[R-G] Haiti Coup Anniversary: FEBRUARY 29TH ACTIONS PLANNED WORLDWIDE

[Anthony Fenton]

HAITI LIBERTE
"Justice. Verite. Independance
* THIS WEEK IN HAITI *
February 20 - 26, 2008
Vol. 1, No. 31
FEBRUARY 29TH ACTIONS PLANNED WORLDWIDE
by Kim Ives

Thousands around the world will mark the fourth anniversary of Haiti's
February 29, 2004 coup d'etat and foreign military invasion with picket
lines, marches and conferences.

"Four years after US Marines seized control of Haiti's capital and  
installed
a US-appointed coup regime, Haiti is still under foreign military
occupation, by a UN force that replaced the Marines in June 2004,"  
writes
the "Feb. 29th Organizing Committee" in a call to action for the Third
International Day in Solidarity with the People of Haiti. "It is an
occupation marked by rapes and wanton killings of the poor."

The "Feb. 29th Organizing Committee" proposes united actions for a  
"single
worldwide mobilization" around seven demands: 1) End the US/UN  
Occupation -
Respect Haiti's sovereignty; 2) Free the political prisoners - No more
illegal arrests or prolonged detention without charges; 3) No more  
killings
and sexual abuse of the poor by UN troops, police and paramilitaries  
under
police control; 4) President Aristide must be free to return to Haiti -
Respect the Haitian Constitution; 5) No more "disappearances" - Work  
for the
rule of law and the safe return of kidnapped Haitian human rights  
advocate
Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine; 6) Launch an independent inquiry into the  
February
29, 2004 coup and forced removal of President Aristide; 7)  
Perpetrators of
the coup and massacres of the poor must be brought to justice -  
Reparations
for the victims.

So far, actions are planned in 29 cities on four continents. In
Port-au-Prince, the National Cell for Reflection of the Lavalas  
Family Base
Popular Organizations announced a march and "series of other peaceful
demonstrations around the capital," beginning with a rally at 10 a.m. on
Feb. 29 at St. Jean Bosco, the church where former President Jean- 
Bertrand
Aristide used to preach.

In New York City, the New York chapter of the Lavalas Family party, the
Haiti Support Network (HSN) and KAKOLA called for a demonstration in  
front
of the Haitian Consulate at 271 Madison Avenue in Manhattan to call  
for the
removal of Felix Augustin, the Consul General appointed by de facto
authorities in 2004. The action will also call for the removal of  
Raymond
Joseph as Haiti's Ambassador to the U.S. and U.N. ambassador Duly  
Brutus.
All three officials were prominent actors in the campaign to  
overthrow Haiti's
elected government in 2004. "We are calling for the firing of all the
putschists and Macoutes who still run Haiti's consulates and embassies
around the world," the groups said in a Feb. 19 press release.

In Miami, the community organization Veye Yo will organize a large rally
outside its hall on N.E. 54th Street, in the heart of Little Haiti.

In Dublin, Ireland, the Latin America Solidarity Center is organizing a
demonstration. On Feb. 7, 2007, it picketed outside the Brazilian  
embassy.
Brazil leads and has the largest contingent in the occupation force  
known as
the U.N. Mission to Stabilize Haiti (MINUSTAH).

In Durban, South Africa, there will be a rally and showing of a film  
about
the coup and current situation in Haiti, organized by the Abahlali Shack
Dwellers Movement.

International Days in Solidarity with the People of Haiti we held  
previously
on September 30, 2005 and February 7, 2007.

"Although a new President Rene Preval was elected in 2006, most
functionaries from the US-installed coup regime of 2004-06 remain in  
office
today," writes the Feb. 29th Organizing Committee. "And the reins of  
power
remain effectively in the hands of the US Embassy and other foreign
occupation forces. Let us not forget that 200 years before the 2004  
coup,
Haitians rose up and overthrew both slavery and colonial rule. The  
Haitian
Revolution was an earth-shattering development in the struggle for the
emancipation of labor all over the world, and remains our shining  
example.
Now, when the enemies of freedom and sovereignty are attempting to
re-colonize and re-enslave Haiti, we need to act in solidarity with our
Haitian brothers and sisters, in the spirit of their resistance."

To contact the Feb. 29th Organizing Committee with a question or event
listing, call 510-847-8657 or email feb29 at sonic.net.

All articles copyrighted Haiti Liberte. REPRINTS ENCOURAGED.
Please credit Haiti Liberte.