[CIMC-work] Haiti storyblock - 1st draft.

[DickReilly at aol.com]

Here the first draft. Will make revisions later this afternoon. Chris is 
working on audio and photo. Note the Democracy Now audio links.
-Dick

During the early morning hours of Sunday, February 29, Haitian President 
Jean-Bertand Aristide was forced into exile as rightwing paramilitaries stood 
poised to attack the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince. Within hours, US Marines 
landed in Haiti to consolidate the US orchestrated coup. According to one 
Reuters wire dispatch, U.S. security forces, armed to the teeth, stood guard as 
Haitian Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre was declared the new interim President. 

The following day, Democracy Now! confirmed in interviews with Congresswoman 
Maxine Waters (D-CA) [ Audio: ogg | mp3 ] and TransAfrica founder Randall 
Robinson [ Audio: ogg | mp3 ] that Aristide had been threatened by US diplomats 
and flown under heavy US guard to the Central African Republic. According to 
Waters, the diplomats reportedly told the Haitian president that if he did not 
leave Haiti, paramilitary leader Guy Philippe would storm the palace and 
Aristide would be killed. Robinson says he spoke to Aristide on a cell phone that was 
smuggled to the Haitian president. "He did not resign," Robinson asserts. "He 
was abducted by the United States in the commission of a coup." 

Attorney Lionel Jean Baptist is an alderman in Evanston's 2nd Ward, a civil 
rights activist, and a longstanding advocate for democracy in Haiti. Chicago 
IMC interviewed him Monday afternoon about the U.S.-backed coup that toppled 
Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide this weekend, and the conflict's roots 
in U.S. and European policy in the region. 

Baptiste is urging progressives from throughout the metro area to join 
members of the Haitian community this Saturday, March 6 at 11 AM at Federal Plaza, 
230 S. Dearborn to raise their voices in opposition to what many are 
characterizing as yet another undemocratic U.S.-backed regime change. 

Breaking News: Democracy Now! | SF Bay Indymedia 

News and Alternative Media from Haiti: 
Haiti Progres (Francais, Kreyol, English) 
Agence Haitienne de Presse (Francais, Kreyol, English) 

Related Links: 
Haiti Action Committee | Haiti Support Group | Batay Ouvriye Solidarity 
Network 
Background Info: Insurrection in the Making: A MADRE Backgrounder on the 
Crisis in Haiti


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