NEW YORK
Haitians denounce singer's arrest
On May 24, Haitian activists and their
supporters demonstrated outside the office of the National
Coalition for Haitian Rights in New York. The NCHR, which
protesters denounced as a "U.S. State Department human rights
contractor," refused to speak out against the recent arrest of
popular Haitian singer and Aristide supporter Annette Auguste
(So' Anne).
The protesters chanted, "National Coalition: puppets!"
So' Anne's family, including a 5-year-old, were abused by
U.S. Marines during the arrest. Rather than protest this
injustice, the NCHR chimed in with its own flimsy charges
against So' Anne.
In response, Mario Dupuy, President Aristide's minister of
communications, and leaders of the Steel Workers Local 8751 in
Boston formed the New England Human Rights Organization for
Haiti.
In addition to demanding So' Anne's immediate release, the
organization is promoting the June 5 march on Washington
against the occupations of Haiti and Iraq.
The New York protest was called by the Coalition to Resist
the February 29th Coup d'Etat in Haiti. For more information,
call (718) 434-8100.
--Johnnie Stevens & Sara Catalinotto
Reprinted from the June 3, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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