Reality in Writing : Caribbean Political Economy

Haiti's foreign-orchestrated election hands power to neo-Duvalierist Michel Martelly Rabble.ca By Roger Annis and Kevin Edmonds April 14, 2011 Original Link: http://rabble.ca/news/2011/04/haiti%E2%80%99s-foreign-orchestrated-election-hands-power-neo-duvalierist-michel-martelly Michel Martelly is closely associated with the extreme right in Haiti that twice overthrew elected government ( in 1991 and 2004 ). He has vowed to reconstitute the notorious Armed Forces of Haiti, disbanded in 1995 due to its record of massive human rights violations (elements of which are in training and waiting for the call ). He says that Haiti's economic and social development depends on convincing more foreign investors to set up shop. He told CBC Radio's The Current on April 7 that Haiti has been "going in the wrong direction for the last 25 years," a ref...

The Rejection of Dependency: Popular Mobilization in Haiti Basicsnews.ca original link: http://basicsnews.ca/?p=2931 April 4, 2011 By: Kevin Edmonds The people of Haiti continue to struggle against rigged elections, systemic human rights abuses, foreign occupation and an NGO led development model which has fallen flat in regards to reconstruction and relief efforts. At the same time there has been many signs of popular mobilization articulating that the Haitian people are fed up and will not stand idly by with the international community’s attempt to install a puppet government and continue a deeply flawed and self serving reconstruction program. The March 20th presidential elections were an attempt by the international community to give some legitimacy to an electoral process that had been widely discredited and tarnished by massive fraud and the exclusion of 15 political parties. The election, popularly referred to as a selection, had been between two right wing candidates attempting...

HAITI’S RENEWAL OF MINUSTAH’S MANDATE IN VIOLATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE HAITIAN PEOPLE HAITI’S RENEWAL OF MINUSTAH’S MANDATE IN VIOLATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE HAITIAN PEOPLE I was lucky enough to work on this report with the Unity Ayiti team. The report highlights the role of MINUSTAH in human rights abuses in Haiti. The document provides a legal argument against the force, bringing forth evidence about their failure to protect the Haitian people, complicity in abuses, and an overall ineffectiveness of their mandate. Over $850 million has been spent on MINUSTAH for their 2010-2011 budget, yet the same "peacekeeping" force has been documented in engaging in rape, extrajudicial killings, and the introduction cholera to the country. We hope that this will spark some debate about the legitimacy of the UN in Haiti. Haiti needs doctors, nurses, engineers, agronomists - not soldiers. Make sure to check out www.ijdh.org and see the tons of work they have been doing on hum...

Today was the first event of the newly formed Hamilton Haiti Action Committee. Riaz and myself attended the Build a Change Development Symposium at McMaster University in order to spread the word of our new advocacy group. The participants in the symposium were interested in what we had to say, and we had numerous half hour conversations. People couldn't believe what was happening in Haiti. Once we discussed the failure of the development model in Haiti, they began to question their own ideas of development. It's more than just simply showing up and throwing money at a people. There has to be recognition of the structural factors which undermine REAL development in countries like Haiti. As a local branch of the Canada Haiti Action Network, the main goals of the Hamilton Haiti Action Committe is to advocate for the right of the Haitian people to enjoy meaningful, inclusive democracy, freedom from human rights abuses, and engage in opportunities for sustainable grassroots develop...

Killing Democracy' in Haiti, Canadian-Style Mar 24 2011 Kevin Edmonds Originally Published: NACLA.org https://nacla.org/node/6926 “I make a distinction between the Canadian government, which I accuse of killing democracy in Haiti, and the people of Canada and Quebec. We need partners, friends. We need the kind of aid which will permit Haitians to lead their country.” L’Aut Journal (Montreal), January 27, 2011 The words of Mario Joseph, Haiti’s most prominent human rights attorney may have come as a complete surprise to many—a misunderstanding, perhaps, built upon anger and misinformation. How could Canada, after all, one of the world’s most peaceful and charitable countries, be killing democracy? But Joseph’s angry words contain a great deal of truth. Canada has played a significant role in the political and economic undermining of Haiti’s democratic institutions. This role, however, is purposefully glossed over in the media coverage more focused on promoting stories of Canadian “p...

Radio Basics Election Interview Today I had the opportunity to quickly talk about the Haitian elections with Steve D'Souza of Radio Basics on CHRY 105.5fm. Steve is a really informed man, we got into the exclusionary nature of the election, the widespread boycott, and the need for the international community to stage elections in order to give legitimacy to their reconstruction plans. Oh yeah, we also talked about the return of this Aristide character, and what this means for both Lavalas and progressive civil society in Haii. I'll post up the audio as soon as it's available.

Today, I and Riaz Sayani Mulji presented on Haiti at the McMaster University Global Citizenship Conference. Despite technical difficulties we managed to make it through, highlighting Canada's infamous role in Haiti - in addition to why the current development model for Haiti is failing. There was a decent turnout on a rainy Saturday morning. People asked questions, and were both engaged and disturbed why what they learned. Hopefully it will spread. I will post the powerpoint presentation on here as soon as I can figure out how to. The website can be accessed here: http://gcc.furi.ca/