Stop the Attacks on Pres. Aristide and Haitian Democracy

With thanks to the Alliance for Global Justice. The ongoing struggle in Haiti has not received the attention from the US left that it deserves. This article is reprinted from their website. Please check it out. http://afgj.org/

Former President of Haiti Jean-Bertrand Aristide is bing targeted for harassment by the government of current President Michel Martelly. The US supported Martelly regime is pursuing trumped up charges of corruption against Aristide in an attempt to further intimidate Haiti's pro-democracy movement. Pres. Aristide was overthrown in a 2004 coup that was organized and coordinated with US government funding via the International Republican Institute and its partners in the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The NED is a US Congress created and funded organization that tries to manipulate the electoral affairs of foreign governments.
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FOLLOWING IS A MORE IN DEPTH REPORT ON THE ATTACKS ON PRESIDENT ARISTIDE

Stop The Attacks On Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the Lavalas Movement

An Urgent Call from Haiti Action Committee

On August 13, the Haitian government summoned former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to court on corruption charges. This summons is part of a chilling pattern of repression aimed at destroying Aristide’s political party, Fanmi Lavalas, as the country approaches new legislative elections. We denounce it in the strongest possible terms.

 On March 18, 2011, tens of thousands of people followed President Aristide’s car as it drove from the airport to his home, following his return from seven years of forced exile. They then climbed over the walls into the courtyard of the Aristides’ residence to continue an emotional and heart-felt greeting for Haiti’s first democratically elected president, overthrown in a U.S.-orchestrated coup in 2004. In his speech at the airport, President Aristide focused on education and the importance of inclusion for all Haitians in the process of restoring democracy.

Since his return, President Aristide has done exactly what he promised to do – reopen the University of the Aristide Foundation (UNIFA). On September 26, 2011 the Medical School once again opened its doors. Today, there are over 900 students studying medicine, nursing and law at a University whose mission is to provide higher education to all sectors of Haitian society, not just the children of the rich.

 And yet, in spite of this powerful and important work, Aristide and other Lavalas leaders and activists remain the target of government harassment and attack. This is not surprising; after all, the Haitian government of Michel Martelly came to power after elections with a historically low turnout in which Fanmi Lavalas, Haiti’s most popular political party, was banned from participation.

Martelly has embraced Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, the former Haitian dictator. Human rights organizations estimate that the Duvaliers – “Papa Doc” and “Baby Doc” – were responsible for the deaths of over 30,000 Haitian citizens during their 29-year rule. While Duvalier now lives freely in Haiti and was honored by Martelly at the January 1^st 2014 Haitian Independence Day celebrations, President Aristide and the democratic movement are under assault.

For over a decade, U.S. and Haitian authorities have periodically threatened President Aristide with indictment and “tried” him in the pages of a compliant media. None of these charges has stuck, for the simple reason that they are all lies. This is the third time since his return in 2011 that Haitian authorities have trumpeted charges against President Aristide. Each time, after sensational headlines, the cases were unceremoniously shelved after an initial hearing and interview, before President Aristide could even challenge the accusations.

 The politicized nature of the charges is further evidenced by the history of the judge in the case, Lamarre Bélizaire. The Port-au-Prince Bar Association has suspended Bélizaire for ten years from the practice of law (the suspension to begin once he steps down as judge) for using the court to persecute opponents of the Martelly regime. This latest summons is one more example of a government determined to derail any opposition.

 Each time these charges are trotted out, the goal is to defame Aristide, weaken Lavalas and endanger the vital educational work that he has led since his return. Haiti’s grassroots movement knows that each new rumored indictment is part of a campaign to intimidate and silence them. When President Aristide was last called to court, thousands of people surrounded the courthouse, chanting: “If they call our brother, they call all of us.” Yesterday, once again, people took to the streets to show him their support.

We echo their voices. Enough is enough. It is time for education, health care, and democratic development in Haiti, not a resurgence of political repression. We call on the Haitian government to withdraw this warrant.

Sent by Haiti Action Committee
www.haitisolidarity.net