To the governments and organizations gathered in Montreal on the situation in Haiti

We reject the militarization of the country as a false response to the recent disaster, including in particular U.S. unilateral action to send an additional 20,000 troops to safeguard its economic and geopolitical interests. The occupation troops of the MINUSTAH, over the past six years, did not contribute effectively to the stabilization or the provision of infrastructure and public goods, and nothing indicates that maintaining this policy would be effective from now on.

A statement from Via Campesina a propos of the Montreal Conference regarding Haiti,  January 27, 2010

To the governments and organizations gathered in Montreal on the situation in Haiti

The recent tragedy in Haiti shocked the people of the world for its destructive impact, the environmental and social consequences, and especially for the loss of human lives. Unfortunately, natural disasters are not new in that Caribbean country, which was impacted in 2008 by hurricanes Hanna and Ike.

Nor is it the first time we have watched the international community make pledges of cooperation and assistance to Haiti. We are concerned, as organizations and social movements and on the basis of permanent contact and consultation with our partners there, that the international response be coordinated on the basis of respect for their sovereignty and in full accordance with the needs and demands of the Haitian people.

Now is the moment for the governments that form part of the United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH), the United Nations, and especially the U.S., Canada, and France, to reasses the many mistaken policies they have implemented in Haiti. The country’s condition of vulnerability to natural disasters – in large part caused by the devastation of the environment, the lack of basic infrastructure and the weak capacity of state social action – is not unrelated to these policies, which have historically undermined the sovereignty of the people and their country, thus generating a historical, social, economic, environmental, and cultural debt in which these same countries and institutions have a major share of responsibility. Reparations must be made to the Haitian people for these debts, and all the more so in the face of the present situation affecting the country.

In this regard, we reject the militarization of the country as a false response to the recent disaster, including in particular U.S. unilateral action to send an additional 20,000 troops to safeguard its economic and geopolitical interests. The occupation troops of the MINUSTAH, over the past six years, did not contribute effectively to the stabilization or the provision of infrastructure and public goods, and nothing indicates that maintaining this policy would be effective from now on.

We call on governments and international organizations to immediately and unconditionally cancel the external debt claimed of Haiti, the servicing of which affects millions of lives. We also demand that the resources allocated for relief and reconstruction do not create new debt, or conditionalities that are imposed or any other form of external imposition which vitiates this goal, as is the practice of international financial institutions like the World Bank, the Interamerican Development Bank, the IMF, and the so-called donor countries. We also reject the intervention of private multinational companies who seek to take advantage of this tragedy to reap multibillion dollar profits in the reconstruction of Haiti, as happened in Iraq, or to exploit cheap labor and continue to plunder the country’s natural resources.

Haitian society, its organizations, social movements and state representatives should be the protagonists of the international effort to rebuild their country: the first to be heard and the final and sovereign decision over their destiny. The Haitian people have lifted themselves up many times on the basis of their own will, with the strength and conviction of their historical example of having been the first people to free themselves in America. Any cooperation can be effective only if it is based in this commitment and full popular participation.

We are alert, and following developments in dialogue with Haitian organizations, in order to ensure that international cooperation takes place on the basis of this kind of solidarity and that the errors of past policies are not repeated. For a free and sovereign Haiti!

January 25, 2010

SIGNATORIES

Global and regional organizations and networks

Jubileo Sur/Jubilee South – Marcha Mundial de Mujeres/World March of Women – Via Campesina – Amigos de la Tierra Internacional/Friends of the Earth International – Alianza de Pueblos del Sur Acreedores de Deuda Ecológica/ Southern Peoples’ Ecological Debt Creditors Alliance – LDC Watch – Confederación Sindical de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de las Americas (CSA) / Trade Union Confederation of the Americas – Alianza Social Continental / Hemispheric Social Alliance – Jubileo Sur/Américas / Jubilee South/Americas – Confederación Latinoamericana de Organizaciones del Campo (CLOC) – Programa de Incidencia sobre Deuda Ilegítima de la Federación Luterana Mundial / Program on Illegitimate Debt of the Lutheran World Federation – Réseau CADTM mondial / CADTM International Network – Red Latinoamericana  Mujeres Transformando la Economía (REMTE) /Latin American Network of Women Transforming the Ecoomy – Latindadd –  Kairos Europa- Africa Jubilee South – CADTM Afrique – Caribbean Policy Development Centre – Grito de los/las Excluidos Mesoamérica – Jubilee South Asia-Pacic Movement on Debt and Developmnt APMDD – CADTM South asia Network

National and Local organizations and networks

Argentina Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos – ATTAC – Central de los Trabajadores de la Argentina (CTA), Secretarías de Relaciones Internacionales y Derechos Humanos – Centro Cultural la Muralla  – Centro de Políticas Públicas para el Socialismo (CEPPAS)- Comisión Justicia y Paz Misioneros Claretianos- Congregación La Santa Unión de los Sagrados Corazones – Dialogo 2000- Equipo de Educación Popular Pañuelos en Rebeldía- Espacio Ecuménico – Estudiantes Haitianos en Argentina – Frente Democrático para la liberación de Palestina – Fuerza Obrera Socialista FOS – Fundación para la defensa del ambiente- El Grito Argentino  – Grupo Ecológico 9 de Julio Valles del Carmen – Iglesia de Fátima de Isla Maciel – Iglesia Evangélica del Río de la Plata- Instituto de Relaciones Ecuménicas (IRE) – Liga Argentina por los Derechos del Hombre – MOCASE-V.C – Movimiento de Víctimas de crímenes de Estado en Colombia,  Capit. Arg. – Movimiento por la Paz, la Soberanía y la Solidaridad entre los Pueblos (Mopassol)- Movimiento por la Soberanía y la Integración de los Pueblos MoSIP – Movimiento Social Misiones- Multisectorial de Solidaridad con Cuba- Organización Feministas – Parroquía de Santa Cruz – Partido Comunista – Partido Humanista – Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo Capit. Arg Programa de Incidencia sobre Deuda Externa Ilegítima de la Federación Luterana Mundial- Red por el Uso Responsable del Agua de Traslasierra- Revista “La Resistencia- Servicio Paz y Justicia – Bachillerato UST – Vecinos Autoconvocados de Villa de las Rosas  Bangladesh EquityBD – Coastal Association for Social Tranformation Trust   Belgium/Bélgica Centre Tricontinental – CADTM  Bolivia Capitulo Boliviano de Derechos Humanos (CBDHDD)  Brasil Rede Jubileu Sul – PACS – Central Unica dos Trabalhadores (CUT) Brasil – Comitê Pró-Haiti Brasil – Auditoria Ciudadana de la Deuda – Centro de Pesquisa e Assessoria – Grito de los Excluídos – Pastoral da Mulher Marginalizada, Regional Norte- Casa da Mulher Oito de Março – Organização Feminista do Tocantins- Red Brasileira por la Integración de los Pueblos – Rede  Social  de  Justica  e  Direitos  Humanos- Rede Brasil sobre Instituições Financeiras Multilaterais  Canadá – Québec Federation de Femmes de Québec – Public Service Alliance of Canada / Alliance de la fonction publique du Canada – Common Frontiers – Canadians for Action on Climate Change – The Social Justice Committee of Montreal – Council of Canadians – Global and regional organizations and networks

Jubileo Sur/Jubilee South – Marcha Mundial de Mujeres/World March of Women – Via Campesina – Amigos de la Tierra Internacional/Friends of the Earth International – Alianza de Pueblos del Sur Acreedores de Deuda Ecológica/ Southern Peoples’ Ecological Debt Creditors Alliance – LDC Watch – Confederación Sindical de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de las Americas (CSA) / Trade Union Confederation of the Americas – Alianza Social Continental / Hemispheric Social Alliance – Jubileo Sur/Américas / Jubilee South/Americas – Confederación Latinoamericana de Organizaciones del Campo (CLOC) – Programa de Incidencia sobre Deuda Ilegítima de la Federación Luterana Mundial / Program on Illegitimate Debt of the Lutheran World Federation – Réseau CADTM mondial / CADTM International Network – Red Latinoamericana  Mujeres Transformando la Economía (REMTE) /Latin American Network of Women Transforming the Ecoomy – Latindadd –  Kairos Europa- Africa Jubilee South – CADTM Afrique – Caribbean Policy Development Centre – Grito de los/las Excluidos Mesoamérica – Jubilee South Asia-Pacic Movement on Debt and Developmnt APMDD – CADTM South asia Network

National and Local organizations and networks

Argentina Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos – ATTAC – Central de los Trabajadores de la Argentina (CTA), Secretarías de Relaciones Internacionales y Derechos Humanos – Centro Cultural la Muralla  – Centro de Políticas Públicas para el Socialismo (CEPPAS)- Comisión Justicia y Paz Misioneros Claretianos- Congregación La Santa Unión de los Sagrados Corazones – Dialogo 2000- Equipo de Educación Popular Pañuelos en Rebeldía- Espacio Ecuménico – Estudiantes Haitianos en Argentina – Frente Democrático para la liberación de Palestina – Fuerza Obrera Socialista FOS – Fundación para la defensa del ambiente- El Grito Argentino  – Grupo Ecológico 9 de Julio Valles del Carmen – Iglesia de Fátima de Isla Maciel – Iglesia Evangélica del Río de la Plata- Instituto de Relaciones Ecuménicas (IRE) – Liga Argentina por los Derechos del Hombre – MOCASE-V.C – Movimiento de Víctimas de crímenes de Estado en Colombia,  Capit. Arg. – Movimiento por la Paz, la Soberanía y la Solidaridad entre los Pueblos (Mopassol)- Movimiento por la Soberanía y la Integración de los Pueblos MoSIP – Movimiento Social Misiones- Multisectorial de Solidaridad con Cuba- Organización Feministas – Parroquía de Santa Cruz – Partido Comunista – Partido Humanista – Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo Capit. Arg Programa de Incidencia sobre Deuda Externa Ilegítima de la Federación Luterana Mundial- Red por el Uso Responsable del Agua de Traslasierra- Revista “La Resistencia- Servicio Paz y Justicia – Bachillerato UST – Vecinos Autoconvocados de Villa de las Rosas  Bangladesh EquityBD – Coastal Association for Social Tranformation Trust   Belgium/Bélgica Centre Tricontinental – CADTM  Bolivia Capitulo Boliviano de Derechos Humanos (CBDHDD)  Brasil Rede Jubileu Sul – PACS – Central Unica dos Trabalhadores (CUT) Brasil – Comitê Pró-Haiti Brasil – CONLUTAS – Auditoria Ciudadana de la Deuda – Centro de Pesquisa e Assessoria – Grito de los Excluídos – Pastoral da Mulher Marginalizada, Regional Norte- Casa da Mulher Oito de Março – Organização Feminista do Tocantins- Red Brasileira por la Integración de los Pueblos – Rede  Social  de  Justica  e  Direitos  Humanos- Rede Brasil sobre Instituições Financeiras Multilaterais  Canadá – Québec Federation de Femmes de Québec – Public Service Alliance of Canada / Alliance de la fonction publique du Canada – Common Frontiers – Canadians for Action on Climate Change – The Social Justice Committee of Montreal – Council of Canadians – Simple Living (Burlington, ON)  Cataluyna Asociación Ciudadana anti-SIDA- Educació per a l’Acció Crítica- Observatorio de la Deuda en la Globalización – Veterinarios sin fronteras – Comité Óscar Romero de Santa Margarida de Montbui- Colectivo RETS: Respuestas a las empresas transnacionales – ARAGUAIA amb el bisbe Casaldàliga Chile Amigas de Los Vilos- Movimiento Teología de la Liberación- Internacional Bandera de los Niños- Enrique Orellana, Somos Iglesia  Colombia Red Colombiana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio (RECALCA) – CADTM Colombia- Campaña Colombiana “En Deuda con los Derechos” -FENASIBANCOL- Fundau Puica- Mesa Mujeres y Economía – UNEB Colombia- Proceso de Comunidades Negras- PCN  Cuba Centro Memorial Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.- Movimiento por la Paz   Ecuador Acción Ecológica- CADTM- Centro de Derechos Económicos y Sociales (Cdes) – Colectivo Feminista- FEDAEPS – Movimiento Tohalli – Centro de Documentación en Derechos Humanos “Segundo Montes Mozo S.J.” (CSMM)  El Salvador Colectivo de Comunicadores y Estudiantes Roque Dalton Francia Confédération paysanne – Attac – Europe solidaire sans frontières (ESSF) – Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt  Guatemala Pastoral Social, Diócesis de San Marcos  Haití Plateforme Haïtienne de Plaidoyer pour un Développement Alternatif (PAPDA) – Plate forme des Organisations Haïtiennes des Droits Humains (POHDH) – Solidarite Fanm Ayisyèn (SOFA)  India Vikas Adhyayan Kendra/Cadtm Irlanda Debt and Development Coalition – Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC) Italia Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale / Mani Tese – Observatorio sobre Latinoamerica SELVAS Mali Comité pour la Abolition de la Dette México Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio- Observatorio Latinoamericano de Geopolítica Morocco/Marruecos Attac  Nicaragua Ecumenical Committee of English Speaking Church Personnel in Nicaragua (CEPRHI) Paraguay Foro de Mujeres del Mercosur Capítulo Paraguay Perú Grupo Red de Economía Solidaria del Perú (GRESP)- Jubileo Perú- Museo Afroperuano  Puerto Rico Comité Pro Niñez Dominico Haitiana – Grito de las/os Excluidas/os – Proyecto Caribeño de Justicia y Paz Scotland/Escocia Jubilee Scotland Spanish State/Estado Español Coordinadora Estatal de Solidaridad con Cuba Madrid- ATTAC – Colectivo de Solidaridad por la Justicia y Dignidad de los Pueblos – Ecologistas en Acción- Plataforma Simón Bolívar de Granada- Proyecto Cultura Y Solidaridad- Sotermun- Campaña ¿Quién debe a Quién?- Centro de acción Internacional- Asociación canaria de economía alternativa y de alternativa antimilitarista.moc de Canarias  Switzerland/Suiza Solidarité Suisse Trinidad y Tobago Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs (FITUN)  UK/Reino Unido Haiti Support Group – Jubilee Debt Campaign – No Sweat – Kyoto2, Oliver Trickell  USA/Estados Unidos United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society – Gender Action – New Rules for Global Finance – Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti – Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns – Quixote Center – Foreign Policy In Focus – Office of the Americas (Los Angeles) – St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America – Just Foreign Policy (Robert Naiman, Policy Director) – Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador – Puerto Rican Studies Association Uruguay REDES/Amigos de la Tierra Venezuela Red Venezolana contra la Deuda – CADTM Venezuela

Individuales

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Premio Nobel de la Paz – Nora Cortiñas, Madre de Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora – Professor Norman Girvan, University of the West Indies – Anibal Quijano – Raúl Zibechi – Enrique Leff- Alicia Villolde de Botana- ANAHIT  AHARONIAN- – Antonio Gustavo Gomez- Carlos Walter Porto-Gonçalcves- Cecilia Fernandez- Catherine Walsh – Cesar Garcia Garcia-Conde- Cristina Arnulphi- Denise Comanne- Dolores Soto- Domènec Haro Muñoz – Dragutin Lauric – Eduardo D. Polo- Fernando Coronil – Flor Nayeli Grajales Martínez- Francisco A. Scarano- Graciela Ferrario- James B. Luken- Jesus Muñoz Pastor – Kelvin Santiago – María Isabel Magallón- María Estela Ríos González- Mary García Bravo- Miguel Esquirol- Nayla Azzinnari-Obed Juan Vizcaíno Nájera- Oscar Revilla Alguacil- Patricia Cahill- Rodrigo Ibáñez- Ruben Elías- Silvia Martinez- Susana Aparicio- Walter Mignolo

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International Operational Secretariat

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La Via Campesina – International Secretariat:

Jln. Mampang Prapatan XIV No. 5 Jakarta Selatan 12790,  Indonesia

Phone : +62-21-7991890, Fax : +62-21-7993426

E-mail: viacampesina@viacampesina.org ; Website: http://www.viacampesina.org

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Stand Shoulder to Shoulder with the People of Haiti

Now more than ever, the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake beckons us to further dismantle the deep structure of racism that violates humanity, and stand shoulder to shoulder with our Haitian sisters and brothers. To this end we must insist that delivery of vital earthquake aid be accelerated, that Haiti’s foreign debt be cancelled and Haitians given the wherewithal to rebuild their own country on their own terms, that foreign military occupiers be removed, that the election ban on Haiti’s popular Lavalas party be lifted and that Aristide be allowed to return.

Stand Shoulder to Shoulder with the People of Haiti

Marilyn Langlois, Board member, Haiti Emergency Relief Fund,  January 22, 2010

–When asked “How are they surviving?” Haitian journalist Wadner Pierre responded, “Well, they’re all sharing. That’s what we do. That’s the way Haitians are.” (January 16)

–“The city has seen little violence, despite persistent fears that shortages of food, water and shelter will spark unrest.” (January 21)

–Photograph of a white female US Navy medic cradling and feeding a dehydrated Haitian child. (January 21)

I thank my local newspaper, the Contra Costa Times, for including the above images in its coverage of the disastrous January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. These images are vital because they reflect our true human nature that is too often clouded by a pernicious deep structure.

In 2005, upon first hearing about hurricane Katrina on radio newscasts I thought in my head how tragic it was. But when I saw pictures of Katrina, showing how aid and rescue efforts had been needlessly slow to reach poor, African American neighborhoods amid unrealized fears of widespread looting and unrest, my heart was gripped with terror. I felt a visceral pain when faced with the reality that the deep structure of racism on which my nation was founded still persists, despite the abolition of slavery, passage of the Civil Rights Act, and the awakening consciousness of so many people of all races that we truly are equal.

This deep structure is built on the notion that poor people of African descent are less than human, to be exploited economically in good times and to be feared in times of crisis. It is a structure designed to protect the wealth of a few, at the expense of our common humanity.

After the earthquake struck Haiti, my heart was again gripped with terror to see more evidence of this deep structure: When I heard that the US response prioritized “security” over urgent humanitarian assistance; when I read that the US military took control of the Port-au-Prince airport and turned away airplanes carrying medical field hospitals; when I saw that donations of water, food and supplies were not reaching many affected areas at all and some only after thousands who survived the initial quake had needlessly died of infection and dehydration.

The deep structure of racism has infected much of the media that shapes people’s consciousness, but as our eyes and hearts are opened, the outpouring of solidarity at a basic human level emerges. As soon as we get to know people of different races and circumstances on a personal level, the deep structure already begins to crumble. I see people in my home town of Richmond, California breaking down the deep structure every day by seeing their neighbors as brothers and sisters, challenging the negative stereotypes of our city that this structure perpetuates. Ever since I was a teenager and first sensed the existence of this structure, I, a white woman, have been working on breaking it down within myself.

People all over the world are giving generously without hesitation to support those suffering in Haiti, and aid workers are rushing there to help. That’s what people do. It’s human nature. I suspect that individual soldiers, as evidenced from the photograph mentioned above, would rather care for people immediately than be ordered to guard shipments of supplies bottle-necked at the airport. Long before the earthquake, I learned about hundreds of people-to-people partnerships between local groups in the US and Haiti to collaborate on schools, clinics, and other constructive projects. Cuban doctors who have been in Haiti for years are joining Haitian doctors round the clock treating earthquake victims with minimal supplies (though the US military has turned away additional Cuban doctors who want to come). Everyone I know who travels to Haiti and becomes personally acquainted with Haitians and their invincible spirit invariably falls in love with them, as did I.

The earthquake is very personal for me because I first started to learn about Haiti and her history shortly before the political earthquake of the February 29, 2004 coup d’etat in which the US helped topple the vastly popular and democratically elected government of the Lavalas party, kidnapping President Aristide and banishing him from the Western Hemisphere. I visited Haiti twice since the coup and have many friends there who are struggling under UN military occupation to maintain strong networks to dismantle the deep structure of racism, asserting their dignity as human beings who care for their communities.

A tiny segment of Haiti’s population is fabulously wealthy, while the vast majority are desperately poor. Ever since the poor had the nerve to stand up for themselves and break the shackles of slavery and colonialism 206 years ago, the US government has colluded with the wealthy few to maintain this gross inequality, most recently taking the form of ensuring an abundant pool of cheap labor for offshore assembly plants.

Under the leadership of twice elected President Aristide, Haiti moved in the direction of improving the lives of the poor. Since the coup, he remains exiled in South Africa, ready to return home but not allowed to by the US controlled Haitian government. Why is Aristide so often demonized by media pundits? Is it because he challenges the Haitian elite’s contempt for the common people and invites them to stand shoulder to shoulder with blacks rather than get down on their knees with the whites? Is it because he calls for everyone to have a place at the table, including poor, rich, black, brown and white?

Now more than ever, the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake beckons us to further dismantle the deep structure of racism that violates humanity, and stand shoulder to shoulder with our Haitian sisters and brothers. To this end we must insist that delivery of vital earthquake aid be accelerated, that Haiti’s foreign debt be cancelled and Haitians given the wherewithal to rebuild their own country on their own terms, that foreign military occupiers be removed, that the election ban on Haiti’s popular Lavalas party be lifted and that Aristide be allowed to return.

It’s time for the wealthy to get in touch with their true human nature and do a better job of sharing the resources of the earth. We must build new structures that join us together in embracing the Haitian motto “tout moun se moun”–Haitian Kreyol for “every person is a human being”.

Marilyn Langlois
Board member, Haiti Emergency Relief Fund
Member, Haiti Action Committee
http://www.haitiaction.net, http://www.haitisolidarity.net

shortlink to this post:  http://wp.me/p3xLR-mz

Haiti Emergency Demonstration, Mon, Jan 25, 5 PM, Market & Powell, SF

Haiti Action, January 22, 2010

Stop the US Militarization of Haiti Relief Efforts

Emergency Haiti Earthquake Protest -
Mon., Jan. 25th – 5 pm – Powell & Market, San Francisco
A day of coordinated protests in many cities

Despite a world-wide outpouring of aid to help Haiti, large amounts of desperately needed food, medicine, and other relief materials remains in warehouses in Haiti and is not reaching Haitians themselves.  Serious obstacles to distribution exist, but the worst is a takeover of relief operations by a US military that is concerned with security more than aid.   Consider the following:

1. U.S. forces refused to allow aid planes to land at the Port au Prince and Jacmel airports. Planes from the Caribbean Community, France, World Food Program and Doctors Without Borders — some loaded with desperately needed medical equipment and field hospitals – were repeatedly turned away by U.S. Marines. Unloading military gear and “securing the perimeter” was the Pentagon’s priority. French Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet could not contain his outrage: “This should be about helping Haiti, not about occupying Haiti.”

2. By one week after the earthquake, the U.S. had only airlifted 70,000 bottles of water into Port au Prince…a drop in the bucket for an estimated 3 million dehydrated people in the Haitian heat. [USA Today, Jan. 19]. The U.S. military is denying port and airport access even to established aid organizations, leading a Haiti-based aid group to conclude: “Right now the U.S. is blocking [water, food and medical] aid.”

3. The Pentagon’s first response was to send in reconnaissance drones. Destroyers steamed toward Haiti. Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson finally showed up in Haiti, with Sidewinder missiles and helicopters…but without any emergency relief supplies! [www.gregpalast.com]

4. The U.S. occupying force, obsessed with “security,” is holding back aid. Defense Secretary Gates “wouldn’t send in food and water because, he said, there was no ‘structure…to provide security.’” [www.gregpalast.com] Yet the President of faraway Iceland ordered rescue teams in the air almost immediately. Rescue teams from Cuba, Venezuela and China moved to provide relief right away without waiting for “security.”

5. “Aid is sitting at the airport – while millions suffer. Why? People are afraid to give it out for fear of provoking riots.” [Bill Quigley] Yet the overwhelming response of Haitians to this tragedy is one of sharing and caring for each other, showing “remarkable levels of patience and solidarity on the streets.” The main source of “violence” is the 12,000-strong U.S. occupying force which is allowing thousands to die by withholding aid.

6. The media show “images of poor people searching for food, calling them ‘looters’, when in fact mass starvation occurs as shotgun-wielding security guards attempt to cordon off…the larger markets.” [www.haitianalysis.com]

7. On 1/20, eight days after the quake, hard-hit areas like Carrefour and Leogane “still hadn’t received any food, aid or medical help.” [Telesur] A large refugee camp at Champs de Mars reported ”no relief has arrived; it is all being delivered on other side of town, by the U.S. Embassy.” Washington Post reported U.S. rescue operations focused on places frequented by foreigners, such as U.N. headquarters, Montana Hotel and Caribe supermarket. [P. Hallward, www.haitianalysis.com]

8. ”Most Haitians have seen little humanitarian aid….What they have seen is guns, and lots of them. Armored personnel carriers cruise the streets, and inside the well-guarded perimeter [of the airport], the US has taken control,” reported Al Jazeera. “It looks more like the Green Zone in Baghdad than a center for aid distribution.”

The massive U.S. military operation in Haiti comes 6 years after invading U.S. forces overthrew the democratic Aristide government, and replaced it with a brutal coup regime. Meanwhile, the Haitian people – many of them dying from lack of water and medicine, starving while food supplies sit on the airport tarmac — are demanding the return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to his homeland.

It is time to hit the streets and express our outrage at the shameful actions by U.S. military authorities in Haiti. To withhold aid desperately needed by the people - so reminiscent of their behavior in New Orleans after Katrina - is a monstrous crime.

Here’s what you can do:

Demonstrate with us at 5 pm, Monday, Jan. 25th, Powell & Market, San Francisco, as part of coordinated protests in many cities.

Donate to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund: www.haitiaction.net

* Join us in raising these demands:

• Get the people of Port-au-Prince clean water, food, and medical treatment now.
• Allow President Aristide to return to Haiti from forced exile in South Africa, as the vast majority of Haitians demand.
• Respect Haiti. Do not criminalize a courageous people who need water, food and medical help.
• End the foreign military occupation of Haiti.

Sponsored by Haiti Action Committee   www.haitisolidarity.net

Be sure and check out the San Francisco BayView’s article  “From Cynthia McKinney:  An Unwelcome Katrina Redux”

shortlink to this posting:  http://wp.me/p3xLR-mk