[News] Fanmi Lavalas supporters demonstrate in support of the Constitution and President Aristide

[claude]

Tens of thousands of Fanmi Lavalas supporters demonstrate in support of the 
Constitution and President Aristide's term in office
------------------------------------------------------------------------



Port-au-Prince, December 16, 2003-(AHP)- Several tens of thousands of 
members and supporters of Fanmi Lavalas demonstrated Tuesday  in and around 
the Champ-de-Mars in Port-au-Prince in support of the Haitian Constitution 
and for respect for the constitutionally-specified length of President 
Aristide's term in office.

The demonstration took place at the close of the 2nd National Conference of 
the  Fanmi Lavalas that opened Sunday at the Hotel Karibe.

The demonstration also marked the 13th anniversary of the first election of 
Father Jean Bertrand Aristide on December 16, 1990 as President of Haiti.

Since the morning, thousands of people have gathered near the National 
Palace, while thousands more were dispersed throughout the neighboring areas.

"We are here to say the President Aristide is not alone. We are present 
today just as we were on December 16, 1990 and November 26 2000" (the 
second time President Aristide was elected), they said, adding "we can not 
betray our blood because our blood is the blood of President Aristide".

Many other demonstrators said they are ready to give their lives to ensure 
respect for the decisions made through the popular vote.

"We will never again be forced into hiding, like after the lethal coup 
d'Etat of September 30, 1991 that caused more than 5,000 deaths", they shouted.

The demonstrators have accused the leaders of the Group of 184, who 
spearheaded demonstrations seeking the ouster of the government, of having 
financed the coup d'Etat of Raoul Cédras.

Toward late afternoon, more than 10,000 people who took part in the closing 
session of the conference converged at the Champ-de-Mars, creating a tide 
of human beings, together with those who were already there.

" We voted for a president for five years. He must complete his term in 
keeping with the Constitution", said the demonstrators in chorus, adding 
that all who hope to take power will have to do so through elections.

They reaffirmed their determination to see the democratic process through 
all the way, and called on those they labeled the forces against change to 
give the country a chance to celebrate the bicentennial of its independence 
in peace on January 1st, 2004.

Since Thursday, supporters of Fanmi Lavalas have been holding what they 
call "patriotic vigils" near the Palace, in the wake of  an attempt by the 
opposition, led by former members of the Haitian military, to occupy the 
seat of presidential power in order to then take over the government by force.



AHP December 16, 2003 12:45 PM



------------------------------------------------------------------------
The strike call by the opposition is ignored by a majority of the public
------------------------------------------------------------------------



Port-au-Prince, December 16, 2003-(AHP)- The call to strike in the 
Port-au-prince metropolitan area, issued for Tuesday by the new coalition 
of the political opposition, was not widely heeded by the public.

This political platform directed by the President of the Group of 184 and 
which also includes the Democratic Convergence and the Populist Star, 
launched the strike to seek the departure of the elected government.

Mass transportation functioned normally. Many drivers interviewed by AHP 
affirmed that they were not affected by the strike or had not heard about it.

The larger retail businesses in town and the private banks were closed. The 
small traders and public markets were open as usual.

Several small shopkeepers said they would not stand in solidarity with 
people who are cut off from the masses, who have never done anything for 
them and who are today making fallacious promises for their own benefit.

For their part, the customers at several commercial banks said they were 
shocked that the directors of these institutions would associate themselves 
with a strike without worrying about the needs of their customers.

They said that the banks are managing their customers' money. Some 
customers threatened to withdraw their savings from these banks in order to 
deposit them, they said, in public banking institutions.

As for the schools, the majority of them have been closed since Friday for 
Christmas vacation. However some students who needed to take exams went to 
school this Tuesday.



AHP December 16, 2003 12:45 PM



The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20031217/116e257c/attachment.htm>