[News] With general strikes and marches, Haitians demand government by the people

Mon Mar 2 14:48:56 EST 2015

*With general strikes and marches, Haitians demand government by the people
*

**

March 1, 2015
*http://sfbayview.com/2015/03/with-general-strikes-and-marches-haitians-demand-government-by-the-people/*

by Charlie Hinton, Haiti Action Committee

The people of Haiti held a two-day general strike on Monday and Tuesday, 
Feb. 9 and 10, as part of ongoing popular mobilizations throughout the 
country. They also successfully struck the week before on Feb. 2.

Haiti has been on the march for months. These politically astute 
protesters make their purpose clear. The face of the person holding the 
sign has been blurred to protect his identity.

The Martelly government responded with brutal repression in various 
communities such as in Montrouis, north of Port-au-Prince, where massive 
use of tear gas killed two children and police gunfire wounded a number 
of community residents. Similar repressive actions and arrests of 
demonstrators and strikers were reported in a number of cities including 
Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince.

On Saturday, Feb. 7, police and other Martelly agents broke up a large 
demonstration in Port-au-Prince with tear gas, water laced with skin 
irritants, batons and rubber bullets – which has become standard 
operating procedure. Then members of a militarized police unit known for 
their brutality followed a group of demonstrators to the home of 
well-known journalist and activist Ronald Fareau and attacked them in 
his courtyard. They shot Rony Timothé, often at the forefront of the 
protests, in the face, wounded two others and made death threats against 
Mr. Fareau.

The ongoing demonstrations have demanded the resignation of Haiti’s 
President Martelly, his illegally appointed prime minister, Evans Paul, 
and the end of the U.S.-U.N. occupation. The Feb. 2, 9 and 10 general 
strikes paralyzed Port-au-Prince and many other cities in Haiti. These 
la vi chè, or “high cost of living,” strikes have united many sectors of 
Haiti’s trade unions and popular movements.

Teachers have been striking for weeks for not being paid, although the 
Martelly government imposes a surcharge, supposedly for education, on 
every money transaction and phone call that goes into Haiti. 
Transportation workers are striking because Haiti’s 
Venezuelan-subsidized gasoline still costs over $5 per gallon, as gas 
prices plummet all over the world. They demand that the price of 
gasoline be reduced to 100 gourdes per gallon (US $2.17).

The ongoing demonstrations have demanded the resignation of Haiti’s 
President Martelly, his illegally appointed prime minister, Evans Paul, 
and the end of the U.S.-U.N. occupation.

Haiti faces a constitutional and profound political crisis. Martelly has 
refused to call elections since his (s)election as president four years 
ago. On Jan. 12, the terms of all members of the Chamber of Deputies and 
all but 10 senators expired, meaning that neither chamber has a quorum 
to do business.

The Constitution doesn’t provide for a government without a functioning 
parliament, so Martelly has taken it upon himself to appoint a de facto 
government. On Jan. 17, he appointed Evans Paul, former mayor of 
Port-au-Prince, to be prime minister, and the next day he appointed a 
whole new cabinet.

The U.N. “peacekeepers” try in vain to discourage the protesters using 
tear gas and live ammunition.

A virulent opponent of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the 
Fanmi Lavalas Party he founded, Paul was a key part of the so-called 
Democratic Convergence, the political face of the destabilization 
campaign that led to the 2004 coup against Aristide. He was one of the 
politicians who boycotted Haiti’s bicentennial celebration in 2004, and 
he gave support to death squad leader Guy Philippe.

After the coup, Paul bragged, “We will need to work with Mr. Philippe 
and other sectors of the country that played an important role in the 
great insurrection that swept Mr. Aristide from power.” He called for 
the arrest of Fanmi Lavalas leaders and then joined the coup government 
of Gerard LaTortue.

Martelly has sabotaged the electoral process since assuming the 
presidency. He knows he has little popular support, so he’s tried to rig 
the electoral procedures in order to control the outcomes.

He’s appointed many mayors and local officials, a practice common during 
the Duvalier era, which is not only undemocratic, but important because 
local officials have significant influence in Haitian elections. The 
people have resisted his maneuvers, and consequently he’s refused to 
call elections.

U.S. Ambassador Pamela White, along with the French and U.N. 
ambassadors, tried to strike a deal that would put in place Martelly’s 
rigged electoral project while allowing the Senate to continue to meet 
until new elections could be held, but the negotiations failed. The 
ruling powers may not want an election anyway.

Two Quinnipiac polls have shown that the Fanmi Lavalas Party would win 
any election overwhelmingly, despite the decades-long U.S. campaign – 
and the presence of 7,213 United Nations occupation troops and police – 
to prevent this outcome.

In other news, two high powered international delegations have recently 
visited Haiti – the U.N. Security Council and the Club of Madrid. The 
announced reasons for the Security Council visit Jan. 23-25 were to urge 
the government to hold the long-delayed municipal and legislative 
elections and to assess the implementation of Security Council 
resolutions such as the strengthening of Haiti’s police force.

The young man at left has just thrown a rock at U.N. soldiers, who had 
been firing in his direction.

Representatives of the council’s 15 member states met with Martelly and 
other officials. They also met with opposition political parties, 
including Fanmi Lavalas. Clearly the Security Council sees the situation 
in Haiti as critical, but during the visit, Samantha Power, U.S. 
ambassador to the United Nations and co-chair of the U.N. delegation, 
issued a statement praising Martelly and pledging continued support for 
his government. Clearly, that was the essential purpose of the Security 
Council visit – to shore up and legitimize Martelly’s crumbling regime.

The Club of Madrid, which calls itself “the world’s largest forum of 
former democratic presidents and prime ministers” and which others call 
“an imperialist pressure group of former world leaders,” sent its fourth 
delegation to Haiti Jan. 27-29. This delegation was led by former 
Mexican President Felipe Calderón and former Bolivian President and Club 
of Madrid Vice-President Jorge Quiroga. They also called for Martelly to 
hold elections soon. Despite these delegations, nothing has changed.

For months, Haitians have been in the streets. They forced Martelly to 
fire his corrupt prime minister, Laurent Lamothe, but their greater 
demand is for the dissolution of the entire government and its 
replacement with a new government by and for them, not Haitian elites 
and imperial powers. As former President Aristide famously said at the 
U.N.: “We are tired of sitting under the table. We want our place AT the 
table.”

The international governing forces have held two demonstration elections 
for president since the 2004 coup d’état and prohibited Fanmi Lavalas 
from running candidates both times. Now they must decide whether to hold 
completely fraudulent elections again or allow an honest vote and lose. 
Or rule by decree.

For months, Haitians have been in the streets. Their greater demand is 
for the dissolution of the entire government and its replacement with a 
new government by and for them, not Haitian elites and imperial powers.

It’s no accident Haiti finds itself in this constitutional predicament, 
because the United States government and their professional NGO 
stringers have been behind every move, with support from France, Canada 
and the United Nations.

Haiti Action Committee thanks you again for your support and solidarity. 
Please stay tuned, because the situation is changing rapidly, and we may 
need to ask for you to take action once again.

Charlie Hinton is a member of the Haiti Action Committee, 
www.haitisolidarity.net. He may be reached at lifewish at lmi.net.

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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