[News] Haiti - Crisis and Resolution, Fanmi Lavalas Statement

[Anti-Imperialist News]

/Haiti Action Committee is honored to circulate this statement from 
Fanmi Lavalas, the people’s party in Haiti.  Fanmi Lavalas issued the 
statement in solidarity with the massive upsurge of protest against the 
corrupt regime of Haiti’s current president Jovenel Moise.  The 
statement comes in the wake of violent state repression, including the 
horrific massacre of over 60 people in Lasalin, a center of popular 
grassroots activism. /

/
This December 16thwas the 28thanniversary of the election of 
Jean-Bertrand Aristide as Haiti’s first democratically elected 
president.  The date was marked in Haiti with continued mobilizations 
for democracy and an end to the brutal attacks on the population. /


*Fanmi Lavalas Statement*

*November 15, 2018 *

**

*Crisis and Resolution*

[/An unofficial translation by Haiti Action Committee/]




There is a grave crisis in contemporary Haitian society, in which the 
masses of our people are opposing an oligarchy determined to perpetuate 
a system of exclusion.




There have been many bumps in the road since February, 1986, when our 
people overthrew the Duvalier regime. Several /coups/ /d'etat/ have 
occurred, with the most damaging to the population having taken place in 
1991 and 2004. Despite continued battering by the repressive and 
ideological machine, the more conscious and militant sectors of the 
population have stood firm; their resistance has been constant despite 
periods of setback.




At the present time, we are witnessing a general awakening of national 
consciousness. In addition to the population rising up to insist on 
better living conditions, with demands coming from many different 
sectors, including workers, peasants, educators, and students, the 
scandal involving the embezzling of the Petro-Caribe funds has provoked 
a big upsurge in mobilization against corruption and impunity. As so 
often occurs throughout history, the Petro-Caribe scandal has raised the 
awareness of the overwhelming majority about the unjust economic and 
political system, revealing the cause-and-effect relationship between 
this system and the sufferings of the Haitian people. Large masses of 
the population have come to understand with greater clarity and 
intensity the urgent necessity to take their destiny in their own hands.




As usually occurs during periods of dynamic struggle such as the 
present, the oligarchy is fractured. Attempting to maintain the status 
quo, it is faced with internal contradictions regarding the strategy 
that would allow it to save “the system” -- a sham institutional 
“democracy” set within a framework of an economic and social regime 
based on glaring inequalities, a stranglehold on political power that 
excludes the popular masses, and the pillage of national resources.




Fanmi Lavalas Political Organization is always closely tuned in to the 
various sectors of the population, and our conclusion is obvious: it is 
time for the political class to muster the courage to initiate a 
profound change in the paradigm and structures of governance that 
characterize the present system. This is a necessity that has a wide 
consensus as manifested by the ever-growing magnitude of anti-government 
mobilization that we are witnessing today. It is imperative that we 
respect the people’s aspirations for progress and for a just society. It 
is paramount that we stand in solidarity with the people’s protests 
demanding a new form of state. The nation deserves a new system that is 
more in harmony with the dreams of our founders, a new vision of the 
Republic rooted in Justice, Transparency and Participation.




The population is rejecting the usurpers who have derived their power 
from the fraudulent elections and who have discredited themselves with 
multiple scandals involving corruption and impunity. Our people are 
facing savage repression that continues to create victims among the 
disadvantaged masses, and that is heightening the insecurity that is 
poisoning daily life for the majority. Fanmi Lavalas Political 
Organization continues to stand firmly with the Haitian people to 
“/chavire chodyè a/ (overturn the cauldron)”. No cosmetic solution will 
bring an effective and lasting solution to the crisis in which we are 
plunged. This system has run its course. It cannot be patched up. It 
must be changed.




“/Chavire chodyè a/ (Overturn the cauldron)” means that we consider this 
moment to be exceptional. The deterioration of the political situation, 
the degradation of the economy and public finances, the failure of the 
state and its institutions, the lack of legitimacy and the absence of 
credibility at all levels of the state apparatus, make illusory if not 
impossible an end to the crisis by so-called constitutional means. The 
conditions for a new beginning that will put the country back on track, 
in 
keeping with the demands of the overwhelming majority, require an 
exceptional approach. For Fanmi Lavalas this includes:




1) Obtain the resignation of Jovenel Moise through a general mobilization

2) Resignation of Jean Henry Ceant and all his ministers

3) Assess the dysfunction and lapses in the Parliament

4) Put in place an executive and a government of public safety to ensure 
a transition for a period of 36 months.




This transition government will consist of credible personalities, 
engaged in the struggle against exclusion and corruption, who share a 
vision of a new method of governance. Among the priorities to be included:




a) Improve the living conditions of the population by the sound and 
efficient management of current priorities pending the installation of 
an elected government.

b) Create a constituent assembly for a new fundamental charter that will 
define the features of the new Republic.

c) Organize a necessary national dialogue.

d) Create the conditions that will end impunity and allow for a trial of 
those who have absconded with the Petro-Caribe funds.

e) Take all measures to revise the Electoral Law and appoint a new 
electoral council charged with organizing elections to close out the 
transition period




The transition aims to implement fundamental reforms that would allow a 
democratic process and would make possible free, honest and credible 
elections. The transition must restore confidence between the people and 
the state. In this light the demands of the popular masses must be taken 
intoaccount on all issues. True to its commitment to social justice and 
participation, Fanmi Lavalas will play its role alongside the population 
in continuing to promote the dialogue that is indispensable among the 
sons and daughters of the same land.




Executive Committee of Fanmi Lavalas

Dr. Maryse Narcisse

M. Joël Vorbe

Dr. Jean Myrto Julien

Agr. Anthony Dessources



-- 
sent by Haiti Action Committee
www.haitisolidarity.net <http://www.haitisolidarity.net>
Link to the statement in French here: 
https://haitisolidarity.net/voices-from-haiti/fanmi-lavalas-crise-et-solution-15-novembre-2018/
Link to the English translation here: 
https://haitisolidarity.net/crisis-and-resolution/


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863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/
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