HAITI GEN BON ZANMI TOU.....

piporiko Sam 11 Oct 2008 - 12:50

International Liaison Committee of Workers & Peoples (ILC)New York Office: Attn. Eduardo RosarioTel. 646-684-7601; Email: edrosario@igc.orgMain Office: Attn. Alan BenjaminP.O. Box 40009, San Francisco, CA 94140.Tel. (415) 626-1175; Email: ilcinfo@earthlink.netwebsite: ILC section in www.owcinfo.orgPLEASE EXCUSE DUPLICATE POSTINGS--------------------
On Eve of UN Security Council Vote, Haitians DemandInternational Aid, Not Tanks and Occupation!
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Two days ago, on October 8, U.N. Special Representative Hedi Annabi, who heads the four-year-old UN "peacekeeping" mission in Haiti, announced that the U.N. Security Council will "likely" keep its 9,151 occupation troops in Haiti for another year, but will not heed the call from the Haitian people to shift their focus to economic development in the storm-ravaged nation. The U.N. is scheduled to vote on this mission re-authorization on October 14.
Annabi was responding directly to Haitian President Rene Preval, who had called on the U.N. force to provide long-term assistance with "fewer tanks and more tractors."
Annabi said he would not request a shift to development work this year because it is not the council's mission. "I'm not going to ask for something that will never happen," Annabi told the Associated Press as he entered the council chamber.
"We try on the margins of the mandate to do what we can, to do simple things for people to meet emergency needs ... but we don't have a development mandate and never will," Annabi said. (AP, Oct. 9, 2008)
There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth: The UN mission does not have, and never will have, a mandate to help the Haitian people develop their economy -- and only "on the margins" does it "try" to meet some of the Haitian people's emergency needs.
Across the globe, the UN mission in Haiti is presented as a "peacekeeping" mission aimed at "stabilizing" Haiti. But can there be stability when there is almost no food or drinking water for the overwhelming majority of the people, when only 2% of the international aid promised by governments around the world has actually reached the people, when 1 million people have been left homeless after the devastation wrought by four hurricanes, when the foreign debt of the Duvaliers continues to be paid religiously to U.S. and other foreign banks, and when the country continues to be looted by multinational corporations under the aegis of the IMF and World Bank?
In their appeal to working people across the Americas to mobilize on October 10 for the withdrawal of UN-MINUSTAH troops from their country, 20 organizations in Haiti ask a rhetorical question:
"Is it because of the ravages of these hurricanes and their role in distributing emergency supplies that these UN occupation have suddenly been transformed into saviors and benefactors of the Haitian people?"
No, the "relief" work done "on the margins" by the U.N. does not change one iota the repressive character of these occupation forces.
The true face of the MINUSTAH forces could be seen in the raids on July 6 and December 22, 2006, on the seaside shantytown of Cite Soleil, where rounds of ammunition penetrated many buildings, striking unintended targets. Although many were likely killed behind thin walls, the video evidence of the disproportionate number of victims felled by single shots to the head from high-powered rifles lends credence to the testimony of survivors following the deadly raid.
Following a press conference at the Brecht Forum in New York City earlier today, a letter by the press conference organizers was sent to the UN Secretary General and to the heads of government of the 40 countries with MINUSTAH troops in Haiti.
The letter [see copy below] calls for international aid to Haiti, not tanks and UN occupation
Also attached below is the statement sent to the press conference by Professor James Petras -- Bartle Professor Emeritus of Latin American Studies, Binghamton University (NY).
In the coming days, we will inform our supporters of the actions undertaken on October 10 in Haiti, across the continent, and in Europe in support of the Haitian people's right to self-determination.
We will also transcribe the moving statement demanding international assistance to Haiti presented at the press conference in New York City by Haitian activist Irlande Fenélus.
Eduardo Rosario and Alan Benjamin,Co-Conveners,Open World Conference Continuations Committee