Rep. Waters keynotes meeting on Haiti
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Detroit
Excerpted from a Pan-African News Wire article
Speaking to a capacity audience at the Wayne State
University Law School Audi to rium on April 8, Congresswoman
Maxine Waters called for the return of ousted Haitian President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the Caribbean nation of Haiti.
"Let me make it clear. I support Presi dent Jean-Bertrand
Aristide and the people of Haiti," stated Congress woman
Waters.
The meeting was sponsored by the Michigan Emergency
Committee Against War & Injustice and the Ground Work for
Just World organization.
Congressman John Conyers of Detroit, the ranking member of
the House Judi ci ary Committee, co-sponsored the meeting and
welcomed Waters, who was accompanied by her husband, Ambas
sador Sydney Williams, who served as the United States envoy to
the Bahamas under the Clinton administration.
Ms. Waters described her trip to Haiti in January for the
200th independence day celebration. She pointed out that the
opposition forces to President Aristide attempted to sabotage
the ceremonies by staging violent demonstrations where they
burned tires to prevent guests from traveling in the nation's
capital and other cities throughout the country. When arriving
in the northern city of Gonaives, Waters and Ambassador
Williams were protected by the security forces accompanying
President Aristide.
"When we were planning to travel to Haiti, we were informed
by the State Depart ment that we should not go because they
could not guarantee our safety," said the Los Angeles based
representative who was the former chairperson of the Con
gressional Black Caucus. "Yet we made a decision to go anyway
despite the clear threats from the opposition to spread stories
that we were financed by Aristide."
Sara Flounders, co-director of the International Action
Center in New York City, helped lead a delegation to the
Central African Republic to demand to see the ousted President
Aristide in early March. Aristide was eventually allowed to
hold a press conference and leave the country to take up
temporary residence in neighboring Jamaica.
Flounders, who is co-editor of a new book on the history of
the country entitled "Haiti: A Slave Revolution--200 Years
After 1804," outlined over two centuries of blockades and
military interventions by both the United States and France
against the Caribbean nation.
At the WSU Law School, Flounders condemned the actions of
Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs Roger
Noriega, who she said had coordinated the coup against
President Aristide.
Congressman Conyers, who is the leader of the Congressional
Black Caucus Haiti Task Force, praised those in attendance,
saying "a new movement to support the democratic process in
Haiti has been born."
Others attending the meeting included Detroit Councilwoman
JoAnn Watson and Wayne County Clerk Kathy Garrett.
Representatives of the National Con ference of Black Lawyers
and the National Lawyers Guild were also in attendance. A
statement from the NCBL was circulated exposing the role of the
Bush administration in the overthrow of a
democratically-elected government in Haiti.
Reprinted from the April 22, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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