The UN is a by-product of a murderous war started by European powers
vying for supremacy. It has become the epitome of what it was set up, in
theory, to eradicate: the predatory behavior of powerful entities.
Haitians should now review their membership.
 |
Haitians demonstrate on Sept. 23, 2011 in Port-au-Prince against the UN
mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH.)
They protested against the alleged sexual
assault of an 18-year-old man in Port-Salut by Uruguayan
Peacekeepers.
Haitians also blame UN Peacekeepers of a cholera outbreak that began
in 2010. |
By Max A. Joseph
The UN has extended the presence of its deeply resented occupation force in Haiti for another year. Progressive forces need to organize in a global solidarity campaign to end the occupation and to restore the right of self-determination to the Haitian people.
"In
overthrowing me you have cut down in Saint Domingue [Haiti] only the
trunk of the tree of liberty; it will spring up again from the roots,
for they are many and they are deep." —
Toussaint L’Ouverture
The people of Haiti have been living under a military occupation for
over ten years by way of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in
Haiti (MINUSTAH). However, this military imposition has not generated
sustained organizing and mobilizing of resources from anti-war,
Pan-Afrikanist/nationalist, socialist, trade unions, international
solidarity activists, organizations or movements located in the
imperialist centres of Europe and North America.
It is critically important for Western-based progressive forces to
question themselves on the reason behind their failure to challenge the
military occupation as an imperialist assault on the labouring classes,
and as an attempt to prevent the emergence of a non-capitalist
development agenda in Haiti. Where is the required and expected
solidarity from these activist groups or social movements?
The Guinea-Bissau/Cape Verde revolutionary adult educator, theoretician, military strategist, and practitioner
Amilcar Cabral calls for a solidarity from the global North that is based on mutual interest and a
“common enemy”:
‘If, as would seem from all the evidence, imperialism exists and is
trying simultaneously to dominate the working class in all the advanced
countries and smother the national liberation movements in all the
underdeveloped countries, then there is only one enemy against whom we
are fighting. If we are fighting together, then I think the main aspect
of our solidarity is extremely simple: it is to fight – I don’t think
there is any need to discuss this very much. We are struggling in Guinea
with guns in our hands, you must struggle in your countries as well – I
don’t say with guns in your hands, I’m not going to tell you how to
struggle, that’s your business; but you must find the best means and the
best forms of fighting against our common enemy: this is the best form
of solidarity.’
On the question of MINUSTAH’s occupation of Haiti, it would be hard for
peace and global justice organizations to declare that they are using
the “best means and the best forms of fighting” to end the 10-year
military intervention scheme by the United States and its allies, and
the United Nations. On October 14, 2014, the United Nations Security
Council unanimously voted to
extend the presence
of the occupation force for another year. It was done without
significant mobilization and opposition from peace, global justice and
international solidarity activists and organizations.
The people across the world who are committed to the self-determination
of oppressed peoples should work to ensure that this imperial military
mission ends before October 15, 2015. Some members of the public might
be puzzled by the triggering event(s) that led to the occupation.
The reformist or populist government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and
Fanmi Lavalas
were committed to pursuing economic and social policies that opposed
the unfettered neoliberal capitalist agenda of Canada, the United
States, and France, international financial institutions such as the
World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the local
Haitian elite.
In spite of the hostility to the developmental agenda of Aristide by local elite and certain Western states, and the
channeling of development funds and economic aid through non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
instead of the Haitian state, positive developments were made in the
areas of education, healthcare, economic justice, infrastructure
development, women’s rights, the status of children, and official
recognition of the indigenous religion
Voudou. The economic and social outcomes of the administrations of Fanmi Lavalas from 1994 to 2004 are captured in the booklet
‘We Will Not Forget: The Achievements of Lavalas in Haiti.’
However, the unholy alliance of Canada, France, and the United States
met in Ottawa on January 31, 2003 and February 1, 2003 and resolved to
engineer a
regime
change in Haiti[/url=]. On February 29, 2004, a coup, facilitated by
the George Bush regime in Washington and his allies, was effected
against the democratically elected government. President Aristide has
consistently claimed that he was
[url=http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5794.htm]kidnapped and forced into exile in the Central Afrikan Republic by armed personnel of the government of the United States.
Washington and its allies imposed an occupation force the Multinational
Interim Force on Haiti, which was replaced by MINUSTAH in June 2004.
MINUSTAH has played an active role in forcefully suppressing the
resistance of the pro-Aristide and pro-Fanmi Lavalas majority. The
occupation has brought suffering to the labouring classes in Haiti.
MINUSTAH
serves as a cover for the agenda of economic exploitation and political subjugation of the masses, and the
geo-strategic and economic interests of the United States and its partners.
People of good conscience have no other option, but to build campaigns
in their cities and towns to force the withdrawal of MINUSTAH from
Haiti. MINUSTAH’s
documented cases of abuse and wrongdoing against the people of Haiti provide the moral and political justification for an end to this occupation.
International solidarity, peace, and global justice organizations and
movements need to undertake practical steps in their communities and
countries to force an end to MINUSTAH’s military occupation. Below are
some concrete actions that might be used in organizing campaigns against
the occupation, and support the self-determination of the working-class
and rural communities in Haiti.
ORGANIZE A BROAD-BASED GROUP: If the convenors of the initial
organizing meetings are interested in developing a broad-based
anti-occupation/MINUSTAH campaign to educate and mobilize opinion in
their city or town, the call for action should be directed at a wide
range of progressive individuals and organizations that are interested
in international solidarity, global justice, anti-war activism, Afrikan
affairs, alternative development, and anti-imperialism. By casting their
outreach net widely, they will be able to reach into the multiple
constituencies that are present in the community.
PREPARE WORKSHOP AND LECTURE PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC EDUCATION
MATERIALS: In winning extensive support within the local community and
across the country for the termination of the United Nations’ occupation
of Haiti, the campaign will need to methodically carry out public
education and awareness activities. The anti-occupation projects could
prepare PowerPoint presentations and workshop curriculums on a range of
topics such as (1) “the Haitian Revolution and its Contribution to
Freedom in the Americas”; (2) “How France, the United States and the
Colonial Powers Underdeveloped Post-revolutionary Haiti”; (3) “The 411
on the Military Occupation of Haiti by MINUSTAH”; (4) “The Nuts and
Bolts of Building the Campaign to End the Occupation of Haiti”; (5)
“Why the West Fears the Haitian People’s Struggle for
Self-determination”; (6) “Practical People-to-People Solidarity Actions
with Haiti’s Grassroots”; (7) “Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Fanmi Lavalas and
Social Reform in Haiti”; (8) and “The Strategic Value of Haiti to the
United States and its Allies.”
The development of prepared presentations would make it easier to
communicate a consistent message to the public. It would also make it
easier to train a large pool of organizers to become workshop
facilitators and public speakers on the subject of the military
occupation and other relevant topics on Haiti. The campaign will need to
develop public educational materials in the form of fact sheets,
brochures, pamphlets, and videos.
DIVERSE POOL OF FACILITATORS OR ANIMATORS: The task of going out
into the community and across the country to educate the people about
MINUSTAH and the neoliberal capitalist agenda needs a lot people.
Therefore, this international solidarity project should train and
develop a diverse pool of facilitators or animators, and public speakers
to educate, mobilize, and organize the people against the occupation
and its conservative agenda. The people who do this educational work
ought to reflect the demographic characteristics in the broader society.
In communities where Haitians are present, the campaign should strive
to have this section of the community as active participants in all
levels of the campaign.
TARGET MEMBERSHIP-BASED ORGANIZATIONS: In order to build mass
support within the community and across the country, give strong
attention to speaking before membership-based groups such as trade
unions, professional associations, faculty associations and unions,
community-based organizations, religious groups, student unions,
students in high schools, colleges and universities. The aim of this
tactic is to inspire members to include the campaign to end the
occupation as a part of the organization’s ongoing organizational
activities. Many member-based organizations, especially those paying
dues, have human and other resources to execute international solidarity
or global justice work. These membership based organizations are
potential financial and in-kind donors to the campaign.
ENGENDER ANTI-OCCUPATION STUDENT CLUBS: The campaign should seek to
work with global justice or international solidarity student organizers
to form “End the Occupation of Haiti” student clubs on high school,
college, and university campuses. Students were important allies in the
fight against settler-colonialism/apartheid in Azania/South Afrika as
they are now in the boycott, divestment and sanctions
([url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.610949]BDS[/url=])
movement against Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Students have the
time, access to financial resources, and skills and knowledge that can
be used to create public awareness and opposition to the occupation of
Haiti.
KEY THRUST OF THE MESSAGE: It should be emphasized in the campaign’s
messaging that the forces that are opposed to the public provision of
education, health care, and social services, government ownership of
public utilities and other commercial enterprises, and a livable minimum
wage in Haiti have a similar agenda in global North countries. The
agents of the neoliberal capitalist project in Canada, the United
States, and Europe lobby for reduced government spending on
post-secondary education, tighter eligibility rules for unemployment
benefits, private sector provision of childcare, lower taxes on profits,
wealth, and higher income, and the general retreat of government from
providing adequate social welfare programmes.
Drive home the message to the public that neoliberal capitalism in Haiti
and the global North is contributing to social and economic hardship to
the people who sell their labour to the captains of industry and
commerce in exchange for wages, or are dependent on income security
programmes. The labouring classes in Haiti and the global North are
fighting “one enemy” as Cabral would have it. In the words of
Brian Latour,
“given the rise of neoliberal globalization at the hands of the forces
of international capital – global capitalism requires a global response,
and international solidarity is necessary for global resistance.”
USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS: Social media platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have emerged as significant communication
instruments for the sharing of information with the public. The
campaign should use social media to inform and educate, but most
importantly the overarching goal ought to be focused on inspiring people
to join the campaign or participate in or support its public activities
or actions.
CONSTANTLY WRITE ABOUT HAITI: The campaign ought to undertake
measures to produce a steady stream of articles on Haiti that highlights
the negative impact of the occupation, and the ways in which the
current neoliberal capitalist social and economic policies are affecting
the lives of Haitians. The campaign should make an effort to develop an
in-house stable of writers as well as pitch story ideas to sympathetic
writers who cover global justice, human writers, and international
solidarity issues.
HOST FILM SERIES: Many people love to learn or acquire information
visually by way of films or videos. The hosting of periodic film series
on Haiti over a weekend or four consecutive Fridays or Saturdays would
be a way to build awareness of the occupation, the Haitian Revolution,
women’s labour and the sweatshops, the 1991 and 2004 coups against
Aristide and Fanmi Lavalas, and the struggle of Haitians for
self-determination. The screening of a film could be coupled with a
panel discussion or a guest speaker so as to direct participants’
attention to what must be done to fight the occupation and the
neoliberal capitalist agenda. A film series may be used to recruit new
participants into the campaign, as well as raise funds to execute its
activities.
BUILD AWARENESS OF UN’S CHOLERA DEATHS: The campaign ought to
highlight one of the most prominent cases of the negative impact of the
occupation on the lives of Haitians. The United Nations has steadfastly
refused to
accept legal liability
for the cholera tragedy. In October 2010, MINUSTAH’s soldiers dumped
untreated sewage into the Artibonite River, and it led to the
introduction of cholera in Haiti. To date, there are over 9,000 deaths
and over 750,000 cases of infection. This MINUSTAH disaster may be used
to rally support for the
class action lawsuit
levied against the UN by the Institute for Justice and Democracy in
Haiti. The refusal of the UN to accept responsibility for the cholera
outbreak could serve as an indictment of the occupation.
TARGET AND RECRUIT OPINION LEADERS: The campaign should strive to
win the support of individuals and organizations that have the capacity
to influence public opinion to endorse the call for the withdrawal of
the occupation force. This course of action by opinion makers and
thought leaders might lead to people gaining awareness of MINUSTAH,
embracing an anti-occupation outlook, or inspiring active involvement in
the campaign. The value of opinion makers to a cause may be gleaned
from the response to critiques by public notables and celebrities of
Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu’s
public characterization of the oppression of Palestinians as being
similar to
that imposed on Afrikans under apartheid in South Afrika might have
positively influenced or changed minds on the Palestinians’ struggle for
self-determination.
DEVELOP MEDIA WATCH CAPACITY: In order to maintain a vigilance on
how the occupation and news out of Haiti are being framed in the
mainstream media, a “Haiti Media Watch” function ought to be developed
within the campaign. The committee would develop the ability to swiftly
and accurately respond to stories in newspapers, on television and
radio, as well as on social media outlets. It is critically important to
link news coming out of Haiti to the United States and its allies’
desire to impose the neoliberal capitalist agenda on Haitians, and the
demand for the withdrawal of MINUSTAH.
ORGANIZE SPEAKING TOURS: It is necessary to organize speaking tours
on the occupation and the neoliberal capitalist agenda in Haiti. The
facilitators and speakers involved in the campaign would be the main
people called upon to speak to organizations or do workshops. The
campaign may also put together speaking tours with speakers directly
from Haiti to educate and raise the awareness of the situation inside
the country. Religious groups, faculty associations or unions, student
organizations, and trade unions are ideal candidates to cosponsor
speaking tours with international speakers from Haiti or Haitian
activists who are in exile.
MOBILIZE THROUGH PROTEST ACTIONS: The anti-occupation organizing
group may use important anniversaries connected to the coups of 1991 and
2004, significant moments in Haitian history, and dates that are
relevant to the occupation to organize marches, demonstrations, rallies,
and teach-ins. Public protest actions are ways to demonstrate the level
of community or public support for the withdrawal of MINUSTAH’s
occupation force.
PICKET OFFICIALS FROM MINUSTAH CONTRIBUTING STATES: Officials from
states that contribute military or police personnel to MINUSTAH should
be picketed when they visit countries with anti-occupation campaigns. It
is fundamentally necessary for these states to know that people of good
conscience are demanding the withdrawal of their contingent of troops
or police. It is also a way to inform or remind the public that a
military occupation is in effect against a people who would love to
freely and democratically elect the party of their choice.
PHONE-IN AND FAX-IN PROTEST: Coordinated protest action in the form
of phone-in or fax-in may be used against consulates and embassies of
states that are participating in the occupation. This type of protest is
aimed at reinforcing the call for an end to the occupation, and
disrupting the operation of the consulates and embassies. It could be
done in tandem with informational leafleting or picketing at the
respective locations of these official bodies of states that enable
MINUSTAH’s occupation.
FORCE HAITI ONTO THE LEGISLATIVE RADAR: Since the contributing
MINUSTAH states would need to make a political decision about
withdrawing from the occupation, it is essential to generate massive
public pressure on the political directorate to do so. The public should
be mobilized to write letters and make calls to the members of the
national legislature, especially those representing their respective
electoral districts, ridings or constituencies. It is better to
encourage people to send personally scripted messages as opposed to
signing and sending a form letter. The former will get a greater of
degree of attention and response from the legislators. It would be
helpful to provide talking points or fact sheets from which letter
writers or people making phone calls may craft their personal messages
demanding the termination of the occupation of Haiti.
PARTICIPATE IN INTERNATIONAL DELEGATIONS: The organizing of
fact-finding international delegations to Haiti is a way to encourage
active participation of some visiting organizations or delegates to the
anti-occupation campaign at home. International delegations also
demonstrate to Haitian grassroots organizations that there is support
for their struggle for self-determination. Returning delegates may be
empowered and motivated to hit the speaking circuit by way of speaking
tours and media interviews. The returning delegates ought to be
encouraged to write articles that highlight their observations,
insights, learnings, and experiences of the occupation, and the state of
political, social and economic events inside the country.
MATERIAL AND MORAL SUPPORT TO HAITIAN ORGANIZATIONS: The
anti-occupation campaign should encourage the development of
people-to-people relations between organizations and movements in Haiti
and their counterparts in Canada, the United States and other countries.
While the principal or primary solidarity expected from organizations
in the global North is domestically fighting imperialism’s ability to
impose its will on Haiti and other countries,
“secondary forms of solidarity” as articulated by Cabral, are needed.
The provision of material support to organizations representing women,
youth, workers, farmers, and other groups from the popular sectors would
expand their capacity and capability to fight for an alternative
development agenda. When MINUSTAH is forced out of Haiti, the
organizations of the people will still be faced with the task of
charting a development path that will likely be opposed by the United
States and its allies.
CREATE SOCIAL EXPRESSION PRODUCTS TO RAISE MONEY: Financial
resources are needed to carry out the campaign’s public education work.
Therefore, money may be raised through the development of social
expression products such a T-shirts, mugs, buttons, refrigerator
magnets, and stickers that would be sold to the public. Membership-based
organizations could become a main outlet for moving these products.
These goods would promote the message of the campaign, and they are
ideal items because of their functional nature.
MAKE LINKS WITH OTHER ANTI-OCCUPATION CAMPAIGNS: The struggle to rid
Haiti of MINUSTAH should strive to become a worldwide movement. After
all, the troops and police personnel are represented by states from
across the world (for example, Russia, China, Spain, Jamaica, Nigeria,
France, Pakistan, Cameroon, Brazil, Chile, Turkey, Egypt, Canada, and
the United States). In developing ties among the global forces fighting
the occupation, the campaigns would benefit from sharing information,
strategy, tactics and other resources, and the coordination of their
actions. In the Americas, the
Haití NO Minustah
is encouraging a region-wide opposition to the occupation of Haiti, and
many groups across Central America, South America, and the Caribbean
have signed on to the campaign.
It is not the mere words or beliefs that define an activist’s commitment
to international solidarity or global justice. The anti-imperialist
sentiments of a person of good conscience ought to be measured by her or
his actions against oppressive condition such as MINUSTAH’s occupation
of Haiti, which is preparing the fertile soil for an
entrenched neoliberal capitalist development
path. Hopefully, the proposed actions above might inspire you to
become a participant in a campaign to bring MINUSTAH’s occupation to an
end, or contribute to the work of anti-occupation organizations.
* Ajamu Nangwaya, Ph.D., is an educator. He is an organizer with the
Campaign to End the Occupation of Haiti.
Reprinted with permission from Pambazuka News.
