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Aristide: "People in the Canadian government have Haitian blood on their hands" |
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from Haiti Action Montreal
Entered into the database on Sunday, July 17th, 2005 @ 12:10:25 MST |
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Exiled Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide tells Naomi Klein: “People
in the Canadian government have Haitian blood on their hands”; Foreign Minister
Pierre Pettigrew denies reports of killings carried out by Canadian-trained Haitian
police Aristide transcript On June 20, Naomi Klein conducted an extensive interview with ousted Haitian
President Jean Bertrand Aristide for a forthcoming book. The interview took
place in Pretoria, South Africa, where President Aristide is living in exile.
For the first time, President Aristide spoke on record about the role played
by Canada in his February 2004 ouster and the tumultuous period since. The interview comes following last week’s Montreal International Conference
on Haiti, where a protester splashed the hands of Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew
with red paint at press conference on June 17. While Aristide was clear that
he did not condone such an action, he did tell Ms. Klein that due to its support
for the February 2004 coup that overthrew him and subsequent training of the
Haitian National Police, “some people in the Canadian government and the
Canadian army have Haitian blood on their hands.” For his part, Minister
Pettigrew continues to deny the widespread reports of killings of innocent demonstrators
carried out by Canadian-trained Haitian police. The following is an edited transcript: Naomi Klein: Pierre Pettigrew just hosted a summit on the
“transition” and some Haitian solidarity activists did an action
where they put some red paint on [Foreign Minister Pierre] Pettigrew’s
hands to symbolize that Canada has blood on its hands in Haiti. Does Canada
have blood on its hands in Haiti? President Jean Bertrand Aristide: Some people in the Canadian
government yes, they have Haitian blood on their hands…. But not Canada
as all the people of Canada or as one country…. I try to make a clear
distinction between the Canadian people who didn’t decide to have their
government going to Haiti… seeing Pettigrew and the others with the Haitian
blood on their hands. Klein: Whose blood is on the hands of the Canadian government?
Aristide: I met with Prime Minister Martin in Mexico [at the
Special Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, January 2004]… I have to
say that the conversation with Prime Minister Martin at that time was a good
one. I did not realize that he was so ready to follow the Americans’ agenda
but the fact is he did exactly the opposite of what I observed him saying in
Mexico at that time. The coup, or the kidnapping, was lead by the United States, France and Canada.
These three countries were on the front lines by sending their soldiers to Haiti
before February 29 [2004, when Aristide was overthrown], by having their soldiers
either at the airport or at my residence or around the palace or in the capital
to make sure that they succeeded in kidnapping me, leading [to the] the coup.
[Aristide then discussed the actions of the Canada-trained
Haitian National Police:] …Up to today, they continue to open fire on the Haitian people demonstrating
asking for my return -- like last May 18, more than 500,000 people were in the
streets of Port-au-Prince asking for my return. They didn’t open fire
on them at that time and they saw what the Haitian people could do – that’s
why they keep opening fire on them, to prevent them from having millions of
people demonstrating all over the country to ask for my return. So they still
kill the Haitian people through those thugs. When members of the United Nations
don’t open fire on the people, they have their thugs doing the job for
them -- through the police, former military, convicted drug dealers. That’s
why, unfortunately, we have to say yes, some people in the Canadian government
and the Canadian army have Haitian blood on their hands. Klein: What was your reaction when you heard about the protest
against Pettigrew? Aristide: I don’t encourage people to go against any
government in Canada or to go against the de facto government in Haiti. I encourage
them to resist in a peaceful way while they are asking for my return. Minister Pettigrew transcript Since July 2004, Canada has provided training for the Haitian National Police
(HNP). At the same June 17 press conference where he was splashed with red paint,
Minister Pettigrew was asked about the accusations that the HNP have been shooting
unarmed demonstrators in Haiti. This was his response, videotaped by Haiti Action
Montreal: Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew: Well you’re talking
about allegations that we do not accept. We have here the very chief of MINUSTAH
[the UN mission in Haiti], we have here the minister from the transitional government.
And you can pretend all kinds of things but what I can tell you is that I’m
very proud, very proud of the Canadian police contribution in the MINUSTAH led
by Mr. [Juan Gabriel] Valdez. I think the Haitian police is doing its very best
in extremely difficult circumstances, and obviously, obviously, Canada would
never condone any activity by which [unclear] would not respect the rule of
law. Of anyone. Q: So just to follow up, do you deny the reports in the international
press – Pettigrew: Well if you are referring to the study –
Q: In the Associated Press, in Reuters – do you deny
those reports, where journalists have had eyewitness accounts that they have
witnessed Haitian police killing unarmed protesters.* I just want to clarify…
Pettigrew: If they did, I have not heard of that. If you are
talking about the Miami University study** that is pretending all kinds of things
that might have been taken by some of the members of the press, I absolutely
think that it is propaganda which is absolutely not interesting. What interests
me is the future of Haiti, it is the future of Haitians, it is the progress
of democracy, and the progress of the rule of law. -- The press reports in question include the following: > • Miami Herald, March 1 2005: “Haitian police
opened fire on peaceful protesters Monday, killing two, wounding others and
scattering an estimated 2,000 people marching through the capital to mark the
first anniversary of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's ouster. The late-morning
disturbance, witnessed by U.N. peacekeepers and foreign journalists alike, lends
critics of the new government a powerful piece of evidence to back their allegations
that police are persecuting Aristide supporters. ‘I’m not aware
of any shots [fired] at the police,’ said Brazilian Navy Cmdr. Carlos
Chagas Braga, second in command of the peacekeepers. ‘Everything was going
peacefully. . . . We don't know why they came to disband the demonstration.'”
“Peacekeepers, whose orders are to support the police, stood by as the
attack occurred. The police quickly disappeared, leaving the bodies on the street.
‘When things like this happen we are in a bad situation,’ Chagas
added. ‘We are supposed to support the Haitian National Police. We cannot
fire at them.’” • Associated Press, March 24 2005: “Police opened
fire Thursday during a street march in Haiti's capital to demand the return
of ousted resident Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Witnesses said at least one person
was killed…. Several gunshots rang out as the demonstrators approached
the local police station, sending demonstrators fleeing. Protesters said the
shots were fired by an anti-Aristide street gang. The gunfire apoparently didn't
injure shooting [sic]. But a short while later, police began shooting as a group
of protesters reached a main avenue leading to the international airport, killing
one man, witnesses said. Associated Press reporters saw police firing into the
air and toward protesters.” • Associated Press, April 27 2005: “Police fired
on protesters demanding the release of detainees loyal to Haiti's ousted president
Wednesday, killing at least five demonstrators, U.N. officials and witnesses
said. Witnesses said Haitian police arrived as the demonstrators neared the
headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the capital of Port-au-Prince
and fired shots to disperse the crowd. U.N. mission spokesman Damian Onses-Cardona
confirmed that police opened fire on demonstrators but had no further information.
U.N. civilian police spokesman Dan Moskaluk said peacekeepers found five bodies….
The incident marked the third time in three months that Haitian police have
fatally opened fire on demonstrators in Port-au-Prince.” • Reuters, June 5 2005: “As many as 25 people
were killed in police raids on Friday and Saturday in the slums of Haiti's capital
after the government said it would get tougher on gangs, morgue workers and
witnesses said. Clerks at the morgue in the General Hospital said they had taken
in 17 bodies on Saturday and three bodies on Friday after the raids in Bel-Air
and other Port-au-Prince slums, centers of support for ousted President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide. A Reuters journalist also saw five other bodies in two different areas
of Bel-Air. Residents said the dead were shot by police and accused police of
setting slum homes on fire.” "… ‘The police arrived, they started shooting. There were
other people shooting too, but they managed to flee,’ said Ronald Macillon,
a Bel-Air resident. ‘The police killed a lot of people and set several
homes on fire,’ Macillon said. Several other witnesses gave similar accounts.
A spokesman for U.N. troops in Bel-Air, Col. Carlos Barcelos, told Reuters the
Brazilian contingent based in that slum did not take part directly in the raids,
but put up checkpoints and secured the outside perimeter. The Central Director
for the Administrative Police, Renan Etienne, told Reuters he could not say
how many people were killed or comment on allegations police set homes on fire,
as he had not yet received police reports.” ** University of Miami School of Law Centre for Human Rights,
“Haiti Human Rights Investigation: November 11-21, 2004”, http://www.law.miami.edu/news/368.html.
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