military officers at the
Malpasse barracks.

"They came into the bus and said that they were looking for
`terrorists,' and they arrested me. After a few hours of detention
I was denied the right to travel and I was sent back toward
Port-au- Prince."

Liliane Pierre-Paul is a 35-year-old journalist from Les Cayes, a
town on the southern coast of Haiti.  She is one of the numerous
victims of the ongoing and systematic repression exercised by the
de facto government headed by Marc L. Bazin and coup-leader
General Raoul Cedras.

Unlike many others that have disappeared under the same
circumstances, Liliane was more fortunate.

Her reputation as a militant journalist fighting for democracy and
freedom of the press elicited a prompt response of protests and
denunciations of the forces which have been attempting to
eliminate Haitians involved in the democratic movement.

"I have been involved in communications since 1977, when I first
joined Radio Haiti Inter, said Liliane.  At the time, that station
was at the forefront of the fight for freedom of speech and
democratic change in Haitian society.

"That particular period of forward motion toward some democratic
gains lasted from 1977 until 1980 when Jean-Claude Duvalier's
government cracked down and sent all of us journalists into exile
and hiding."

Liliane left Haiti until after Duvalier fled the country in 1986.

"Although that experience was a nightmare for all democratic
forces, I feel that what has happened in this last coup d'tat of
September, 1991, is far more damaging to Haitian society as a
whole," she said.

"Not only did they crush all independent radio stations,
assassinate journalists and intimidate others into
self-censorship, but most important they momentarily silenced the
voices of the people.

"You have to remember that the radio stations are the most
efficient ways for the majority of the Haitian people to express
their desires and their frustrations, especially when they do not
find any institutions which take them into account.

"The gains we fought for so strongly and thought were irreversible
have been seriously hit.  The dismantling of these gains was
possible thanks to a well-planned and executed program that took
place before, during, and after the coup d'tat.

"Many journalists like myself have had to go into hiding, and
still after we start circulating it's only to hear our names
listed in the government media as targets for putchist fanatics."

In spite of the unabated repression following the coup, Liliane
found ways to continue her work. She stayed in touch with radio
stations and reporters both inside the country and abroad, and
kept them abreast of developments.

Today she is circulating more publicly and is trying to continue a
project she started before the coup with a group of other
journalists, a radio station called Collectif Quisqueya. She is
also freelancing and plans to visit the U.S. on a speaking tour to
publicize the situation in Haiti.

"We have to keep fighting," she said. "Being alive is a fight, so
keeping democratic gains also has to be a constant struggle."

HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT:

MIRAGOANE PRIEST HELD FOUR DAYS

Miragone, Aug. 28: Father Valery Rebecca and four others, arrested
by a solider and three armed civilians on Aug. 24, were released
today. Father Rebecca has been harrassed by military repeatedly
since the coup.

DEAD BODIES FOUND ON STREETS

Port-au-Prince area, Aug. 28: Two more bodies riddled with bullets
were found on the streets this morning, one in Canape Vert and the
other in the suburb of Thomassin.

Almost every morning bodies turn up in different parts of the
country. Sometimes they are left out for hours in an attempt to
intimidate passersby.

FATHER, DAUGHTER, AND SON ARRESTED

Gonaves, Aug. 24: A father and his daughter were arrested and
beaten by military looking for the man's son, a student at the Law
School. The boy had offended an army captain by responding to a
question.

Soldiers later returned to the home and arrested the boy.  All
three family members were severely beaten and are currently in the
hospital.

MORE DISAPPEARANCES

Verrette, Aug. 24: Duval d'Arnaud Romlus disappeared four days
ago, according to family members.

The family blamed the local Chief of Section but would not give
any more details because they had received death threats.

ARMY SHOOTS THREE

Port-au-Prince, Aug. 18: A group of men putting up Aristide
posters hours before the arrival of the O.A.S. mission were killed
by soldiers, according to neighbors who later found blood in the
area.  Their bodies were later recovered.

ARISTIDE INFORMATION OFFICER SHOT

Port-au-Prince, Aug. 17: Clifford Larose, a former employee of
Ministry of Information under Aristide, was shot twice by armed
men at his home.

ARMY KILLS 30 REFUGEES

Port-au-Prince, Aug. 11: At least 30 people were killed by Haitian
military as they tried to leave Haiti on July 17. In a recently
released interview, survivors said four or five "men in blue
uniforms" carrying "guns with long barrels" shot from shore at
Sources Pauntes, 20 km. north of here.

"They started to shoot and we were thrown into the sea," said one
survivor. "There were forty or fifty killed."

The survivor said it was his third attempt to leave the country
because of the general repression. He believes that the soldiers
and the boat captain arranged the massacre in order to split the
fares of the would-be refugees, about U.S. $250 each.

"Every time [we leave] we have to pay," the survivor said. "The
army wants us dead.  They are the ones creating the problems."

Note: Information gathered with the help of Carl Leveque Center
and The Platform for Human Rights.

BEHIND THE HEADLINES:

IS THE O.A.S. HELPING HAITI?

Eleven months after the military coup d'tat, Haiti's population is
still in the grips of a brutal repression. President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide remains in exile.

The Organization of American States sends representatives back and
forth across the Caribbean, but exactly what are they trying to
achieve? Is there still a chance for democracy in Haiti?

Sorting through the different reports, opinions, and
"indications," one fact is indisputable.  Despite international
disinformation campaigns conducted by coup leaders and their
foreign supporters, President Aristide is still crucial to solving
the crisis.

But as the months go by and the bodies pile up, Haitians are
wondering how far the O.A.S. commitment goes.

Just last week the organization reaffirmed their Oct. 8 resolution
calling for the return of President Aristide and of constitutional
order. But inviting a representative of the current illegal prime
minister to Washington for "talks" implies to some that the O.A.S.
version of a solution calls for Aristide to share power with coup
leaders.

The Oct. 8 resolution also imposed an embargo on Haiti, but
throughout the previous eleven months of sanctions dozens of boats
from O.A.S. countries have helped keep the illegal government
afloat with a steady supply of oil, gasoline, and other
necessities. This spring the organization called for
"reinforcement" of the embargo, but most member states have not
taken any concrete steps toward making it more effective.

The Organization of American States' support of democracy is
certainly commendable, but also not surprising given the current
world climate. In fact, O.A.S. leaders have no choice but to
continue to support Aristide. Many have had their own problems
with armies, and must be careful not to appear too weak to the
generals at home.

Those who put faith in the O.A.S. words are losing their patience.
After the delegation's visit to Haiti, Monsignor Willy Romulus
said, "And you, members of the O.A.S. and U.N. mission, what role
are you playing?  What are you doing?  It's been 11 months -- It's
about time that you put an end this game."

Others are tired of the rhetoric, and do not trust the
organization's declarations.

As the leader of one group pointed out, "If they only blocked the
gas, in three days the military would fall."


DEVELOPMENT NEWS:

Farmers Paid Less, Consumers Spend More

Port-au-Prince, Aug. 31: Merchants have been paying Haitian
peasants less for their products while simultaneously charging
more to consumers, especially in the capital.

That finding was one of a number uncovered in a report on the
economic and social effects of the coup d'tat released earlier
this month by a new umbrella organization, the Permanent
Commission on Emergency Aide, which represents over 60
non-governmental democratic and popular organizations from health,
development, research, human rights and other sectors.

The report accuses the illegal government of ignoring the "grave
consequences" of the coup and its aftermath, analyzes a number of
facets of Haitian life, and proposes a detailed emergency plan,
the first phase of which requires about U.S. $17.5 million.

"One observes a brutal and marked accentuation of the state of
stagnation which the national economy..." the report begins. "The
destruction of the national production structuresI of the national
economy by contraband, and a general and marked decapitalization."

The Commission hopes organizations and governments will resume or
increase their funding and channel it through their organizations.
Millions of dollars worth was cut off last October when the O.A.S.
imposed an economic embargo. Ten months later however, the poor
and the environment are suffering the effects.

(In spite of such hardships, popular and democratic organizations
believe a strong embargo as the only way to restore constitutional
President Aristide.)

"Emergency interventions are crucial," says the report, referring
to much-needed aide. "HoweverI assistance and actions will not
halt the current process of degradation if there is not an
effective resolution of the current [political] crisis which
favors the majority of the population."

(Future issues of Haiti Info will contain summaries of the
report's findings.)

COMMON GROUND:

FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM FOR 201 YEARS

"Do we have to give way before the threats of an inferior caste
and grant them full civil rights, as blackmail for the trouble
they can stir up?"

A white soldier uttered these words as he contemplated the slave
rebellion brewing in the French colony of St. Domingue. Two
hundred and one years later, Haiti's soldiers and elite entertain
the same thoughts.

Haiti's "democratic revolution" of 1990 and her 20-year slave
rebellion which began in August, 1791, both faced bitter enemies
at home and abroad.

HAITI SETS A "BAD" EXAMPLE

>From Boston to Buenos Aires the black slaves of St. Domingue were
seen as "less fearsome for their weapons than for their words,"
according to the Spanish governor in Havana. An Englishman
wondered if slaves would "bear the continuance of slavery when in
a neighboring island... the Negroes are all free?" (1)

Just as in Haiti today, governments cracked down on anyone
discussing equality, liberty, or the St. Domingue rebellion.
Perhaps for the first time in colonial history, hundreds of
"political prisoners" of all colors were rounded up all over the
Caribbean. The mayor of Norfolk, Virginia, even deported some
French-speaking blacks because he detected "the squint of freedom"
in their eyes.

Nevertheless, the news spread like wild-fire and soon
slave-holders were faced with a series of uprisings. They reacted
violently. In Charleston, North Carolina, five "French Negroes"
who "intended to make a St.  Domingo" where hanged. In Louisiana
rebellion leaders' heads were displayed on spikes up and down the
Mississippi River.

HISTORY REVISITED

Two hundred and one years later Haitian demands for justice and
democracy echo again across the continents and are fought with
violence and words.

Leaders of grassroots organizations have been killed, tortured
or "disappeared," offices destroyed, and the press is virtually
controlled by the military-backed illegal government.

Outside the country, members of the Haitian and foreign elite have
fought with more subtle methods.

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a common target because of his
enthusiastic support of the poor. He is called "a dangerously
erratic charismatic" and is criticized for promoting "popular
democracy,"(2) as though democracy was meant to be un-popular.

In The Washington Post, Jean Kirkpatrick compared him to Papa Doc
and said he preached "class hatred," while columnist William
Raspberry said his return "has nothing to do with democracy... a
tyrant of the left is still a tyrant."(3)

The Haitian elite says Haitians are not "ready" for democracy.
Michle Bennett, ex-wife of former dictator Baby Doc Duvalier said,
"How can you have a democracy when you have so many illiterate
people?"(4)

A Haitian insurance executive explained, "Aristide is popular in
theslums, but slums don't make the country work."(5)

There has also been a campaign to discredit Aristide's election
victory of 67 percent. According to coup-leader General Raoul
Cedras, "To organize a country, you need strong institutions. One
cannot... by elections establish democracy in a country."(6)

Elliot Abrams, former Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs, says
Washington policy-makers agree. "The first American mistake was to
equate Aristide and democracy," he reported.(7)

Against those enemies thousands of supporters continue to press
for Aristide's return to office, because as he said last fall,
"It's not a just question of democracy in Haiti. It's a question
of democracy for the world."

The eyes of the hemisphere are once again watching Haiti to see if
true democracy and self-determination will be permitted in a
region so long subject to gross inequalities and tyranny.

FOOTNOTES:

1) Revolutionary-era quotations from American Communication in the
Era of the Haitian Revolution, Julius Sherrard Scott, III, Duke
University, 1986.

2) New York Times and Boston Globe.

3) Dec. 7, 1991, and June 1, 1992.

4) Quoted in Vanity Fair, April, 1992.

5) Quoted in The Militant, Oct. 25, 1992

6) Interview with Radio Canada, August 5, 1992.

7) The Nation, March 30, 1992.  Since leaving government
employment after conviction in the Iran-Contra Affair, Abrams has
worked as a consultant and lobbyist for businesspeople operating
in Haiti and the Caribbean.


ABOUT HAITI INFO:

* Haiti Info is published every two weeks in Haiti by the Haitian
Information Bureau, and is edited by a group of committed
individuals from democratic and popular sectors.  All articles:
HIB. REPRINTS ENCOURAGED.

Please cite Haiti Info and send us copies of usage

Contacts: Robert Duval/Jane Regan

* HIB is a non-profit, independent, alternative news agency
founded to end Haiti's isolation and promote democracy by
disseminatiing information directly from members and organizations
of the grassroots democratic movement. HIB also issues press
releases and provides journalists with contacts and assistance.

* Haiti Info is available by mail, by fax, and also electronically
via computer. Subscription rates range from U.S. $18 to $100,
depending on the subscriber and method of subscription. Haiti Info
will be available in French and Spanish by the end of 1992.

For North American/European subscriptions contact newsLINK, 67
Pleasant Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.  Tel: 617-661-7592.

E-mail: newslink@igc.org.

Other correspondence: Haitian Information Bureau, c/o Lynx Air,
Box 407139, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 33340, USA or B.P. 15533,
Ption-ville, HAITI. TEMPORARY Fax: (509) 573560
E-mail: hib@igc.org.


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