Green Party statement on Haiti

To members of Canadian Haiti Action Network, Haitian activists and the Haitian community:

As another anniversary of the 2004 overthrow of the democratically elected government of Haiti passes the Green Party of Canada, wishes once again to reaffirm our commitment to seek a resolution to the continuing political, social and economic crisis in Haiti and especially to speak out on how the international community, including Canada, continues to fail the Haitian people in their time of greatest need.

One day, hopefully sooner rather than later, the Canadian foreign policy fiasco that unfolded in Haiti over the last decade will be brought to the attention of all Canadians through a full and independent parliamentary inquiry. Canadians will be shocked and outraged that the Canadian government actively planned and participated in a regime-change exercise with U.S. and French authorities that led to the collapse of the democratically elected Aristide government. Then stood by and allowed the gross misuse of our foreign aid and in particular our military and RCMP training assistance, by the undemocratic appointed government of Gérard Latortue.

Canada's present Conservative government continues to add to our foreign policy failure in Haiti. The Green Party denounces any and all human rights abuses, unlawful arrests and detentions of Haitian citizens now and in the past.

We continue to endorse the democratically elected government of President Rene Preval and its efforts to build a government, economy and peace without outside interference or manipulation. Haiti's renewal must be on Haitian terms. The International community must listen rather than dictate.

We support all efforts at peaceful grassroots economic development and, as a future Canadian government, we would be prepared to provide, if requested, the funding and logistical support for a large-scale ecological reforestation and forest stewardship initiative for Haiti. This would not only create significant new employment, it would rebuild the forest cover/biodiversity of Haiti, reduce risk of flooding and landslides, create new economic opportunities over time and act as an important new carbon sink for the region. We would offer the same assistance to ensure food sovereignty and other grassroots development created by Haitians on Haitian terms. We would deliver this aid through a reformed Canadian foreign aid mandate rooted in grassroots development and partnerships that fully respect sovereignty.

Finally, we applaud any proposals by Haitian activists that promote truth and the pursuit of justice and/or reconciliation that assists Haiti, according to Haitian desires, to begin a process of collective healing and emerge from the violence of the past to hope for the future.

It is our sincere hope that a constructive and mature relationship can be built between Canada and Haiti in the very near future to replace the current dynamic.

We know that you will continue the fight for truth and justice for Haiti and the Green Party of Canada thanks you for your unwavering commitment and courage.

The second lesson is that "peacekeepers" can be used to wage a brutal class war. In the two years after the coup, UN troops regularly provided vital support for the Haitian police's violent assaults on poor communities and peaceful demonstrations demanding the return of the elected government. UN forces also participated directly in this violent political pacification campaign, launching repeated anti-"gang" assaults on poor neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince. The two most horrific raids took place on January 6, 2005 and December 22, 2006, which together left some 35 innocent civilians dead and dozens wounded in the densely populated slum of Cité Soleil (a bastion of support for Aristide). In April 2008 UN troops once again demonstrated that their primary purpose in the country was to defend the status quo. During riots over the rising cost of food they put down protests by killing a handful of demonstrators. (Kevin Pina's film Haiti: The UNtold Story, which will be shown across the country in the coming weeks, documents the chilling brutality of UN forces.)

Finally, Haiti provides an example of how self-described "progressive" Western government-funded NGOs function as an arm of imperialism. A sort of NGO laboratory, Haiti is a highly vulnerable society where NGOs have a great deal of influence. By one estimate, Haiti has the most development NGOs of any country per capita and the vast majority of the country's social services are run by domestic or foreign NGOs. Their influential position in Haiti provides a clear window into Western government-funded NGOs worst tendencies.