2
.
Kinshasa, Congo -- A ceremony in solidarity with
Haiti was performed on 9/30 at the Flaming Fire Church in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa. The ceremony, recalling highlights in the history of Haiti and the significance of this history for Africa and for the world's people, was videotaped for showing in the provinces and on Congolese National Television.
3
.
Miami -- Demonstrators gathered at mid-day on 9/30 at the consulate general of
Brazil, whose general commands the brutal UN military force in Haiti that was responsible for the July 6th massacre in Cite Soleil and other mass killings of civilians by UN forces. This was the latest of many demonstrations at the Miami Brazilian consulate, since the first one July 13th led by Father Gerard Jean-Juste. [On July 14th, this beloved fighter for human rights was detained at the Miami and Port-au-Prince airports. A week later he was beaten and arrested in Haiti, hours after publicly denouncing the atrocities of the coup regime on the radio, and remains imprisoned.]
4
.
Washington, DC -- "A lively group of demonstrators gathered in front of the Haitian Embassy on 9/30 as part of the 47-city protest
. Haiti's illegal ambassador, Raymond Joseph, was just arriving as we approached the front of the embassy. We greeted him with a myriad of chants and he disappeared inside. Later we delivered to the embassy a copy of the International Declaration of Solidarity with the People of Haiti. We displayed large blow-ups of graphic photos of Haitian victims of both the Haitian National Police and UN 'peacekeeping' troops. Cars slowed down, often causing traffic jams, to look at the pictures and read our signs. Motorists blew their horns in support for nearly three hours." - Report from a participant.
5
.
Durban, South Africa
-- A rally for
Haiti on 9/30 at the Saint Regis Building in Durban. The program opened with one minute of silence "to remember the fallen in the struggle for democracy since February 29, 2004" coup d'etat in Haiti. Participants joined in preparing a memorandum for presentation to Kofi Annan, to President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, and to the US, French and Canadian embassies in Pretoria-South Africa, highlighting the five demands of the Sept. 30 international actions (see below).
6
.
Sao Paulo, Brazil -- On the evening of 9/30 a large youth-oriented rally for
Haiti took place at the union hall of the Sao Paulo Municipal Workers Union. Organized with the participation of the Unified Black Movement (MNU) and young workers from the CUT labor federation, the event featured a Haiti-themed performance by a youth rap group. Rally speakers, including a representative of the Black Militant Commission associated with the Workers Party of Brazil, called for an end to the United Nations occupation of Haiti, withdrawal of Brazilian troops, and respect for Haiti's sovereignty. The rally was billed as "an integral part of the International Day in Solidarity with the Haitian people on September 30th."
7
.
Santiago, Chile
-- Mid-day picketing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 9/30
. A Committee for Haiti has been formed, with various organizations participating. According to one statement issued by protesters: "On September 30th activists... from various countries will come out together in solidarity with the Haitian people, currently suffering from one of the most brutal military occupations in the world, sponsored by the UN, the US, and certain Latin American governments such as Chile, Brazil and Argentina....Just like in the times of Pinochet, the Chilean military has shown the world that it hasn't lost its skills for torture, killing and kidnapping when it comes to facing social fighters....We are taking part in this protest out of a profound feeling of Latin American brotherhood, of working-class and popular unity...”
8, 9 & 10
. Ottawa -- Canadian labor activists organized a mid-day forum 9/24 on "Workers' Rights after the Coup in Haiti," with Paul Loulou Chery, Secretary General, Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH), Haiti's largest labor organization
....The activists then marched to Confederation Park, chanting End the occupation of Haiti; Liberez Pere Jean-Juste; and Liberez So'Anne
. Joining up with the big anti-war demonstration, they marched to Parliament Hill where Ottawa Haitian community leader Jean St.-Vil gave a fiery speech about the war on Haiti's people. At each stop of the anti-war march, as it moved through downtown to the US embassy, MC's referred to the situation in Haiti....On 9/30 a squad of activists did informational picketing and leafleting about Haiti in the Canadian capital.
11, 12 & 13
.
New York City -- A mass for
Haiti was held on the morning of October 1st at Holy Innocent Church in Brooklyn....Following the mass there was a march sponsored by Committee against Genocide in Haiti, beginning at the church, following Flatbush Avenue, and ending with a rally on Nostrand Avenue. Participants lit candles for victims of state-sponsored violence in Haiti, and held up enlarged pictures of maimed bodies hacked or shot by the UN or Haitian National Police....On 9/30 an evening Solidarity Encounter between Haiti, Dominican Republic and Venezuela was held at the Venezuelan Consulate, during which prominent speakers from the three countries elaborated on the theme: "Same History--Same Struggle."
14
.
Oslo, Norway -- A public meeting was held on 9/30 at Soria Moria, on the theme, "Stop the Black Holocaust"
.
15
. Benin, West Africa -- A vigil in
Benin vowed "to take up the message of September 30th and revive the flame of our friendship with Haiti." Benin supplies troops and police for the UN occupation of Haiti.
16
.
Dublin
,
Ireland -- Demonstration for
Haiti on 9/30 at Central Bank, Dame Street, Dublin. Protesters held up a large Haitian flag and signs in English and Irish Gaelic saying Stop the Terror in Haiti
. Organizers issued this statement: "On September 30, 1991, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown as President of Haiti by a coup d’etat, which brought in a regime of terror lasting three years. On February 29, 2004, he was overthrown by a second coup, organised by the USA, France and Canada. This coup was disgracefully endorsed by the Security Council of the United Nations. The same people who terrorised the people in 1991-1994 now form a 'transitional government'. They have not changed. They carry out arbitrary arrests, disappearances and massacres, unrestrained by the presence of United Nations troops. MINUSTAH, as the UN force is called, far from protecting the people, has been actively involved in the repression and terror."
17 & 18
.
Vancouver
-- Demonstration for Haiti on 9/30 outside the Main Library, chaired by a delegate from the Vancouver & District Labour Council. One banner said, RCMP Out of Haiti!, referring to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police which has been training and supplying the murderous Haitian National Police since the 2004 coup
. One speaker denounced the foreign occupation of Haiti "that has resulted in thousands dead, thousands of political prisoners, thousands in hiding or exile,” saying Canada and Prime Minister Paul Martin “are guilty of crimes against humanity - SHAME!!”. The president of Local 400, Internat'l Longshore & Warehouse Union, called on Canadians to “stand beside the heroic people of Haiti and their just cause of national independence and democracy”....On the evening of 9/30 there was a well-attended showing of the new Nicolas Rossier film Aristide and the Endless Revolution, to kick off the Vancouver International Film Festival
. In all, 400 people saw the film during the festival.
19
.
Brasilia, Brazil
-- A delegation of Congress members and leaders of the CUT labor federation went to
Planalto Palace in the Brazilian capital on 9/30. They made three demands of President Lula da Silva: Withdrawal of all Brazilian troops from Haiti…An end to the UN occupation of Haiti…Respect for Haiti’s sovereignty. [Lula is a former leader of the CUT, Brazil’s largest labor federation.] This was a follow-up to a CUT/congressional protest on July 21 in Brasilia, where they presented a letter to Lula denouncing the July 6 massacre in Cite Soleil by UN troops under Brazilian command.
20
. San Jose, Costa Rica -- On 9/30, an exhibition of photographs of
Haiti opened at the Colegio Universitario de Alajuela, in the Costa Rican capital, sponsored by the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress. Students were to put on a theatrical performance about the present-day reality in Haiti.
21
. Boston
-- Picket at the Haitian Consulate on the evening of 9/30
.
22
. Newark, NJ -- Noontime "Speak Out for
Haiti" 9/30 at the Federal Building. Some demonstrators gathered earlier at an assembly point, walking with signs through Newark streets to the speak-out.
23, 24 & 25
. France, Belgium, Switzerland -- Haiti committees in Belgium, Switzerland and France issued a joint statement: "Today Haitians worldwide join with the people of Haiti to condemn the bloody US-backed September 30, 1991 coup d'etat intended to destroy our people's march towards fulfilling our dream of social justice…
.It's been 14 years since September 30, 1991 which saw the reawakening of the powerful former slaveholders and their hatred of Haitian independence....Today, on September 30, 2005 -- 19 months and one day after the coup d'etat and kidnapping of February 29, 2004 -- 47 cities vibrate with one same refrain: Stop the War Against the Haitian People!
...Haitians abroad and in Haiti recommit this day to live free and, by any means necessary, to regain our sovereignty. Together we denounce the dictatorship and US/UN repression against the poor of Haiti. We commit to honoring our founding fathers and African ancestors, and fulfill our destiny as the pioneers of liberty-in-action in modern times. We call for a permanent mobilization of citizens of the world to stop the current re-colonization of Iraq and Haiti and for each people to be respected in their own lands."
26
. Los Angeles -- Mid-day rally & picket for
Haiti on 9/30 at the Brazilian consulate in Beverly Hills, organized by a broad coalition. Demonstrators lined Wilshire Boulevard, carrying signs and banners: No US/UN Rape of Haiti and Women Say:
Brazil Stop Leading UN Troops against the People of Haiti. One speaker said that in both
Haiti and New Orleans, racism and poverty are at the heart of the occupation and slaughter. A Beverly Hills cop threatened to confiscate the bullhorn that rally speakers were using, but the speak-out continued until all who had something to say were heard. A Brazilian official came outside to meet with them. U.S. State Department agents insisted on standing directly behind the Brazilian, supposedly “for his security.” It was obvious that the Brazilian representative was painfully embarrassed. His words were very measured and his main defense against charges that his government was assisting U.S. genocide in Haiti was “I’m not aware of these facts” and “Politics is very complicated.”
27 & 28
.
Montreal --
Haiti protest 9/30 at US Consulate General, noon to 3 pm.... On October 1, a showing in Montreal of the Katherine Kean film Rezistans, about the history of Haitian resistance
.
29
. Toronto --
Haiti meeting & film showing 9/30....Haiti workshop at Youth Action Conference.
30, 31 & 32
. Guadeloupe, Martinique and Dominica -- Trade unionists in these three neighboring Caribbean islands held a labor speak-out for Haiti in Guadeloupe on 9/30
....A statement issued by the Caribbean unionists declared: "On July 6, 2005 at least 50 civilian Haitians from Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince, among which a child of four, were literally massacred by the UN occuping troops, according to numerous concordant eye-witnesses....That is the situation in Haiti, the world's first black republic, 201 years after its declaration of independence on January 1, 1804." The Caribbean trade unionists joined Brazilian labor and political figures in addressing an appeal to Brazilian President Lula: "The Haitian people has to make its own decisions as to its destiny, free from all foreign intervention. Withdraw all Brazilian troops from Haiti now!"....A Caribbean labor conference in Roseau, Dominica, on July 30, including leaders of Union Generale des Travailleurs de Guadeloupe, called for "departure of all foreign troops from Haiti, whether under cover of the United Nations or not." They said: “In February 2004 the elected president of Haiti, Aristide, was kidnapped. This kidnapping was condemned by the CARICOM countries as a 'dangerous precedent' for the entire region. Then the first Black republic in the world was occupied by UN troops under Brazilian command that spread death and desolation.”
33
. Minneapolis and St. Paul
--
Haiti rally 9/28 on Lake Street Bridge, joining St. Paul and Minneapolis.
34
. Charlottetown, Canada --
Haiti meeting 9/29, Irving Theatre, University of Prince Edward Island.
35
. Hayward, California -- Vigil for
Haiti Sept. 29, at a busy intersection in Hayward.
36 & 37
. Portland, Oregon -- Film showing of Kevin Pina film Haiti: Harvest of Hope at the People's Food Cooperative on 9/28
....On 9/30 Portland Haiti activists conducted a "call-in", "fax blast" and "email blast" to contact US officials, MINUSTAH (UN) and Haitian government officials -- "calling for a end to political persecution, the return of Haiti's legitimate elected officials, release of all political prisoners, and for an end to the UN's role in supporting the illegal Interim Government. These things must happen before elections can take place."
38
. Enterprise, Oregon -- Vigil for
Haiti on 9/30 at the County Courthouse, sponsored by the Wallowa County Peace & Justice Network.
39
. Fredericton
(
New Brunswick, Canada) -- Haiti meeting Sept 27 at University of New Brunswick.
