Feb. 29: Day of solidarity with Haitian people

This year, on the fourth anniversary of the U.S. coup against Haiti, solidarity demonstrations with the Haitian people’s struggle will take place in scores of cities around the world.

On Feb. 29, 2004, U.S. Special Forces kidnapped President Jean-Bertrand Aristide at gunpoint and flew him out of Haiti into exile. U.S. Marines then seized control of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and established a coup regime. Aristide had been extremely popular with Haiti’s vast majority, who are the poorest people in the Western Hemisphere.

Activities will take place this Feb. 29 in many countries, including the ones that sent troops to Haiti to replace the Marines: the U.S., Canada, France and Brazil. Their mission, which was OK’d by the U.N. Security Council, was ostensibly to “restore order”—that is, to make sure Haiti remained under the brutal rule of the elite and their imperialist patrons.

At a time when even prosperous countries are reeling from high energy prices, the people of Haiti are in greater agony than before. Hunger, unemployment and an almost total lack of public services have worsened with the imposition of IMF/World Bank economic policies. The jails are full of political prisoners, most from Aristide’s Lavalas movement.

The call for demonstrations this year, initiated by the Haiti Action Committee, lists several demands, including an end to the U.S./U.N. occupation, freedom for political prisoners, allowing President Aristide to return to Haiti and the bringing to justice of those behind the coup and subsequent massacres of the people.

For more information, go to haitisolidarity.net or haitiaction.net or call the Feb. 29th Organizing Committee at 510-847-8657.