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<font size=3><br>
</font><font size=2><b>Haiti's Most Famous Political Prisoners Announce
Hunger Strike<br><br>
</b>By Bill Quigley, Professor of Law, Loyola University<br>
New Orleans. Bill is in Haiti as a volunteer attorney<br>
with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti,<br>
<a href="http://www.ijdh.org/" eudora="autourl">www.ijdh.org</a> Contact
duprestars@yahoo.com Phone<br>
in Haiti 509.401.4822<br><br>
Political prisoners Yvon Neptune, Haiti's former<br>
Prime Minister, and Jocelerme Privert, former Minister<br>
of the Interior, survived the massive prison revolt at the<br>
National Penitentiary of Haiti on February 19, 2005. <br>
The Saturday afternoon revolt began with the firing of<br>
heavy automatic weapons at the main gate of the prison and<br>
the sudden disappearance of all the guards. In the<br>
chaos one guard was killed and 490 of the 1250<br>
prisoners left.<br><br>
Ministers Neptune and Privert were forcibly taken out<br>
of the prison by former military people concerned for<br>
their safety. Once secure, they immediately called on<br>
international authorities to guarantee them<br>
a safe return to the prison. They were returned to<br>
the penitentiary by the UN authorities within hours<br>
of the end of the revolt.<br><br>
Speaking from a cement cell with no running water,
no<br>
bathroom, and no electricity, Yvon Neptune and<br>
Minister Privert vowed not to eat to until the<br>
injustice and insecurity of their confinement is<br>
addressed. Privert has been in prison since April 2004<br>
and Neptune since June 2004 and neither has a trial<br>
date set.<br><br>
Yvon Neptune said, "My life has been in real
danger<br>
since the elected President of our country was removed<br>
in February of 2004. This is the third time my life<br>
has been put in danger in prison. There was an<br>
assassination plot against me in the fall confirmed by<br>
the National Police. Then there was the prison<br>
massacre on December 1, 2004, in which unknown numbers<br>
of prisoners were killed. When the prison was<br>
attacked this weekend, my life was again clearly and<br>
seriously in danger. I could easily have been killed<br>
by people inside or outside of the prison. Who is it<br>
that keeps putting me in situations where I<br>
might be killed?"<br><br>
After Neptune and
Privert returned to the<br>
prison by the UN, Haitian authorities wrongfully<br>
reported that the two men had been captured by<br>
national police, a charge Neptune said is a total lie<br>
and a story repudiated by the UN.<br><br>
Neptune concluded by asking, "We have been
patient<br>
for over eight months. We have given time for the<br>
government and the international community to act.<br>
Enough is enough."<br><br>
*******<br>
Forwarded by the Haitian Lawyers' Leadership Network<br>
******<br><br>
"Men anpil chay pa lou" is Kreyol for - "Many hands
make light a heavy load."<br><br>
See, The Haitian Leadership Networks' 7 "Men Anpil Chay Pa
Lou" campaigns to help restore Haiti's independence, the will of the
mass electorate and the rule of law.<br>
<a href="http://www.margueritelaurent.com/law/lawpress.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.margueritelaurent.com/law/lawpress.html<br>
</a>*******************<br>
Here is what you can do to help us help the people of Haiti:<br>
**********************<br>
</font><font size=2 color="#000080"><b>HLLN - Action Requested from Haiti
solidarity groups and activists for justice and democracy<br><br>
</b></font><font size=2>Please circulate our mailings and posts to your
mailing list and e-mail contacts. Subscribe or unbscribe by writing to:
Erzilidanto@aol.com<br><br>
Read, adopt and circulate the</font><font size=2 color="#FF0000"><b>
Haiti Resolution</b></font><font size=2> (see below) from the Haitian
Lawyers Leadership Network:</font><font size=2 color="#000080"><b>
<a href="http://www.sfbayview.com/080404/haitiresolution080404.shtml%A0" eudora="autourl">http://www.sfbayview.com/080404/haitiresolution080404.shtml
</a> ,</b></font><font size=2> and/or the Porto Alegre Declarations on
Haiti adopted at the World Social Forum in
2005:</font><font size=2 color="#0000A0"><b>
<a href="http://www.margueritelaurent.com/pressclips/declaration.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.margueritelaurent.com/pressclips/declaration.html<br><br>
</a></b></font><font size=2>Circulate the human rights reports,
especially the latest Miami Law Center report<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=2 color="#000080"><b><a href="http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaignone/human_rights_reports/c1humanrightsreports.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaignone/human_rights_reports/c1humanrightsreports.html<br><br>
</a></b></font><font size=2>Do Press Work: Join our letter writing
campaigns to help free the political prisoners in Haiti, stop the
persecution of Haiti's most popular political party and restore
Constitutional rule. Write a letter, call the media, fax, - See our Press
Work page for sample letters and contact information:<br>
</font><font size=2 color="#000080"><b><a href="http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaignone/presswork/pressreleases_hll.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaignone/presswork/pressreleases_hll.html<br><br>
</a></b></font><font size=2>Volunteers to maintain and send us updated or
new phone numbers and addresses to put on
our</font><font size=2 color="#FF0000"><b> Contact Information
Shee</b></font><font size=2>t pages for our Network's pressworks<br>
</font><font size=2 color="#000080"><b><a href="http://www.margueritelaurent.com/law/lawpress.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.margueritelaurent.com/law/lawpress.html<br><br>
</a></b></font><font size=2>Virtual interns and volunteers are needed to
help us translate selected materials into French, Kreyol, or Spanish to
reach a wider audience; Volunteers with some research and computer skills
are also needed to help us update our "list of victims" and
"Personal Testimonies" pages under Campaign One. (We have the
materials, what we don't have we know where to extrapolate them, but need
help to put it together and into the format pages on our website for
"List of Victims" and "Personal Testimonies":
See:</font><font size=2 color="#FF0000"><b>
http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaignone/campaignone.html<br><br>
</b></font><font size=2>HLLN Networkers are urged, in addition to the
general writing campaigns and e-mail circulations, to also consider
volunteering as primary coordinators/contributors
to</font><font size=2 color="#FF0000"> one</font><font size=2> of our
seven campaigns</font><font size=2 color="#FF0000">
<a href="http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaigns.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.margueritelaurent.com/campaigns/campaigns.html<br><br>
</a></font><font size=2>One internet savvy volunteer interested in
logging and archiving, on our new Ezili Danto blog, (not yet unveiled)
the regular Erzilidanto posts we send out so that those who only want to
see these at their leisure or who cannot receive<b> daily mailings</b>
will have access to these materials and posts, in an archived
format.<br><br>
Fundraise for the work of HLLN, donate to our projects, or, better
yet,<b> earn money, save lives and spread meaning and value</b> by
becoming an HLLN Marketing Associate trained to train other HLLN
Associates and licensed to use our logo and HLLN materials to sponsor a
"To Tell The Truth about Haiti Forum and
Teach-In."</font><font size=2 color="#000080"><b>
<a href="http://www.margueritelaurent.com/DNC_2004/dnc_slideshow/DNC_2004_01.htm" eudora="autourl">http://www.margueritelaurent.com/DNC_2004/dnc_slideshow/DNC_2004_01.htm<br><br>
</a></b></font><font size=2>Proceeds from such teach ins will go to pay
the Associate and to continue the work of HLLN projects, such as, our
partnership with AUMOHD, the young human rights lawyers in Haiti who are
defending the defenseless poor whose only crime is that they voted for
Lavalas, supported Constitutional rule or are resisting a return of the
bloody U.S.-trained Haitian army and US-sponsored dictatorship. For
information on AUMOHD, go to:
<a href="http://www.april6vt.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.april6vt.org/<br><br>
</a>*********<br>
<b>The Haiti Resolution:<br><br>
</b>1. Support the return of constitutional rule to Haiti by restoring
all elected officials of all parties to their offices throughout the
country until the end of their mandates and another election is held, as
mandated by Haiti's Constitution;<br><br>
2. Condemn the killings, illegal imprisonment and confiscation of the
property of supporters of Haiti's constitutional government and insist
that Haiti's illegitimate "interim government" immediately
cease its own persecution and put a stop to persecution by the thugs and
murderers from sectors in their police force, from the paramilitaries,
gangs and former soldiers;<br><br>
3. Insist on the immediate release of all political prisoners in Haitian
jails, including Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, other constitutional
government officials and folksinger-activist Sò Ann;<br><br>
4. Insist on the disarmament of the thugs, death squad leaders and
convicted human rights violators and their prosecution for all crimes
committed during the attack on Haiti's elected government and help
rebuild Haiti's police force, ensuring that it excludes anyone who helped
to overthrow the democratically elected government or who participated in
other human rights violations;<br><br>
5. Stop the indefinite detention and automatic repatriation of Haitian
refugees and immediately grant Temporary Protected Status to all Haitian
refugees presently in the United States until democracy is restored to
Haiti; and<br><br>
6. Support the calls by the OAS, CARICOM and the African Union for an
investigation into the circumstances of President Aristide's removal.
Support the enactment of Congresswoman Barbara Lee's T.R.U.T.H Act (HR
3919) which calls for U.S. Congressional investigation of the forcible
removal of the democratically elected President and government of
Haiti.<br>
***************<br>
To subscribe or unsubscribe, contact Erzilidanto@aol.com<br><br>
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