Day: January 27, 2010

The Destabilization of Haiti: Anatomy of a Military Coup d’Etat By Michel Chossudovsky

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27 January, 2010 — Global Research – February 29, 2004

“Washington seeks to reinstate Haiti as a full-fledged US colony, with all the appearances of a functioning democracy. The objective is to impose a puppet regime in Port-au-Prince and establish a permanent US military presence in Haiti.

“The US Administration ultimately seeks to militarize the Caribbean basin.

“The island of Hispaniola is a gateway to the Caribbean basin, strategically located between Cuba to the North West and Venezuela to the South. The militarization of the island, with the establishment of US military bases, is not only intended to put political pressure on Cuba and Venezuela, it is also geared towards the protection of the multibillion dollar narcotics transshipment trade through Haiti, from production sites in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.” — (Michel Chossudovsky, The Destabilization of Haiti, Global Research, February 28, 2004)

Author’s Preface

This article was written almost six years ago in the last days of February 2004. It was published on February 29th, 2004, on the same day as the US sponsored coup d’Etat, which led to the kidnapping and deportation of the country’s elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

The coup d’Etat had been prepared will in advance. Following consultations behind closed doors in Ottawa in January 2003, the US, with the support of France and Canada took the necessary steps to carry out a Coup d’Etat and forcefully abduct President Aristide.

Barely two weeks following the February 2004 coup d’Etat, a puppet regime was installed by the “international community”. In April 2004, a contingent of over 8000 UN ”peace-keeping” forces under Brazilian command entered Haiti.

Haiti has been under foreign military occupation for the last six years. In this context, the January 2010 earthquake has provided Washington with a justification to bring in an additonal 10,000 foreign forces into the country. This influx of US combat troops into Haiti reinforces MINUSTAH’s “peacekeeping” contingent bringing total occupation forces to more than 20,000.

This article largely focusses on the history of the 2004 US led coup d’Etat, including its preparations. It also outlines the process of economic destabilization under the helm of the IMF and the World Bank which played a key role in the events leading up to the military coup.

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Haiti Newslinks 26-27 January, 2010

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27 January, 2010

Interview: David Wilson
 VICTIMS OF FREE TRADE “VOODOO”
 An immigrant rights activist who was in Haiti when the earthquake hit describes how U.S. and IMF policies contributed to the suffering.
socialistworker.org/2010/01/27/free-trade-voodoo

Analysis: Helen Scott
HAITI UNDER THE EAGLE
 The U.S. media’s coverage of the earthquake in Haiti leaves out any mention of an older disaster—the long and bloody record of U.S. intervention.
socialistworker.org/2010/01/26/haiti-under-the-eagle

Comment
UNION NURSES RESPOND FOR HAITI
 National Nurses United put out a call for volunteers, and the response was overwhelming—despite the attitude of the U.S. military.
socialistworker.org/2010/01/27/nurses-respond-for-haiti

Comment: Ashley Smith
HUMANITARIAN AID OR MILITARY OCCUPATION?
 Instead of rushing food, water and rescue teams to help the victims of Haiti’s earthquake, the Obama administration has organized an occupation.
socialistworker.org/2010/01/19/humanitarian-aid-or-occupation

Analysis: Rachel Cohen and Alan Maass
THE SIEGE OF HAITI
A ring of U.S. warships on patrol off Haiti’s coast to stop desperate people from trying to flee is a stark symbol of Washington’s attitude toward refugees.
socialistworker.org/2010/01/22/siege-of-haiti

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Haitian police shoot scavengers indiscriminately

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25 January, 2010 — AFP

Port-Au-Prince (AFP) — Haitian police on Monday shot indiscriminately at scavengers and looters in Port-au-Prince, hitting two in the head as post-quake security deteriorated, an AFP photographer reported.

A group of police, pushed to keep control among a desperate population after the January 12 tremor which killed or injured many of their number and destroyed the city prison, opened fire on a warehouse from a building opposite.

An AFP photographer inside the scavengers’ building said two men were hit in the head, one of whom received medical attention. Two others were lying prone on the floor, one lifeless. The other was treated for a serious head wound.

A Haitian man in the street outside said he saw police pistol whip a man.

‘This guy was trying to go inside (the warehouse), the cops took a gun straight to the back of the head. I don’t know why they do that. It’s not fair because everyone in Haiti is hungry,’ the man, who declined to give his name, said.

Looters and scavengers have moved into the downtown commercial district, taking what they can from the ruins as bulldozers demolished damaged shops and warehouses.

The Haitian government has said the death toll from the January 12 quake, which shattered what little infrastructure existed in the capital and left a million people homeless, is expected to be around 150,000.

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Joe Bageant interviewed by Ian Masters, KPFK

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27 January, 2010 — Joe Bageant

On Sunday, Jan 24, I was a guest on Ian Masters’ Background Briefing radio show, KPFK, Los Angeles. Ian’s show is noted for its hard authoritative analysis by America’s leading political pundits and experts. Being neither, naturally I shotgunned my way through the interview as best I could. Listeners did not seem to mind. It’s downloadable as an MP3 file at

Joe Bageant Interview

The segment runs from 18:30 to 38:30 on the little slider do-jiggy on the media player.

— Joe Bageant

ATTEMPT TO BAN PROTEST OUTSIDE BLAIR INQUIRY

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26 January, 2010

Negotiations between the police and Stop the War broke down today when it became clear that the government is trying to hide our legitimate peaceful protest from Tony Blair when he gives evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry on Friday.

After days in which we were told by the police that they would try to facilitate our protest, Stop the War has been told we will not be allowed to protest on the grass outside the QEII Conference Centre.

This is a denial of our democratic rights and Stop the War will now call for the widest possible mobilisation, not just to express the majority view in this country that Tony Blair should be held to account for war crimes, but in defence of the right to protest.

Why should the public be denied the right to peaceful protest, particularly when the latest evidence given to the Chilcot Committee shows beyond doubt that Tony Blair knew he was taking Britain into an illegal war, and that he doctored legal advice to deceive his Cabinet, Parliament and the British public.

Stop the War is calling on all its supporters, local groups and affiliated organisations to mobilise the widest possible support for the Blair protest on Friday.

We urge everyone who can to join the demonstration at the QEII Conference Centre from 8am. Full details for the planned events are here: http://bit.ly/8mKM0T

Spread the word as widely as you can among your family, friends, work colleagues, fellow students etc, etc

TONY BLAIR’S “JUDGEMENT DAY”
DEFEND THE RIGHT TO PROTEST
Friday 29 January from 8.00am onwards
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Broad Sanctuary, London, SW1P 3EE
Nearest tube: Westminster

office@stopwar.org.uk
Tel: 020 7801 2768
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

Haiti’s elite hold nation’s future in their hands By Tracy Wilkinson

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21 January, 2010 — LA Times

A few businessmen like Gregory Mevs will decide how — or whether — Haiti recovers from one of the worst natural catastrophes in modern times.

Reporting from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti — Gregory Mevs leaped from his armored silver Toyota SUV and marched past the guards and mango trees into what serves these days as the center of the Haitian government.

He was ready to dispense a million gallons of fuel to the earthquake-ravaged capital. But the paperwork was not in order. He needed the Haitian prime minister’s signature.

Ten minutes later, he had it.

Mevs can do that. He has the prime minister’s ear. He hobnobs with people like Bill Clinton, George Soros and the chief executives of the world’s largest corporations. He is one of Haiti’s storied elite, a member of one of the six families that control the Haitian economy and have essentially called the shots here for generations.

They are mostly light-skinned, multilingual entrepreneurs with a dismal reputation for profiting handsomely on the backs of the poorest people in the hemisphere. The actions they take now will prove decisive in how — or whether — Haiti recovers from one of the deadliest natural catastrophes in modern times.

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Venezuela Cancels Haiti’s Oil Debt

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26 January, 2010 — Climate and Capitalism – Latin American Herald Tribune

Once again, the Bolivarian Republic sets an example for the world …

CARACAS – President Hugo Chavez announced Monday that he would write off the undisclosed sum Haiti owes Venezuela for oil as part of the ALBA bloc’s plans to help the impoverished Caribbean nation after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.

‘Haiti has no debt with Venezuela, just the opposite: Venezuela has a historical debt with that nation, with that people for whom we feel not pity but rather admiration, and we share their faith, their hope,’ Chavez said after the extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, or ALBA.

He also announced that ALBA has decided on a comprehensive plan that includes an immediate donation of $20 million to Haiti’s health sector, and a fund that, Chavez said, will be at least $100 million ‘for starters.’

Oil-rich Venezuela is the economic heart of ALBA, which also includes Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Haiti is among several countries that send observers to ALBA meetings.

Chavez said one part of ALBA assistance to Haiti would consist of fuel distribution via ‘mobile service stations’ set to be up and running within a few weeks.

The ALBA plan of aid for Haiti includes support for such sectors as agriculture, production, food imports and distribution, and immigration amnesty for Haitians living illegally in the bloc’s member-states.

Cuba and Venezuela sent assistance and aid workers to Haiti within days of the magnitude-7.0 temblor that left an estimated 200,000 dead and 1.5 million people homeless.

The leftist Venezuelan leader also noted that there are some celebrities who want to work with ALBA, among whom he named actor Sean Penn, who, he said, called him because the members of a team of U.S. doctors now in Haiti want to ‘coordinate’ their activities.