Media Advisory
8 March 2005

International human rights activists push Canadian government to tell the
truth about Haiti

OTTAWA – Human rights activists will push the Canadian government to tell
the truth about Haiti at a press conference in Gatineau this Thursday, March
10, as Canada’s complicity in the coup against the democratically elected
Haitian government comes under increasing scrutiny.

The press conference features US-based human rights lawyers and Haitian
journalists.  Media are invited:

What:          Press conference:  “Human Rights in Haiti – One Year After the
Coup”

Who:          Ronald St. Jean, Haiti-based journalist
Brian Concannon Jr., US-based human rights lawyer
Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, Washington DC-based solidarity activist
Ronald Laborde, Montreal-based journalist, Haitian community activist
Anthony Fenton, Vancouver-based activist and journalist

When:        Thursday, March 10, 1:30 PM

Where:        Maison du Citoyen, Videotron Press Room, 25 Laurier St., Hull

Later that night, Haiti solidarity supporters will gather at the Tom Brown
Arena, 143 Bayview Rd. (corner of Scott St.), for a public community panel
featuring the above speakers.

The coup, led by “civil society” actors supported by the Canadian, US and
French governments one year ago, has led to a human rights meltdown in Haiti
where Canadian-assisted police are accused of committing widespread abuse
and summary executions.  Overseeing the police is the Haitian Ministry of
Justice, one of whose top officials has been on the payroll of the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA) for four years.


Contact:
Jean Saint-Vil, Ottawa Haiti Solidarity Committee (OHSC)
At: (819) 595-6967, jafrikayiti@hotmail.com