Haiti: A Call for Continued Action

From: Brian Concannon, Esq,
To: Let Haiti Live Coalition:

Although today's developments come as a shock, I think it is important to
remain mobilized, to 1) denounce the violent, undemocratic transfer of power
imposed by the U.S. and its allies, and 2) to advocate for the protection of
democracy supporters in Haiti, who may be subject to violent retaliation.

There is much uncertainty surrounding today's events in Haiti, but some
things are clear. I would urge everyone to continue writing and calling the State
Department and the media, and raise the following points:

1. This was a violent, undemocratic regime change. If President Aristide
did resign, he did it because of violence already perpetrated on civil servants
and democracy supporters over the last month, and the explicit threat of much
more bloodshed in Port-au-Prince. To their immense shame, the United States
and other powerful countries not only failed to support Haiti's democracy in
its time of need, they explicitly used the violence to achieve ends it had been
seeking by other means for three years.

2. There is a serious danger of large-scale, systematic violence against
government supporters. Justice Boniface Alexandre, who is reported to have
assumed the interim Presidency, has a record of respect for human rights and justi
ce. But it is unlikely that he will be able to control a police force able to
withstand the predations of the insurgents, whose leadership has a long and
well-documented history of atrocities.

3. The U.S. bears responsibility for the current situation, because of 1)
its recent support for unconstitutional regime change, and 2) its longtime
support for Haiti's violent opposition. This responsibility imposes an obligation
the U.S. to act vigorously to protect civilians in Haiti. The U.S. should
provide immediate financial and material support to the Haitian government, and
should fully support any request by the government for peacekeeping troops or
other security assistance.

I have heard of demonstrations planned already for DC and NY, although I have
no details. There may be one in the Bay Area as well. If you are in those
areas, call the people in your local network and join in.

Looking ahead, we will need to mobilize in the future in favor of prompt fair
elections, and the installation of democratically elected officials in both
the legislative and executive branches.

Kouraj, Brian