Fri Mar 29, 2024
March 29, 2024

Out with the UN troops from Haiti!

Terrible news have been leaking out recently revealing the character of occupation forces of the UN Blue Helmets in Haiti (MINUSTAH). On the night of 24th January during an attack ordered by the UN Security Council, 400 soldiers backed with helicopters penetrated the poorest neighbourhoods of Puerto Principe, the capital, with armoured cars and automatic guns of high fire potential. It is said that this attack caused at least 70 deaths and tens of injured, many of them children. (Rebelión, 10/02)


One of the most affected areas was Cité Soleil, where 300 000 live in conditions of extreme poverty. Not satisfied with murdering helpless inhabitants, the UN helicopters destroyed all the tanks providing water for the region. The MINUSTAH has large lories for transporting water but Haiti Information Project (HIP) disclosed that they hand the water over to private dealer who re-sell it and leave the population to walk several kilometres to get a bucketful.


This massacre is jus the continuity of the repressive action that MINUSTAH is carrying out in the country. This time it went so far that, apart from disclosures by human rights organisation, former American ambassador, James Foley, warned his government against “indiscriminate use of force on behalf of the UN”.


 


Colonial regime


 


Haiti is one of the poorest countries in America with economic-social indicators similar to those of the poorest regions in Africa. On that continent, the fate of the country and its population would probably be doomed to oblivion. But Haiti is part of the Caribbean, a key region for American imperialism, who considers it their “backyard”, where they are entitled to political and military interventions. The previous invasion of the marines took place in 2004 to defeat president Jean Bertrand Arisitide, a catholic priest who, in 1986, had achieved some standing in the poor neighbourhoods of Puerto Principe, during the struggle that pulled down the bloodthirsty dictatorship of the Duvalier.


This was how a colonial regime under military occupation was installed. Shortly after that, and so as to enable Bush to concentrate his military effort in Iraq, the marines were sent back home and replaced by the UN blue helmets (about 10 000 soldiers led by Brazil with the participation of troops from Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, among others. The intention was to disguise imperialist occupation by means of troops from the “brother countries2 from the continent.


In 2006, with the occupation in full force, also as a means to disguise the colonial character of the real situation, presidential elections were held. René Revail overtook the candidate supported by imperialism (Leslie Manigat) what meant – as a matter of fact – a defeat for imperialism. Apart from that, Haitian people moved to make sure that their candidate could take over. Both, the votes and the mobilisation signalled that there was great anger against occupation. Even though Preval is acting as the puppet of the occupation, resistance is still on.


 


The real reasons behind the massacres


 


The pretext used by the UN to justify this raid is “chasing bands of criminals” that act in the neighbourhoods. But these bands have the OK from the blue helmets and as often as not, they act as death squadrons against the activists who stand against occupation, and in complicity with MUNUSTAH.


The real reasons for these massacres perpetrated by the blue helmets is that rage against occupation has been accruing constantly and stated becoming manifest in mass actions against MINUSTAH and the Preval administration. For example: last 16th December as we can see of a HIP video “over 10 000 people moved in Cite Soleil chanting: ‘Down with Preval!’, and demanding the return of Aristide, the end of the military occupation and release of political prisoners.”. Similar demonstrations were held in other neighbourhoods of the capital and in several other cities in the country. Foreign press reports about the spreading of the Lavala movement, linked to the former president Aristide. In conclusion, the massacres are part of the effort to build up occupation and control the country against a situation that Le Monde (27/12) describes as “Chaos reigns in Haiti“.


 


Bush’s servants


 


We regard the fact that most of the MINUSTANI has been provided by the Lula, Kirchner, Bachelet and Tabaré Vázquez administrations particularly outrageous as well as the other fact that these troops are under the command of Brazilian General Jose Elito Carvalho Siqueira. Latin American peoples have a great historic debt of gratitude with Haiti, the first independent nation on this continent (as a result of a revolution by black slaves), gave shelter and financial aid to leaders of the struggle against Spanish colonisation as Francisco Miranda and Simon Bolivar. Now presidents of these countries, like veritable servants of imperialism pay off the debt by participating in the military invasion and a criminal repression of the Haitian people. Even the Evo Morales administration is part of this crime. Andrés Solís Rada, former Bolivian minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, reveals that Evo “blocked all attempt at preventing Bolivian troops from being sent to Congo and Haiti (Rebanadas de realidad, 19/1)


 


Drive MINUSTAH out


 


IWL-FI expresses full solidarity and support for the struggle of Haitian people against the occupation by MINUSTAH and to recover sovereignty of the country. We expose and repudiate these massacres as a new proof of the degree of cruelty imperialism can reach in defence of their interests. From this point of view, we fully agree with the statement emitted by the coordinator of the Democratic Haitian Committee in Argentina when they demand “the end of the massacres and immediate withdrawal of the MINUSTAH”.


We all on all the organisation that claim to be anti imperialist and democratic to carry out a united campaign of statements, rallies and demonstrations for these points, We call on all those who repudiate the invasion of Iraq to repeat the same unity in relation to Haiti for the fundamental fact (an imperialist occupation) is the same even if in Haiti it is disguised with blue helmets.


This campaign is especially necessary in such Latin American countries as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia to demand that their governments stop acting as Bush’s servants and withdraw their armed contingents. We very especially address the workers’ centrals in those countries (Brazilian CUT, Bolivian COB, Argentine CTA and the Uruguayan PTI-CNT) regardless their general position with respect to these governments to be an essential part of this campaign.


 


·         Out with MINUSTAH from Haiti!


·         Demand from Lula, Kirchner, Bachelet, Tabaré and Evo to call their troops back home now!


·         Long live the struggle of the Haitian people! 


 


Sao Paulo, 14th February 2007-02-17


International Secretariat


International Workers’ League – Fourth International


 


 


 


    

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