evan's news blog

Haiti News 1.24.05 - including exchange about Haiti between Rice and Bill Nelson at Sec. of State Hearings

2005-01-25T06:07:00.000-05:00

1.
Long piece from COHA on possible effects of Condie coming to power.

Best quote: "The phrase that perhaps best encapsulates the profoundly flawed nature of the administration's Haiti policy was Rice's bizarre statement that "we probably dodged a bullet in the earlier days with the ability to get Aristide out peacefully, because he had lost the ability to control that country." She thus wins the dubious honor of being the first person to apply the term "peacefully" to the process leading up to the armed rebellion that all but toppled the Aristide government...

LINK

2.
Reuters report that Latortue would send envoy to meet with Aristide in SA. Statement was retracted the next day.

LINK

3.
AP story about US 3rd circuit opinion that Haitian prison conditions and confinement there does not = torture and deportation of non-US citizens can go on..... Getting it at home and abroad.

LINK

4.
Debate within Brazil and internationally about what is turning out to be a quagmire in Haiti.

Reuters Link

5.
Democracy Now coverage of Rice's hearings. Good exchange with Bill Nelson D-rep from FLA.

LINK

Haiti News 1.19.05

2005-01-19T14:46:00.000-05:00

1.
African Union vows to help with the statement: "Haiti is an African country outside of Africa." Aristide working in SA with Mbeke, etc.

LINK

2.
US Navy aircraft carrier moves into water off Haiti to help "humanitarian efforts."

LINK

Haiti News - 1.18.05

2005-01-18T14:18:00.000-05:00

1.

Small paper article with quotes from Latortue. Biased piece but more honest than most.

Nice detail that Latortue lives in a home rented from one of Jean Claude Duvalier's relatives.

LINK

2.

South FLA Sun Sentinal piece about refugee's AKA 'illegal migrants' picked up by US Coast Guard in the Bahamas.

LINK

3.

Short Miami Herald piece about Toto Constant suit anouncement in NY court system for crimes committed under FRAPH.

LINK

More comprehensive review on Haitiaction.org This includes some info on relations between Constant and Chamblain and others recently freed from prison and/or returned to power.

http://www.haitiaction.org/News/CJA/1_14_5.html

4.

Reprint of Chicago Tribune article from 12.14.04 summarizing events in December, etc.

http://www.haiti-info.com/article.php3?id_article=3178

5. NYT editorial about possible changes in India's pharmaceutical patent regulation that could disrupt ability to provide cheap ARVs. Direct WTO involvement in the process.

LINK

Haiti news 1.17.05

2005-01-17T16:29:00.000-05:00

1.
AP story w/ misinformation from the UN envoy to haiti juan gabriel valdez. urging aristide voters to forgo violence for elections.

direct quote: "It is clear that the seeds of violence that have always been there in Haitian society were very much sown during the Aristide period," he said. "The level of tensions rose and confrontation and hatred between Haitians was very evident. ... They polarized the country."

Also: Valdes said the Brazilian-led U.N. peacekeeping force was approaching its full strength of 6,700 troops, and he insisted that that force controls the country - not the former soldiers.

Also: "There have not been any coup threats because these soldiers could never, ever make a military coup in Haiti," he said. "One of the myths that continues to persist, I would say with all due respect, within many experts on Haiti is that these military (forces) of today are the same that overthrew Aristide in the 90s. They have nothing to do with that. They are people without jobs who kept weapons and who should be disarmed."

Also: At a high-level Security Council meeting on Wednesday, the U.N. envoy said that while security challenges remain complex, "attempts to deliberately destabilize the country launched by armed groups last November have indeed been overcome." THIS IS ONLY TRUE BECAUSE THE ARMY IS PAID AND IN CONTROL .

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/10661509.htm

2.

Sunday Jan 16 from Miami Herald. Story about Arab Haitians. Most interesting is background story for Andy Apaid - the Bush administration's man to be president after the 2004 coup, until they realized he is ineligable as a US born Haitian. Also interesting that the Arab community in S. FLA states they are discriminated against by the poor Haitians they are trying to help....

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/10656717.htm

3. AP story in Seattle Post about two Nouvelliste reporters beat up in Bel Air for covering UN 'clean up' efforts. Clean up probably means here 'stripping anything that can be used as a road block' from poor neighborhoods.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Haiti%20Journalists%20Beaten

Maxine Waters at it again

2005-01-09T11:14:00.000-05:00

This is the open letter California Democrat House Representative Maxine Waters sent to president Bush and his senior advisors.

Basically asking no US money be used to pay the sorry band of thugs who are the re-constituted Haitian Army.

Haiti Action Network

Thanks.