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<font size=3><br>
</font><font size=4><b><u>Urgent Action Alert - Act now to stop the
killing...prevent new UN/police invasion of Cite Soleil<br><br>
</u></font><font size=3>New Police Massacre of the Poor in Solino Quarter
of Haitian Capital<br><br>
</b>Friends and comrades,<br>
August 10, 2005 -- By now many of you have undoubtedly heard reports of
on-going killings and massacres in poor neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince,
the latest one apparently conducted by the Haitian police last weekend
through Monday August 8 in the community of Solino. According to Haitian
media outlets, quoting Solino residents, many people were killed in a
brutal invasion of a poor community reminiscent of the assault by UN
troops on Cite Soleil on July 6th. The source said that so-called
"attaches" or paramilitary death-squad elements participated
with the police in the assault, which targeted supporters of the majority
Lavalas political movement.<br><br>
Haitian media organizations, quoting Solino residents, reported that
machetes were being distributed out of a National Police car to
individuals attached to the national police. Solino residents described
in horrific detail the dismembered bodies of a number of people,
particularly young women, with body parts being placed in black plastic
bags, and that this morning in a ditch in Solino, dogs had broken into
some of the bags to eat the body parts. Women are being targeted by
police and the "attaches" because so many strong Lavalas
community leaders are women, and because women are playing a leading role
in the pro-democracy movement.<br><br>
Now there are reports from Port-au-Prince that yet another assault on
Cite Soleil is being planned, either by UN troops or by the police or
both. Bear in mind that by recent decree of the UN Security
Council, MINUSTAH (the UN Mission in Haiti) is now officially in charge
of the Haitian National Police, and therefore bears responsibility for
the indiscriminate killings by the police in Solino this past
weekend.<br><br>
According to a community leader, "They are trying to dismantle the
grassroots leadership of Lavalas by killing them -- in one neighborhood
after another. This is all in preparation for the sham elections they
have cooked up for this fall to try and legitimize the February 29, 2004
coup d'etat and the coup regime. By 'they' I mean the death-squad
government and their US, UN, French and Canadian backers."<br><br>
Many believe these invasions by heavily armed troops and mass killings in
the poor districts are aimed at preventing mass demonstrations by the
poor majority calling for the return of their democratically elected
President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, such as have occurred with regularity
since the February 2004 coup.<br><br>
We demand:<br><br>
<b>1) an immediate halt to the violence by UN troops and the Haitian
police against unarmed people in poor communities such as Cite Soleil,
Bel Air and Solino.<br><br>
2) an impartial and independent human rights investigation into the July
6th UN operation in Cite Soleil, the recent police operation in Solino
this past week-end, and similar operations in poor, popular neighborhoods
over the past year.<br><br>
</font><font size=4>The Situation is Dire and Calls for Your Immediate
Action<br><br>
</b></font><font size=3>Please act now and voice your protest to the as
many relevant authorities as possible. Call, email, or fax the following
individuals:<br><br>
<b>UN Forces in Haiti:<br>
</b>Juan Gabriel Valdes<br>
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Haiti<br>
phone: 011-509-244-9650 or 9660<br>
fax 011-509 244 3512.<br><br>
David Beer<br>
Commissioner of CIVPOL the UN Civilian Police in Haiti<br>
phone: 011-509-525-5279<br>
email: <a href="mailto:beer@un.orgfax: 011-509-244-9366">beer@un.org<br>
fax: 011-509-244-9366</a><br><br>
UN Office on Human Rights in Port-au-Prince:<br><br>
Mahamane
Cissé-Gouro
<br>
<a href="mailto:cisse-gouro@un.org">cisse-gouro@un.org<br>
</a>011-509-403-4012<br><br>
Thierry Fagart -
<a href="mailto:fagart@un.org">fagart@un.org</a><br><br>
Louise Arbour<br>
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights<br>
1211 Geneva 10<br>
Switzerland<br>
ph: 41-22-917-9000<br>
fax: 41-22-917-9011<br>
email: <a href="mailto:ngochr@ohchr.org">ngochr@ohchr.org</a><br><br>
Bacre Waly Ndiaye<br>
Director—New York Office of the UN Office of the High<br>
Commssioner for Human Rights<br>
ph: 212-963-1583 or 212-963-5930<br>
fax: 212-963-3463<br><br>
<b>US Govt. Officials:<br>
</b></font><font face="Trebuchet MS" size=3>Timothy Michael Carney<br>
Chargé d'Affaires, U.S. Embassy in</font> Haiti<br>
phone: 011-509-222-0200, 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0327<br>
fax: 011-509-223-9038<br><br>
<b>Congressional Switchboard:<br><br>
</b>202.224.3121<br>
<a href="http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/ym/Compose?To=ngochr@ohchr.org&YY=70677&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b">
<br>
</a><b>
<a href="http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/ym/Compose?To=ngochr@ohchr.org&YY=70677&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b">
Other Human Rights Groups:</a><br><br>
</b>Amnesty International<br>
International Secretariat<br>
1 Easton St., London<br>
WCIXODW, UK<br>
email:
<a href="mailto:Gducos@amnesty.org">Gducos@amnesty.org</a><br><br>
Also, all Amnesty members should contact their local<br>
chapters and organize these chapters to contact the<br>
International Secretariat in London.<br>
<font size=2><b>For more information contact the Haiti Action
Committee,<br><br>
510-483-1781
<a href="mailto:haitiaction@yahoo.com">haitiaction@yahoo.com</a>
<a href="http://www.haitiaction.net/" eudora="autourl">
www.haitiaction.net<br><br>
</a></b></font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
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