[News] Haiti: Aristide Letter

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Letter from President Aristide on the 18th Anniversary of the Haitian 
Constitution

Private Office of the President of the Republic
Jean Bertrand Aristide

Press Release

Today, March 29, 2005 is the date of the 18th anniversary of the Haitian 
Constitution. On this day, President Jean Bertrand Aristide salutes the 
courage and determination of the Haitian people. They have been carrying 
out a peaceful, non violent struggle for respect of the Constitution since 
the coup d'etat of February 29, 2004. A return to peace and stability must 
necessarily include the re-instatement of the Constitution, which is the 
only lasting solution to the Haitian crisis.

On the occasion of the 18th anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic 
of Haiti, March 29, 2005, President Jean Bertrand Aristide salutes the 
courage and determination of all those who are deprived of their 
constitutional rights, those who have been shamefully assassinated, those 
who are persecuted, those who are being held illegally in prison because of 
their political opinions, those who have been forced into hiding or exile, 
those who have been refused access to education, health care and decent 
housing.

The alarming situation of the violation of the Constitution and abuses 
against individual rights is only intensifying. When, on March 29, 1987, 
the Haitian people ratified the Constitution by more than 90%, they 
expressed their desire to participate in public affairs, to transform the 
country into a state of law and to build a lasting democracy. Since 
February 29, 2004 the 1987 Constitution, the basic law of Haiti, has been 
completely ignored; the vote of the Haitian people in the presidential 
elections of November 2000 ridiculed; and fundamental human rights 
practically non-existent.

There has been a violent response to the non-violent peaceful resistance of 
the Haitian people: intimidation, persecution, illegal arrests, rapes, 
murders. More than 10,000 deaths since February 2004, more than 1,000 
political prisoners, thousands of disappeared, in a word, impunity is the 
law. A complicit silence is maintained on the genocide in Haiti.

On March 25, 2005 while the Haitian people demonstrated for the 
re-establishment of the Constitution, the forces of repression attacked 
again, causing two deaths and many wounded. That event is the latest in a 
series of atrocities committed since the coup d'etat of February 29, 2004 
again the Haitian people who continue to demand a return to constitutional 
order. Despite the blatant violations of the basic rights of the Haitian 
people, they continue to demonstrate against the coup d'etat of February 
29, 2004, to demand the return of their democratically elected President, 
and to ask for respect of their vote and the enjoyment of their rights.

On the occasion of the 18th anniversary of the 1987 Constitution, more than 
ever, these extracts from the 1987 greetings of President Jean Bertrand 
Aristide to the Haitian people are relevant today:

[rough translation] "All Haitians who are in prison or underground or in 
exile have to be able to return to their homes as the Constitution 
requires. The Constitution gives all the citizens the right to free 
expression, to demonstrate peacefully for peace. Mobilization and 
deliverance go hand in hand."

In Haiti, the return to peace must necessarily involve a constitutional 
solution, a first and essential condition to install confidence and enable 
the holding of credible, honest and democratic elections.

Dr. Maryse Narcisse

Bolerium Books
2141 Mission, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94110
Store Hours - M-F 10am to 6pm, Sat Noon to 6pm

http://www.bolerium.com     1-800-326-6353 (US/CANADA), 415-863-6353, Fax 
415-255-6499

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