March 9th, 2005: Over 10,000 Lavalas activists demonstrated on Tuesday, March 8 in the populist district of Bel-Air in Haiti¹s capital city, Port-au-Prince. Those assembled marched in solidarity with women whose children or spouses have been killed in recent repression perpetrated in populist sections of the capital. This demonstration was held to mark International Women's Day and, largely due to international outrage over past collusion between UN forces and the Haitian police, received a high level of protection from soldiers of the United Nation Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Dissidents also protested political persecution, and called for the return of constitutional government and the release of all political prisoners.

At a sit-in elsewhere in the city, the coordinator of the Association of Women Victims of the Cooperatives, Margareth Fortuné, denounced the behavior of the "interim" authorities, whom she said limit themselves to making beautiful promises which they never keep. Mme. Fortuné also criticized women who are part of the current government, who she argued are today distancing themselves from the demands of women who are part of the poor majority of Haitians.

Meanwhile, Ronald St-Jean, coordinator of the GDP (Group for the Defense of the Rights of the Political Prisoners) spoke Tuesday of his concern for the physical well-being of Yvon Neptune and Jocelerme Privert, restating his view that the two Lavalas dignitaries and numerous other members of the party are in prison solely for their political opinions. He appealed to the interim government to immediately free the political prisoners as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for on November 22, 2004. Neptune is now in his 17th day of a hunger strike to protest the illegal and unjustified nature of his incarceration, which began nearly one year ago.

Read more