[News] Credible accounts of gross human rights violations in Haiti must be addressed by CARICOM

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://www.stabroeknews.com/2019/opinion/letters/07/08/credible-accounts-of-gross-human-rights-violations-in-haiti-must-be-addressed-by-caricom/?utm_source=facebookbtn&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=facebook_share&fbclid=IwAR1grBroOZcYjhoJ7FhRe0OGmqL_juL56zm3-selFWdQz6gNENLCf2jKbUI 



  Credible accounts of gross human rights violations in Haiti must be
  addressed by CARICOM

By Stabroek News - July 7, 2019
------------------------------------------------------------------------

On April 24, 2019 Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) led a delegation 
to Haiti, which included actor and human rights activist Danny Glover; 
journalist and Barbados national Margaret Prescod of Pacifica Radio’s 
“Sojourner Truth” and Women of Color/Global Women’s Strike; civil rights 
lawyer Walter Riley; Haitian diaspora leader Pierre Labossiere; and 
human rights lawyer Brian Concannon of the Institute for Justice & 
Democracy in Haiti. During this visit the delegation received extremely 
troubling reports of gross violations of human rights including 
killings. Testimony of massacre survivors was taken in La Saline by an 
earlier human rights delegation.

According to information received by US Congresswoman Maxine Waters, 
victims, human rights groups and journalists claimed that the attacks 
were organized by Haitian political authorities in order to punish those 
neighbourhoods for organizing protests against corruption and brutality.

Margaret Prescod, a delegation member, recounted “As a mother and a 
campaigner on women’s rights, it was heartbreaking to hear the victims 
describe the killings of their children and spouses, and the burning of 
their homes with everything they own inside.”

Human rights lawyer Brian Concannon, who has been involved in 24 years 
of investigating political violence cases in Haiti, “noted the 
similarity between the La Saline massacre and other prominent attacks, 
including the 1987 attack on the St. Jean Bosco church [where Jean 
Bertrand Aristide was priest] in La Saline, attacks by the Duvalier 
dictatorship and the 1994 Raboteau massacre. With the Ton-Ton Macoutes, 
FRAPH [Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti] and now the 
violent groups under the Moïse administration, the motives have been the 
same—silencing calls for justice and democracy—as have the brutal 
methods. If we do not assure justice for La Saline now, there will be 
more victims.”

On May 2nd, 2019 in Washington, DC, following Maxine Waters’ visit to 
Haiti, Haitian parliamentarians confirmed the human rights 
organizations’ account of the extrajudicial executions and attacks on 
Haitians in La Saline.

We consider these reports to be credible and are calling on CARICOM and 
the heads of Government Meeting to urgently address accounts of what 
appear to be politically motivated attacks, killings and burning of 
homes carried out against Haitians living in the areas of La Saline, 
Cite Tokyo and Cite Vincent and further documented reports of at least 
70 extrajudicial executions (there are reports that the numbers are 
higher), as well as multiple assaults, arsons and rapes.

We note that in the communiqué issued at the conclusion of the 40th 
regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the 
Caribbean Community, Gros Islet, St. Lucia, 3-5 July, 2019, Heads of 
Government agreed that a delegation “comprising the Chairman and the 
Prime Ministers of  The Bahamas and Jamaica and the Secretary-General 
would visit Haiti in order to inform the Community of the situation in 
that country.” We call on the delegation to ensure that the visit is one 
that can inspire the trust of the Haitian people, by meeting with 
grassroots leaders and survivors of the massacres and other politically 
targeted attacks, and by calling for those involved to be held to 
account.  Additionally, we call on CARICOM to press for accountability 
for the use of billions of PetroCaribe dollars.

Haitian people must be assured that their political engagement will be 
guaranteed and respected. Since 2004 there have been consistent reports 
about problems with Haiti’s elections; we call on CARICOM to work with 
the Haitian people to ensure free, fair and credible elections that 
reflect the will of the Haitian majority.

*Yours faithfully,*

*Peggy Antrobus, Grenada/St. Vincent/ Barbados*

*Marion Bethel, Bahamas*

*Roberta Clarke, Civil society*

*advocate for a socially just Caribbean*

*regionalism, Trinidad & Tobago*

*Hazel Da Breo, Director, Sweet Water Foundation, Grenada*

*Hazel Brown, Network of NGOs of*

*Trinidad and Tobago for the advancement of Women*

*Halimah DeShong: St. Vincent & the*

*Grenadines*

*Karen de Souza, Guyana*

*Amina Doherty, Antigua & Barbuda*

*Honor Ford-Smith, Jamaica/Canada*

*Asha  Kambon , Chair  Emancipation Support Committee*

*Trinidad and Tobago*

*Khafra Kambon , Chair  Emancipation Support Committee*

*Trinidad and Tobago*

*Kamala Kempadoo, Canada/Barbados*

*Alicia Mondesire, Dominica/Canada*

*Nan Peacocke, Guyana/St. Vincent/ Canada*

*Danuta Radzik, Help and Shelter, \Women & Child Rights Activist &*

*Advocate, Guyana *

*Vanda Radzik, Guyana*

*Rhoda Reddock, Trinidad & Tobago*

*Rev. Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth | Chief Executive Officer, Caribbean*

*Family Planning Affiliation (CFPA)*

*Alissa Trotz, Guyana/Canada*

*Josephine Whitehead, Help and Shelter, Guyana*

*Alexandrina Wong, Women Against*

*Rape (WAR) Inc.*

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