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For President Hugo Chavez, the real president of Haiti is Jean-Bertrand
Aristide <br>
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<br>
Porto Alegre (Brazil), January 30 (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez declared Sunday at a news conference in Porto Alegre that as far
as he is concerned "the President of Haiti is Jean-Bertrand
Aristide".<br><br>
He stated that the former president was the victim of an
"abduction" just as he himself had been in April 2002 during
the brief coup d'Etat against him. <br><br>
"But the Venezuelan people took to the streets and I was able to be
released in time and the armed forces mobilized", he said.
<br><br>
"In the case of Aristide, he had abolished the army in response to a
condition imposed by the empire (editor's note: i.e. the United States.
The "condition" refers to a condition required in exchange for
U.S. action to return Mr. Aristide to power.) As a result, they
illegally confined him and took him to South Africa, said Mr.
Chavez. <br><br>
The Venezuelan President said that in his opinion "there is no
solution to Haiti without Aristide", and he indicated that he had
said this to the other Latin American countries and for the most part
they were 'in agreement" with him on this point. <br><br>
According to him, the best solution to the current situation in Haiti
would be to hold a referendum because "the solution is not up to the
United Nations or in the hands of a group of presidents but rather it
must be adopted by the people of Haiti". <br><br>
"There exists an instrument of historical and juridical importance,
the National Constituent Assembly", he said, underscoring the need
for a "free referendum in the presence of international observers
from around the world. That is democracy, a consultation of the
people", he insisted. <br><br>
AFP- Article No. 20050130155058</font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size=3>
<br><br>
</font><div align="center"><h5><b>AHP News - February 1, 2005 - English
translation (Unofficial) <br>
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</b></h5></div>
<font face="Trebuchet MS" size=2>The declaration on Haiti of the World
Social Forum at Porto Alegre recommends the return of President Aristide
and the resumption of the process of democracy <br>
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Port-au-Prince, February 1, 2005 (AHP) - A declaration on Haiti presented
at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, held from January 16 to
31, 2005, urges the return of President Aristide and the resumption of
the democratic process in Haiti. <br><br>
According to this declaration, President Aristide, who was forced to
leave the country by foreign powers, should complete his term before free
and fair elections are held as called for under the Haitian
Constitution. <br><br>
The Porto Alegre declaration contains the demand "end the occupation
of Haiti" and urges a reallocation of money and other resources
currently used in the war against Haiti's poor in order that they might
help fight against poverty in Haiti. <br><br>
The text also calls for the United Nations stabilization forces to end
illegal arrests and indiscriminate raids on poor neighborhoods as well
ending support for the illegal operations of the Haitian police and
members of the former armed forces. <br><br>
The declaration states that political prisoners must be released and
politically motivated persecution brought to an end. <br><br>
"Governments and inter-governmental organizations must refuse
to recognize the illegitimate regime and call for an investigation into
the circumstances of President Aristide's removal from office", the
declaration states. Refugees were also a concern of the document, which
affirmed that persons fleeing political persecution must be afforded
their right to asylum and the internally displaced must be given
protection and financial assistance. <br><br>
The declaration emphasized that the Haitian people deserve better
treatment because ever since Haiti became the first Black Republic in
1804, it has always stood for Black liberation and the liberation of
oppressed peoples everywhere. <br><br>
After it became independent, Haiti offered Simon Bolivar refuge, guns and
other supplies, and paved the way for the abolition of slavery throughout
the Americas, the declaration points out. <br><br>
Signers of the declaration believe that the United States must keep its
"hands off Latin America and the Caribbean", and they stand in
solidarity with the governments and people of Venezuela and Cuba,
countries struggling against the process of destabilization which is not
dissimilar to the process that resulted in the overthrow of President
Aristide. <br><br>
The democratically-elected Haitian President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide has
twice been the victim of a coup d'état, the declaration indicates, noting
that the unelected government that took power in March, 2004, promptly
authorized wealthy families not to pay taxes for a three year
period. <br><br>
The de facto government "pays former soldiers for attacking the
resistance, while cutting education, health care and food programs for
the poor", asserts the declaration. <br><br>
AHP February 1, 2005 11:50 AM<br><br>
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The political commission of Fanmi Lavalas calls for the return of
constitutional government and accuses the interim government of setting
new records for corruption <br>
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<br>
Port-au-Prince, February 1, 2005 (AHP)- The Fanmi Lavalas political
commission advocated once again the return to constitutional government
that was interrupted, it said, with the forced departure of President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide on February 29, 2004. <br><br>
In a press release entitled "declaration for the truth", the
commission indicated that the interim government is a government of
scandals. <br><br>
"In only 10 months, it broke all the records", said signatories
to the statement, who cite the fuel scandal at the National Palace, the
rice scandal at the office of the Prime Minister, the cases of corruption
at several city halls and at the National office of Old Age Insurance,
embezzlement at the National Credit Bank of Cap - Haitien, and the
misappropriation of humanitarian aid among the scandals. <br><br>
The party's political commission also denounced the summary executions,
arbitrary arrests, the incarcerations controlled from a distance,
accusations that are not substantiated, arson attacks against homes of
political activists in the populist districts, the rapes of women and
young girls, the killing of journalists and the massive dismissals in the
civil service. <br><br>
Among the cases cited by those who signed the statement are the summary
executions, they say, of Jimmy Charles, Abdias Jean (journalist),
Edson Joseph and Casimir Mathieu. <br><br>
They also denounced the machinations and intrigue whose objective is to
tarnish the image of the party and honest citizens, they said.
<br><br>
The Fanmi Lavalas political commission appealed to the interim
authorities to release all the political prisoners and to put an end to
the political persecution and summary executions in the populist
districts. <br><br>
They called upon the OAS, CARICOM, and the African Union to launch
an independent investigation to shed light on all the criminal
acts. <br><br>
The investigating commission should also look into the cases of many
activists who allegedly suffocated inside containers where they were
detained in Cap-Haitien during the anti-Aristide insurrection.
<br><br>
AHP February 1, 2005 3:10 PM<br>
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