[News] Marguerite Laurent, Haitian Lawyers Leadership

[News at freedomarchives.org]

Emergency Action Alert
Mar 1 2004

Urgent Action Needed.
Haitians in Haiti are being slaughtered.

by Marguerite Laurent, Esq. Chair, Haitian Lawyers Leadership

Our Black people in Port-au-Prince Haiti are being slaughtered. The duly 
elected President kidnapped by U.S. Marines and flown out of the country at 
gunpoint and is being held hostage in the Central African Republic under 
U.S and French guard.

Yesterday, it is reported that, under U.S. marine escort the former 
FRAPH/FAHD thugs rolled into Port-au-Prince.

Aristide's private residence has been trashed.

The Prime Minister's residence has been trashed.

The first order of business for these U.S. supported death squad leaders 
and (Guy Philip, Jean Tatoune and Louis Jodel Chamblain) harden criminals 
was to go to the National Penitentiary and forcibly break out all the 2000 
prisoners there.

Now these murderers have more murderers to help them terrorize Haiti.

Practically every building Aristide and the Haitian people built these last 
10 years are being burned down and destroyed. Meanwhile the U.S. troops, 
French troops, Canadian troops are protecting their own edifices in Haiti. 
No one is protecting the more than 850 million investment per year hard 
working Haitians of the Diaspora have invested in the security, 
development, shelter and nurturing of their relatives, children and family 
in Haiti.

Last night these opposition thugs ran through the slums of Belaire, La 
Saline and Cite Soleil, well known for its support of the elected 
President, who is now a hostage of the U.S., and indiscriminately fired, 
killing countless numbers, according to an independent reporter in 
Port-au-Prince.

The Lavalas Party has been threatened and warned to remain quiet and not 
denounce the Coup D'etat and abduction of Aristide, his wife, a brother in 
law and two security people from Haiti. Not to tell the people President 
Aristide did not resign freely but at U.S. gunpoint and forced on an 
airplane against his will.

The oppression and REPRESSION of democracy is as follows: Dissenters, 
specifically Lavalas officials, are being told if Lavalas demonstrates in 
Haiti and protests or defend their right to free speech and association, or 
for the return of Aristide and against the opposition and their Jean 
Tatoune/Guy Philippe/Louis Jodel Chamberlain triumvirate, then presumably 
the international community, that is, U.S/ France/Canada along with the 
opposition they broker for, will make sure that the Lavalas party is not 
allowed to participate in any upcoming elections!

Moreover, Prime Minister, Yvonne Neptune is technically a prisoner in his 
office. US/Euro soldiers surround the Prime Minister's building. He cannot 
leave his office and his home has been ransacked.

 >From these reports, it appears any good works towards justice in Haiti 
that had flickered has been destroyed in one fell, U.S.-Coup D'etat swoop 
yesterday. Supposedly a Triumvirate has been created, made up of 1). One 
member of the International Community, 2) One member of the so-called 
opposition and 3) One member of Lavalas. It is reported, this Triumvirate 
will, in turn, pick a 9- or so, member council to work towards elections 
and governance. The Supreme Court Justice has been appointed President of 
Haiti and it is rumored the former Haitian army head, Herald Abraham is 
back in office calling all former army soldiers back to their post!

According to some on-the-ground observers, Former Haitian military are 
right now walking side by side with U.S. Marines and French and Canadian 
troops in Haiti.

So many laws have been broken; I am not sure where to begin.

l. It is against the U.N. Charter, the OAS, The CARICOM charter to 
violently overthrow a constitutionally elected President;

2. It is against all these above-mentioned charters and international law 
and U.S. federal law to kidnap and take hostage, not only a President of a 
sovereign country but his U.S. citizen wife and the brother and two 
security guards. If this operation goes up Bush, if he had anything to do 
with this covert operation and abduction, we are talking about High Crimes 
and Misdemeanors, not to mention that impeachment resolution should begin 
to be drafted right now.

3. The 2004 US/French invasion of Haiti. It is against international law to 
enter a sovereign country without an invitation. All the foreign troops, 
French, U.S. Canadian, etc. who invaded Haiti on February 29, 2004, to 
conduct and maintains this crime-against-humanity-debacle are in violation 
of international law and treaties and Haitian sovereignty.

4. Secretary Colin Powell, Roger Noreiga, U.S. Ambassador Foley and all 
those directly or indirectly supporting the reign in Haiti of convicted 
criminals, like Jean Tatoune, Guy Philippe, and Jodel Louis Chamblain and 
all their other terrorist, and an unelected, platformless opposition, may 
be charged as accomplices in the killings and slaughter of the Haitian 
people being murdered right now in Haiti by these ex-soldiers and death 
squad leaders and possibly now, their new prisoner recruits from the 
National Penitentiary.

5. The cover-up and/or current dismissal by the major news media and press 
of President Aristide's abduction and forced resignation is violates all 
journalistic ethics and code. It appear as a part and parcel of the State 
Department's psychological warfare to repress free speech against this 
dastardly deed not only in the U.S. but also in Haiti. For instance the 
fact that Guy Philippe an accused DEA drug trafficker and accused Coup 
Detat leader under both Preval and the Aristide administration, is today 
traveling with his own embedded AP reporter is akin to Bin Ladin traveling 
around with his own embedded AP reporter. It's evidenced certain mainstream 
media's outrageous and a depraved indifference to the sufferings of the 
Black people of Haiti. It is almost as racists and deplorable as that guest 
yesterday on George Stephanopoulos' ABC news show who said the United 
States has a stake in Haiti "because we have to control the flow of 
refugees and disease" into the U.S.

The media's treatment of the vast majority of Haiti's People plight and 
struggle to live free and establish democracy is unimaginably callous and 
non-factual, mainly playing into deep racists fears and stereotypes. 
Another instance of reporting verbatim, without verification, state 
department positions is what we read today, March 1, 2004, the New York 
Times about Haiti. The New York Times reports that, for instance, South 
Africa refused Aristide asylum. Yet, President Aristide talked this morning 
via telephone to Maxine Waters, Randall Robinson and Charles Rangel. He 
said he want the Haitian people and the world to know that he did not 
freely resigned. It was a Coup D'etat. U.S. Marines who came to his house 
with Morino, a U.S. representative to the U.S. Ambassador Foley and told 
him they were withdrawing his U.S. security details, that he had to leave 
or face Guy Phillip who was being escorted into Port-au-Prince by U.S. 
soldiers. Congresspersons, Waters, and Rangel and Randall Robinson, all 
three, confirmed that the President and Mrs. Aristide said they were forced 
on an airplane, at gunpoint, with U.S. and French soldiers guarding, that 
eventually landed in the French/US defacto protectorate known as the 
Central Republic of Africa. President Aristide said he was not allowed to 
call anyone, much less call South Africa, or any nation and ask for asylum. 
He reiterated he did not resign and that he was being held hostage 
surrounded by French and U.S. soldiers in a place called the Chateau De 
Renaissance, in the Central Republic of Africa.

Call your local Congressperson. Call the White House. Call Secretary of 
State Collin Powell and the Haiti Desk at the State Department. Ask that 
the U.S. withdraw all support for these opposition thugs and secure the 
safe return of the Constitutionally elected Haitian President and Mrs. 
Aristide to Haiti.

Marguerite Laurent, Esq. Chair, Haitian Lawyers Leadership



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