[News] Haiti Bulletin - 2016 Election & Solidarity Day

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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  Haiti Bulletin No. 1 - 2016 Election & Solidarity Day

*Bulletin No. 1 – Haiti Elections and 2016 International Solidarity Day*

*1. * *  Lavalas campaigns in the North of Haiti ahead of Oct. 9 
elections – to tumultuous crowds*

Very exciting news from Haiti as reported (9/18/2016) on the Haiti 
Action Committee Facebook page 
<http://trk.cp20.com/click/cn1vy-4afely-2k0awxe3/>:  "Fanmi Lavalas 
presidential candidate Dr. Maryse Narcisse accompanied by Titid 
(Jean-Bertrand Aristide) is campaigning throughout the north and in Cap 
Haitien. Massive crowds turn out all along the way. This election is a 
fight to restore a popular government that once again elevates the 
democratic agenda of the undefeated Haitian people and their struggle 
for dignity and human rights. HAITI RISES! A TIME FOR SOLIDARITY!" Be 
sure to read Actor Danny Glover’s op-ed on Haiti’s election 
<http://trk.cp20.com/click/cn1vy-4afelz-2k0awxe4/> (9/18).

*2.    Leading actors in the 2004 kidnapping coup d’etat hold key 
positions on the electoral council (CEP)*

International solidarity is greatly needed. The electoral council or CEP 
is headed by Leopold Berlanger, a leading figure of the 2004 kidnapping 
coup d'etat. And the main coup leader, sweatshop owner Andy Apaid now 
plays a central role as consultant in the CEP's tabulation center where 
the official vote counting is finalized. The CEP is notorious for being 
at the center of fraudulent elections in Haiti. People in Haiti are very 
concerned and alarmed. Another stolen election will not be accepted by 
the Haitian people.

*3.    These next few weeks are crucial, as Lavalas presidential 
candidate Dr. Maryse Narcisse and former President Aristide are making 
their way throughout the country in a historic campaign tour.*

Fanmi Lavalas is now finally able to participate in an election, 
breaking through many years of forced exclusion from the democratic 
process. The unending resistance of the people of Haiti and your 
solidarity have made this possible. The grassroots are on the march in 
Haiti, and this could well foretell a huge historical victory, Dr. 
Maryse Narcisse as the first woman elected President of Haiti.

*4.    Veterans for Peace – Resolution: Support Haitian People’s Demand 
for Free & Fair Elections * [Adopted at VFP National Convention, Aug. 
13, 2016]*
*

Whereas in 1803 the Haitian people defeated Napoleon’s army and in 1804 
declared independence, abolishing slavery & ending French colonial rule 
in Haiti. Their example reverberated throughout the world, and

Whereas on Feb. 29, 2004, the U.S., French & Canadian armies overthrew 
the elected government of Haiti, abducting President Aristide and flying 
him to exile in Africa on a U.S. military plane. The coup led to a wave 
of killings and persecution of the popular movement. Three months later, 
Haiti was placed under United Nations military occupation, which 
continues today, and

Whereas in 2015, after being excluded for 11 years, Aristide’s Fanmi 
Lavalas party was finally able to run candidates again, including Dr. 
Maryse Narcisse for President. However, the elections saw pervasive vote 
buying, ballot stuffing and vote rigging, with U.N. officials caught 
participating in the fraud. U.S.-financed National police and 
paramilitaries fired into working-class areas to discourage voting. 
(Human Rights & Labor Fact-Finding Delegation, Nov. 2015 Report), and

Whereas despite overwhelming evidence of election fraud, the U.S. 
embassy, which had paid $33 million to finance the elections, endorsed 
the election results, and

Whereas defiant Haitians mounted demonstrations of tens of thousands 
over many months, denouncing the “electoral coup” and demanding the 
stolen elections be thrown out. They were shot, tear-gassed, beaten. 
Some were killed. Fanmi Lavalas, long the most popular political party 
in Haiti, filed legal challenges, and

Whereas, Haiti’s government finally bowed to popular mobilizations 
throughout the country, threw out the fraudulent elections, and 
scheduled a new Presidential election for October 9, 2016;

Therefore, be it resolved that Veterans for Peace stands in solidarity 
with the defiant people of Haiti in their insistence on fair elections 
free of coercion or foreign interference. Haitians are marching for 
their country to be free from foreign intervention and control.

*5.  September 30th: International Day in Solidarity with Haiti: 
*Commemorate the 25th anniversary of a coup that continues to inform the 
present struggle of the Haitian people for democracy and justice.

Why is it important to remember September 30, 1991? 
<http://trk.cp20.com/click/cn1vy-4afem0-2k0awxe1/>

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