Haiti in the spotlight

Karen Crump
03/31/04

ISLA receives news on Haiti from a variety of sources that we would like to share with you. Some of these sources are too biased to be credible and we have not included them here. Nevertheless, we have culled web addresses that reflect a broad range of viewpoints and, to their credit, often include information on issues largely eschewed by the mainstream press. One fascinating article we received recently documented Cuban medical aid to Haiti. The article is available for viewing at www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2004/CanadaPressCfc.doc.htm . Human Rights Watch posted “Haiti Security Vacuum in North” accessible at www.hrw.org/doc/?t=americas. The article focuses on journalists trying to cover the coup.

For a full-fledged Haiti web-site visit the Haiti Support Group site. According to the information on the site, the group was established in 1992. Their web-site has information ranging from cultural news and events, to current political coverage. You can also subscribe to their publication (archives on-line), “Haiti Briefing,” which tends to be thematic, delving into topics such as labor rights.  The Haiti Support Group’s web-site is located at www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org.

Haiti Reborn of the Quixote Center issues the Haiti Report, via email. The most current report, from March 20, 2004, included articles on Aristide’s arrival in Jamaica, the new Haitian government, disarmament and U.S. involvement in the coup. You can receive the Haiti Report by contacting Haitireport@haitireport.org.

Lastly, an interview with Camille Chalmers, Executive Secretary of PAPDA, arrived from Jubileo Sur. You can contact Jubileo Sur at jubileosur@wamani.org. ISLA will translate the Chalmer’s interview and post it in the Special Reports segment of our web-site.

Another country suffering from various forms of U.S. intervention is Venezuela. While ISLA’s monthly publication carried extensive coverage of U.S. involvement in the April 2002 aborted coup; coverage of the subtler forms of intervention currently underway is a rarity in the U.S. press. Exceptions are important and we advise people to take a look at a Wall Street Journal article appearing in our May 2003 issue. Most recently, an article by Frances Robles of the Miami Herald appeared in our February 2004 issue. He quotes one of the opposition pollsters as saying  “Chavez is pouring money on the streets. Meanwhile, the opposition has three million people in it’s pocket-…” Later, in an article from February 21, Robles elaborates on what else the opposition has in its pocket. Contrary to the stand alone image projected in his previous article, Robles now establishes that the Venezuelan opposition receives generous funding from the United States. Nevertheless, the Robles article pales in comparison to an article by Bill Berkowitz appearing on AlterNet.org. Berkowitz’s three-page expose provides some of the best documentation available on U.S. support for the Venezuelan opposition and can be accessed at www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?.itemid=16547.