Haiti, MINUSTAH, and Latin America: Solidaridad?

By Mario Joseph and Brian Concannon, Jr.

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez found a hero’s welcome when he visited Haiti on March 12. People from Port-au-Prince’s poor neighborhoods lined the streets of the capitol to cheer, chant, dance, and sing, with all the infectious enthusiasm of Haitian celebrations. President Chávez returned the affection. He jumped from his motorcade and joined the party, marching, even running with the crowd.

In the last two months, citizens of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru have taken to the streets to protest their countries’ complicity in MINUSTAH’s brutality. The MINUSTAH countries may soon find that in pursuing George Bush’s Haiti policy, they have tied their destiny to a sinking ship.

Human Rights Lawyer Mario Joseph manages the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux in Haiti, www.ijdh.org/bureau.htm. Brian Concannon Jr. is the Director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, www.HaitiJustice.org, and an analyst for the International Relations Center’s Americas Program. He was a Human Rights Observer for the United Nations in Haiti in 1995 and 1996.

With printer-friendly pdf version at:
http://americas.irc-online.org/pdf/reports/0704solidaridad-eng.pdf