[R-G] fwd: Support Hunger Strike by Celebrities for Disappeared Haitian Activist

[Anthony Fenton]

Support a Hunger Strike by Celebrities for Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine

On Tuesday, November 13th, Danny Glover, Martin Sheen*,  Ron Kovic*  
and others will participate in a  24 Hour Fast for the safe return of  
Haitian human rights activist  Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine. The fast will  
be held outside of the Brazilian Consulate in Beverly Hills in order  
to put pressure on the Brazilian government to exercise its lead role  
in the UN occupation of Haiti to locate Lovinsky.
What You Can Do:
Signing the petition: http://www.petition online.com/ august/ 
petition. html, circulating it in your networks

Contacting your local press or media to tell them about the fast in  
Beverly Hills and the campaign to bring Lovinsky back

Call your own solidarity fast or vigil where you are

Organizers of the Fast:
Coordinated by the Ad Hoc Working Group on Haiti which includes:  
ANSWER Coalition, CISPES/LA, Coalition in Solidarity with Haiti,  
Global Women's Strike/LA, International Action Center, and the
Pan African Activist Coalition. For info call 323-276-9833; email:  
la at crossroadswomen. net.
websites: www.haitisolidarity .net; www.HaitiAction. net;  
www.globalwomenstri ke.net


Background Info:
Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, the internationally respected Haitian human  
rights activist, disappeared in Haiti on the evening of 12 August. He  
is an extraordinary grassroots organizer beloved by his community,  
and a leading advocate for the poor, including street children,  
teenage mothers and victims of torture. Please urge the Brazilian  
government which plays a key role as head of the UN forces  
responsible for law and order in Haiti since the 2004 coup, as well  
as the governments of the US and Canada which are also key figures,  
to do all in their power, including making resources available to  
ensure Lovinsky's immediate and safe release to his family and the  
community who need him.


We all owe a great debt to the Haitian people. Haiti holds a special  
place in the hearts of many. As the first Black republic, Haiti led  
the way for the emancipation of those enslaved everywhere; it was a  
refuge for Simon Bolivar, the liberator of Latin America, and Haitian  
troops fought alongside him. The spirited and principled  
determination of Haitian people and their refusal to bend to the  
powerful forces which have tried to keep them down, have been and  
continue to be an inspiration throughout the world but especially to  
those of us who work to defend human rights. Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine  
personifies the Haitian spirit which refuses to submit despite all  
the odds.
Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine is co-founder of Fondasyon Trant Septanm, an  
organization formed by family members and others concerned about the  
victims of the 1991 coup in Haiti. Similar to the work of  
internationally renowned Mothers of the Disappeared in Central and  
South America, for over a decade, the September 30th Foundation held  
weekly vigils demanding justice for victims of human rights  
violations and for the release of political prisoners. Lovinsky was  
co-founder of Fondasyon Kore Timoun Yo (Foundation for the Support of  
Children) for young street children in Port au Prince, FAM (Foyer  
pour Adolescentes Mères), a center for teenage mothers, and Map Viv  
("I Live"), a program designed to give medical and psychological aid  
to the victims of the 1991 coup. His present community-based human  
rights organization Fondasyon Trant Septnm grew out of the work of  
those earlier efforts.