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International Tribunal on Haiti's Commission of Inquiry

Report from International Tribunal on Haiti's Commission of Inquiry


A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
www.answercoalition.org

Subscribe: http://www.pephost.org/site/R?i=ZcRPgjeOrV5Rq0iB4PsgIg..

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INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL ON HAITI'S COMMISSION OF INQUIRY
END THE OCCUPATION!


In its call for the September 24 mass antiwar demonstration, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition raised the slogan "End Colonial Occupation from Iraq, to Palestine, to Haiti, and Everywhere" in addition to the demand, "Bring the Troops Home Now, Stop the War in Iraq." A significant delegation from the Haitian community participated in the September 24 demonstration in Washington, D.C. The International Tribunal on Haiti's Commission of Inquiry held its first meeting in Washington, DC on Friday, September 23, on the eve of the antiwar protests.

The Bush administration overthrew the democratically elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and imposed an occupation force and puppet government in Port-Au-Prince. The people in Haiti, like the people in Iraq, have been targeted by Bush's war for empire. They are heroically resisting the U.S., French, and U.N.-sponsored occupation. From the point of view of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, standing in solidarity with the Haitian people is a fundamental task of the U.S. antiwar movement.

Kim Ives, a journalist with Haïti Progrès and member of the Haiti Support Network (HSN), which sits on the A.N.S.W.E.R. Steering Committee, traveled to Haiti from October 6 to 11 as part of the International Tribunal on Haiti's Commission of Inquiry. The Commission was dispatched to gather evidence of and testimony about new massacres and other crimes against humanity committed in Haiti since Feb. 29, 2004, when U.S. soldiers kidnapped elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and flew him into exile.

Led by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, the Commission of Inquiry was announced at the opening session of the International Tribunal on Haiti held in Washington, DC on Sept. 23. The next session of the Tribunal will be held at Suffolk University in Boston on November 19, 2005.

The Commission met with over 50 witnesses who told of massacres, summary executions, torture, arbitrary arrests and many other human rights abuses being carried out by Haitian police and foreign occupation troops. The Commission also interviewed Haitian National Police (PNH) director Mario Andresol as well as a high-ranking officer in the U.N. Mission to Stabilize Haiti (MINUSTAH).

The new testimony gathered is expected to lead to new indictments. The Tribunal has already indicted 21 individuals of the PNH, MINUSTAH, former "rebels," and U.S., French and Canadian armed forces. Those convicted will be sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, for international criminal prosecution.

During its stay, the Commission met primarily with eye-witnesses and the relatives of victims of massacres in Cité Soleil, Belair, Nazon, Solino, Carrefour, Canapé Vert, Pernal, and Belladère. Hours of testimony and evidence were videotaped, photographed and recorded.

At a Port-au-Prince press conference just before leaving Haiti, Commission members explained the origin and mission of the International Tribunal on Haiti, read from the prosecution's indictment, and gave some idea of whom they had been meeting with and what they were investigating.

Delegation leader Ramsey Clark condemned the "terrible police and military violence against the people of Haiti" in the framework of the Feb. 29, 2004 coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. "It is absolutely imperative for the future of Haiti and to peace on earth that there be accountability for these crimes," he said. "If international forces under the auspices of the United Nations can come to Haiti and engage in systematic summary executions of its people, what place on earth will be safe from that power?"

"The truth about the actions of U.N. military forces and Haitian police acting in cooperation with their own gangs, which commit Murder, is essential to the future of this country," Clark said.

To read a report from the Commission of Inquiry, click here:
http://www.pephost.org/site/R?i=hJYUmMXy950KgUf15ynoTg..

To read Ramsey Clark's entire statement, click here:
http://www.pephost.org/site/R?i=ukIH0yZfyRn1J1m49orLeg..

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HELP SUSTAIN THE WORK OF THE ANTIWAR MOVEMENT BY MAKING A DONATION

By making a much needed donation, you can help the antiwar movement to continue to grow in the crucial weeks and months ahead. With the great success of September 24, it is clear that we have the ear of the U.S. public. Now is the time to deepen our educational work, and truly spread the word. The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition is distributing 100,000 copies of a new four-page broadsheet that makes the connection between the Iraq war and the Bush administration's criminal negligence in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The literature also informs people about a host of other issues, including Palestine and Haiti. We are circulating petitions in cities and towns around the country with the demand, "Bring the Troops Home Now." Please take a moment to make a generous to the antiwar movement as we move forward with this essential work, by clicking here:
http://www.pephost.org/site/R?i=A5k8HeazomCyA4tJSSN36g..

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A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
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posted by Annamarie at 8:09 PM