Haiti at least 40 Dead! Are we Paying Attention?, page 1

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Topic started on 8-2-2004 @ 07:25 PM by worldwatcher

In your opinion, do you think the United States is taking the right stance in matter of Haiti?
The Organization of American States and the U.S. Embassy issued statements denouncing the violence.
''All political changes, be they in Gonaives, in the North or elsewhere in Haiti, must be done peacefully and democratically,'' the OAS statement said. ``The response to violence is not more violence but the state's respect for law and human dignity.''
www.miami.com...

Now before you answer a simple yes or no answer, please take a few minutes to look at the situation in the collection of links and quotes provided.
*My opinion has not yet been formulated, but I do think the United States be should more vocal on the issues since this tiny nation is in our backyard. I am also curious about the relationship between President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the United States Government.

Death Toll now at 40 and officials counts are still not in.
ap.tbo.com...

Many Haiti watchers now fear a prolonged collapse similar to failed states like Somalia or Liberia - especially if the United States and the international community do not take a greater role in resolving Haiti's many problems.
Wracked by worsening poverty and political violence, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's government may be losing control over key areas of the country. Gonaives has been the scene of periodic violence since September, when a major figure, Amiot "Cubain" Metayer, was murdered. In the Central Plateau, another group known as the Motherless Army, composed of former army members, has carried out assassinations of government officials and sacked villages.

www.centredaily.com...

Looting in Haiti
- Hundreds of Haitians looted TV sets, mattresses and sacks of flour from shipping containers Sunday in this port town, one of several communities seized by rebels in a bloody uprising against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Using felled trees, flaming tires and car chassis, residents blocked streets throughout St. Marc a day after militants drove out police in gunbattles that killed two people. Many residents have formed neighborhood groups to back insurgents in their push to expel the president.

ap.tbo.com...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - An armed opposition group seized control of Haiti's fourth-largest city in clashes that killed at least four people, while the government vowed to restore order.

Members of the Gonaives Resistance Front on Thursday set fire to the mayor's home in Gonaives, 70 miles northwest of Port-au-Prince, then doused the police station with fuel, lighting it while officers fled, Haitian radio reports said.
www.sun-sentinel.com...
More on violence in Haiti:
www.cnn.com...
story.news.yahoo.com.../ap/20040208/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/haiti_unrest_040208155735
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
A radical Catholic priest who defended liberation theology, he worked among Haiti's poor and was part of a group of progressive priests who opposed the Duvalier dictatorship. He studied theology and sociology in Canada, England, Italy, and Israel, and was ordained in 1982. Expelled from his order in 1988 because of his revolutionary teachings, he became the candidate of a coalition of leftist parties in the 1990 presidential elections and was elected with an overwhelming majority. He was overthrown in a bloody military coup seven months after taking office, and went into exile in Venezuela and later the United States. Aristide was returned to power in 1994 with the aid of the U.S. army. He formally resigned from the priesthood in 1994 and married in 1996. In 1995, Ren� Pr�val was elected to succeed Aristide, who was barred from running; Aristide was again elected president in 2000.
www.factmonster.com...
"As a small crowd gathers, Saint Leger leads them in a chant: "Aristide, President! Aristide or death!"
www.progressive.org...
An official statement from State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker criticized the "serious irregularities" in Haiti's May vote count--a position that has a certain comic appeal today, in light of America's own contested Presidential election.
Participation in the November election was in dispute. Haiti's election commission cited a 60.5 percent turnout, a figure corroborated by a small, unofficial delegation of international monitors. The opposition, by contrast, claimed a 5 percent turnout, and the State Department--indicating its allegiance--agreed that there was a low voter turnout and called for "reconciliation among all sectors of Haitian society."

Haiti Travel Warning Issued 1/30/2004
travel.state.gov...

[Edited on 2-9-2004 by worldwatcher]

reply posted on 8-2-2004 @ 08:39 PM by worldwatcher

So many people have looked but no one has an opinion on Haiti??? WHY is that??

reply posted on 8-2-2004 @ 09:41 PM by TheBandit795

That's because such things very often get ignored. "Too far away from my crib" sort of thing. We have a huge amount of Hatians here on my island which is more than 200 miles south/south-east of Haiti. It remains a big problem there, but who's paying attention? They rather pay attention to Janet's boob.

reply posted on 8-2-2004 @ 09:43 PM by lilblam

Ooh guys did you check out big news? Janet's boob was exposed! Yes! All go to google and search for it!... sorry what was this post about again?

reply posted on 8-2-2004 @ 09:49 PM by worldwatcher

ty bandit, for posting

BUT Why is that? Also strange how Haitians get deported when they risk their lives to come here but Cubans stay. WE (America) pay more attention to Fidel Castro than we do the situation in Haiti...and the situation in Haiti is much worse than it is in Cuba.

Haiti is alot closer to the United States than most other places in which we have active involvement.

not funny lilblam, don't do it again.

[Edited on 2-8-2004 by worldwatcher]

reply posted on 8-2-2004 @ 09:57 PM by cyberpilot

I feel like if they need us and want us we should help...but then theres the deafening roar of those screaming there goes the us taking over another country.

reply posted on 8-2-2004 @ 09:59 PM by TheBandit795

That's why it should not be help from only one country, but from many countries.

reply posted on 9-2-2004 @ 06:24 AM by worldwatcher

I agree bandit, I don't think the USA should be the only country involved in Haiti, but I do think that as a superpower in this hemisphere the USA should be more vocal on the issue. Has the White House or Bush commented on the ongoing events in Haiti yet??

reply posted on 9-2-2004 @ 12:36 PM by worldwatcher

death toll in Haiti continues to rise as 9 towns now face uprisings.

As I continue my research on the relationship between Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the US Government, I ran across this:

The main rebel group is the Gonaives Resistance Front (search), formerly a gang of pro-Aristide toughs who terrorized government opponents but since have turned on the Haitian leader.

In Gonaives, they were joined by some former soldiers of the disbanded Haitian army. The rebels are being supported by residents who have formed neighborhood groups disgruntled by mounting poverty, corruption and political crises.
Anger has brewed in Haiti since Aristide's party won flawed legislative elections in 2000 and international donors blocked millions of dollars in aid. The opposition refuses to participate in new elections unless Aristide resigns; he insists on serving out the term that ends in 2006.
Aristide was elected in Haiti's first democratic election in 1990 then ousted months later by the army. He was restored to power in a 1994 U.S. invasion. He disbanded the army and replaced it with a small civilian police force that is accused of being trigger-happy and partisan.
www.foxnews.com...

reply posted on 9-2-2004 @ 12:53 PM by Seekerof

Whats the UN got to say on this matter? Why always the US and "its in the US's backyard"? Cuba is in the US's "backyard" also, so are some other countires.

People scream for the US to do something and yet! cry FOUL when the US does take action. Big freakin' Catch-22 to me....this topic headed that way? If not.....despite this being the US's "backyard", try the UN first and see what they have been saying or NOT saying and then ask WHY...maybe?

regards
seekerof

reply posted on 9-2-2004 @ 01:29 PM by worldwatcher

The UN, Caricom, OAS, and US are all taking the same stance of denouncing violence but we'll wait and watch and see.

why is it that we can sit back and watch the downfall of other countries but in other situations as in Iraq, we are proactive?

IF we (USA) placed Aristide in office with the assistance of the US Military, why are we are we not concerned that he is now being opposed by his once supporters?

Perhaps I worded my question wrong, perhaps I should have said IS THE WORLD PAYING ATTENTION?

SECRETARY-GENERAL REGRETS LOSS OF LIFE IN HAITI
The Secretary-General has been closely following the situation in Haiti and is deeply concerned about the increasing violence. Thursday�s events in the city of Gonaives constitute a further escalation in the violence that is affecting the country.

The Secretary-General regrets the loss of life and calls upon all Haitians to resolve their differences peacefully and through constitutional means. He underlines his full support for the efforts of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in seeking a solution to the current political impasse as well as the continuing work of the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Mission in Haiti.

reply posted on 9-2-2004 @ 03:42 PM by NetStorm

Originally posted by worldwatcher

IF we (USA) placed Aristide in office with the assistance of the US Military, why are we are we not concerned that he is now being opposed by his once supporters?

But it seems we (the USA) ALWAYS pick the wrong guys

Idi Amin Dada , Papa Doc ,(Haiti), Norriega, Sadamm, Ussama Bin Laden etc etc.
My question is...when will we learn?

reply posted on 9-2-2004 @ 03:46 PM by THENEO

Haiti is a quagmire. A former French colony, hopefully nobody ignores this fact, that has come under US influence but is one of the poorest places in the world.

Yeah somebody should do something, I think the French should help them, they have bleeding hearts and they cry at any little injustice caused by anyone that speaks english so let them fix' this problem.

reply posted on 9-2-2004 @ 03:52 PM by surfup

Originally posted by THENEO
Yeah somebody should do something, I think the French should help them, they have bleeding hearts and they cry at any little injustice caused by anyone that speaks english so let them fix' this problem.

French won't help in a million years, Haiti fought against French and got independence during Nap. era.

And I am pretty sure that French have taken that as an insult. It is upto the U.N. to go and help them.

reply posted on 9-2-2004 @ 05:23 PM by ultra_phoenix

Send the Russians or the Chicoms in Haiti. They'll put some order and nobody will dare to tell them anything.