A country in crisis: Why Haiti?
By Logan Martinez and Karen Reed
Green Party of Ohio and Haiti Solidarity Action

A friend recently asked "Why Haiti?" Why should we care about this little-known country, the land of Voodoo (Vodun) and place of mystery? I felt insulted that my friend should even ask the question, because I know some of Haiti's history, its central role in the struggle of African-Americans and its link to the mother continent of Africa. Haiti's slave rebellion was not surprising, but the fact that it was successful makes it unique.

In 1804, 60 years before emancipation in the United States, Haiti's slaves freed themselves, making Haiti the only country where this happened. Haiti became the second republic in the Western Hemisphere, after the U.S.

In Jan. 2004, Haiti was celebrating its 200th year of independence from France. Haitians were remembering past triumphs and tragedies and looking forward to better times. However, this year went on to become one of the worst for the people of Haiti and their struggle for survival and basic human rights, as the democratically elected government was overthrown.

This was the 34th coup in Haiti's troubled history. Haiti was invaded by the U.S. in 1915 and occupied for 19 years until 1934. Haiti has suffered great political turmoil, hurricane disasters and near environmental cataclysm. The forests that once covered the island of Hispaniola have been largely destroyed, which exacerbated the effects of last year's storms. The deforestation of Haiti and its effects are a warning to the rest of the world. The national Green Party has stepped forward to do our part.

There are clear signs of U.S. involvement in the coup. Early last year, hundreds of former Haitian military, some of whom may have been trained at the School of the Americas and supplied with U.S. arms, invaded from the Dominican Republic. After a reign of terror, the insurgents moved on the capital, Port-au-Prince. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, backed by U.S. Marines, pressured President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to resign. He and his family were flown to the Central African Republic. Aristide claimed the U.S. forced him out at gunpoint.

Numerous human rights organizations chronicle disturbing reports. The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti has interviewed surviving relatives of murdered family members. Their document gives specific information about the details of the circumstances of their deaths. The report reveals that morgue employees from the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince received hundreds of bodies in March of last year.

A new 51-page report by the University of Miami School of Law describes more recent violations and cruelty. The African Union, Caribbean nations, U.S. members of Congress, the Black Caucus and human rights groups continue to press for an investigation into the involvement of the U.S. and France. Also in need of investigation is the U.S.' role in Operation Jaded Task, the training and supplying of money and guns to the rebels.

The National Coordinating Committee of the Green Party has adopted a resolution in solidarity with the people of Haiti. The party has launched an effort to support democracy in Haiti and to promote national assistance for the Haitian people.

"We are pleased that this resolution passed, as we had anticipated," said Michele Tingling-Clemmons, co-chair of the Green Party's Black Caucus. "The Black Caucus has long asserted, as has the Green Party, the importance of support for true democracy and human rights in Haiti, the first democratic republic in the Western Hemisphere, beating by more than half a century the U.S.' recognition of the humanity of Africans and people of African descent."

The Green Party's goals are to build the broadest coalition of people here in the U.S. supporting the people of Haiti in their efforts to win freedom, to build a working relationship with Haitians, both those in Haiti and those living in the U.S., and to educate Americans about the role of our government in undermining democracy in Haiti.

Logan Martinez is a delegate from Ohio to the National Coordinating Committee of the Green Party and the presenter of the resolution on Haiti just passed by the CC. Karen Reed is a peace activist working with the Haiti Solidarity Action Committee out of Dayton, Ohio.

For more information, contact Logan Martinez at greensofwcohio@hotmail.com or 937-275-7259.

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