April 1, 2021.
Demonstrations continue in Haiti. (C. Sylvain)
To
the UN Secretary General, António Guterres
To the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis
Almagro
To
the governments of the member countries of the UN and the OAS
To the people of Haiti and their
organizations
Haiti is
once again going through a very deep crisis. At
present, a central element of this crisis is the struggle against the
dictatorship imposed by former President Jovenel Moïse.
Since last year, after decreeing the cessation of Parliament, he has
been ruling by decree, in permanent violation of the country's
Constitution. Thus, for example, he refuses to leave power
despite the fact that his mandate expired on February 7, 2021, claiming
that it ends on February 7 of next year, without any legal basis. He
does this despite multiple pronouncements
against it by the main legal bodies of the country, such as the CSPJ
(Superior Council of the Judiciary), the Federation of Haitian Lawyers
Associations, as well as religious federations and
numerous institutions representative of the society.
At
that time, there was also a strike of judicial officials which left the
country without any judicial body functioning.
At
the same time, this institutional crisis is part of an insecurity
that affects practically all sectors of Haitian society. An insecurity
that is expressed through savage repression of popular
mobilizations by the HNP (Haitian National Police) [in the service of]
the Executive, attacks on journalists, various massacres in popular
neighbourhoods, assassinations and arbitrary arrests
of opponents, detention of a judge of the Court of Cassation under the
pretext of fomenting an alleged plot against the security of the State
and to assassinate him, illegal and arbitrary
revocation of three judges of this Court, creation of hundreds of armed
groups that sow terror over the entire national territory and that
respond to [those who wield power], transforming
the kidnapping of people into a very prosperous industry for these
criminals.
The 13 years of military occupation by
the United Nations troops
through "MINUSTAH peacekeepers," as well as the operations [to prolong
a situation of] tutelage through the United
Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) and BINUH
(United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti) have aggravated the Haitian
crisis, supporting the retrograde,
anti-democratic and mafia sectors.
In addition,
they committed serious crimes against the Haitian
population and their fundamental rights (such as the introduction of
cholera) that deserve exemplary processes of justice
and reparation. The Haitian people paid dearly for the MINUSTAH
intervention: 30,000 DEAD from cholera carried by the soldiers,
thousands of women raped, who now have orphaned
children of living parents -- the soldiers who returned to their
countries. Nothing changed positively in 13 years, more social
inequality, more poverty, more difficulties for the people and
absence of democracy.
The living conditions of the
popular sectors have worsened
dramatically as a consequence of more than 30 years of neo-liberal
policies imposed by the International Financial
Institutions (IFIs), a severe exchange rate crisis, the freezing of the
minimum wage and an inflation rate of more than 20 per cent during the
last three years. It should now be emphasized
that, despite this dramatic situation, the Haitian people remain firm
and are constantly mobilizing to prevent the consolidation of this
dictatorship by demanding the immediate departure of
former President Jovenel Moïse. Recently, on February 14 and
28,
hundreds of thousands of citizens clearly expressed in the streets
their rejection of the dictatorship and their firm
commitment to the respect of the Constitution.
Considering
the importance of this struggle and that this
dictatorial regime still enjoys the support of imperialist governments
such as the United States, Canada, France and international
organizations such as the UN, the OAS, the EU and the IMF, we call to
listen to the people of Haiti who demand the end of the dictatorship as
well as the respect for their sovereignty and
self-determination and the establishment of a political transition
regime controlled by the Haitian actors that has enough space to launch
a process of genuine national reconstruction.
We
call on the UN and the OAS -- which certainly have neither the
right nor the moral right to interfere in elections and other internal
affairs of member countries -- and on the
governments of all countries, especially those that have lent
themselves to "occupy Haiti as humanitarians" for 13 years through
MINUSTAH, to stop behaving as if Haiti were their colony.
Enough of interference! Their duty is another: to ensure justice and
reparations for all the crimes they have committed against that people
and country, including the introduction of cholera,
rape and sexual abuse, the impunity of their electoral manipulation and
the use of "cooperation" for their own ends.
Only
the Haitian people can decide on their future, but in that
journey they can count on our solidarity and willingness to support
them with all the actions within our reach. We support
the people and movements of Haiti so that they can elect a popular
transitional government and a Constituent Assembly in a democratic way.
For a Free and Sovereign Haiti!
To
download the statement with signatories, click
here.
This article was published in
Volume 51 Number 4 - April 4, 2021
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2021/Articles/M5100412.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
