[Peace-discuss] Fwd: HAITI ACTION ALERT: Aristide Under Lock & Key, U.S. Delegation Says

Mon Mar 8 10:17:15 CST 2004

The news just gets worse.

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>To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l at ala.org>
>Subject: [SRRTAC-L:13030] HAITI ACTION ALERT: 
>Aristide Under Lock & Key, U.S. Delegation Says
>Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 06:56:34 -0800
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>HAITI ACTION ALERT:
>Aristide Under Lock & Key, U.S. Delegation Says
>
>*take action to get the word out*
>
>Dear friends,
>
>We would like to encourage you help circulate the following press release on
>breaking news regarding the status of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand
>Aristide, who is being held virtually incommunicado on the instructions of
>U.S. authorities. We have established an easy-to-use system that will allow
>you to send the press release to the local and national media of your
>choice. This system also will allow you to send a brief customized message,
>if you would like, to the media outlet(s) you choose. By working together
>around the country, we can encourage and/or pressure the media to pursue
>this story.
>
>Thousands of people in Haiti have risked life and limb in recent days to
>demonstrate in Port-au-Prince in support of the return of the democratically
>elected president of Haiti and in opposition to the U.S. coup d'etat and
>occupation. Take a few moments to help circulate this press release to show
>solidarity with the Haitian people.
>
>Below is the press release, entitled "Aristide Under Lock & Key, U.S.
>Delegation Says." Below the press release is the link for the easy-to-use
>system that allows you to send out this press release to the media outlets
>of your choice.
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>-----------
>ARISTIDE UNDER LOCK & KEY, U.S. DELEGATION SAYS
>
>Contact: International Action Center,
>         New York: (212) 633-6646
>         Greg Dunkel or Deidre Sinnott
>
>March 7, 2004
>
>A delegation from the United States has arrived in the Central African
>Republic to meet with overthrown Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
>President Aristide was taken involuntarily to the Central African Republic
>following a U.S. coup d'etat on February 28. The group was granted visas on
>Thursday and Friday and departed the United States on Friday evening.
>
>The delegation includes Kim Ives from the Haiti Support Network, and Johnnie
>Stevens and Sara Flounders from the International Action Center. Ives,
>Flounders and Stevens are representing former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey
>Clark. Also on the delegation are Brian Concannon, acting in the capacity of
>President Aristide's lawyer; and Katherine Kean, a friend of President
>Aristide.
>
>Kim Ives, a personal friend of Jean-Bertrand and Mildred Aristide, said
>"This morning, the delegation went to the Palace of the Renaissance, the
>presidential compound where President Aristide is being held." Mr. Ives had
>spoken to the Foreign Minister on Thursday to inform him that the delegation
>was coming to the Central African Republic to meet with President Aristide.
>
>"We were stopped at the gates by a guard who contacted a Central African
>Republic official inside the building. A representative of the Central
>African Republic came out to speak with us," Ives reported. "We asked to go
>in to visit President Aristide and were told we could not. We asked if he
>could come out to see us, and we were told no. We asked if we could send in
>a note or our phone number, and we were told no. The official then told us
>that he had spoken with the Minister of Defense and that Aristide was not
>allowed to receive visitors."
>
>Mr. Ives also reported that he placed a call to the cell phone that the
>Aristides have been using to place calls to their friends, attorneys and the
>media. "Mildred Aristide answered the phone. I said, 'Hello Mildred, this is
>Kim Ives, we are here.' At that point, the phone line went dead. We have
>tried to call many times since then but there has been no answer."
>
>Brian Concannon is also a member of the delegation, acting in the capacity
>of President Aristide's attorney. Standing outside the gates of the compound
>where President Aristide is being held, Mr. Concannon requested to meet with
>President Aristide alone for a consultation. This was also denied.
>
>"The world has been told that President Aristide is free to come and go, and
>that he has simply chosen not to leave," said Sara Flounders of the
>International Action Center. "The fact that our delegation has been denied
>all forms of contact with President Aristide confirms, in fact, that he is
>being kept under lock and key, at this point not even able to communicate by
>phone."
>
>"The U.S. and French governments chose to take Aristide to the Central
>African Republic, a formerly colonized and impoverished country," said
>Johnnie Stevens of the International Action Center. "The Central African
>Republic, similar to many formerly colonized countries in Africa and around
>the world, has been isolated and underdeveloped because of the past policies
>of France, the U.S. and other colonial and neo-colonial powers. The U.S. and
>France should be paying reparations to the Central African Republic."
>
>____________________________________________________________________________
>___________
>
>HELP CIRCULATE THIS PRESS RELEASE TO SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH THE HAITIAN PEOPLE
>
>Click on the following link to send an e-mail to your local and national
>media outlets urging them to cover this important story:
>http://www.capwiz.com/votenowar/issues/alert/?alertid=5296001&type=ME
>
>After you click on the link, simply follow the easy-to-understand
>instructions. You will first enter your zip code and press "go." You will be
>taken to a list of media outlets. You can select the media outlets you want
>to send to and then choose "compose a message." You can then add your
>customized message (if you would like) and send the email.
>
>---------------------------
>
>Email circulated by:
>A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
>Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
>
>FOR MORE INFORMATION:
>http://www.InternationalANSWER.org
>info at internationalanswer.org
>Washington 202-544-3389
>New York 212-633-6646
>Los Angeles 213-487-2368
>San Francisco 415-821-6545
>Western Mass 413-538-8537/wmassiac at hotmail.com
>
>Sign up to receive updates (low volume):
>http://www.internationalanswer.org/subscribelist.html
>
>To make a tax-deductible donation, go to
>http://www.internationalanswer.org/donate.html
>
>-- END --
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-- 

Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
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tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
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