 |
 |
Support Aristide's Return to Haiti HAITI ACTION COMMITTEE ALERT. http://www.haitisolidarity.net/article.php?id=444 TO: President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michele Obama: Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former liberation theology priest, was elected by the people of Haiti as their president in 1990 and again in 2000 (by 60% and 92% of the vote respectively). Both times he was overthrown by military coups - in 2004 directly by the US with backing from France and Canada. UN troops have occupied Haiti ever since, and thousands of people have been persecuted and even killed for demanding his return. After the earthquake, President Aristide told the media, from his forced exile in South Africa, that he wanted to come back immediately to be with his people. So far he has not been allowed home. On 22 May 2010, Haitian women meeting at the Democratic Debate at the Aristide Foundation for Democracy on May 22, 2010 launched a petition that has gathered over 20,000 signatures. They have invited people internationally to add their names. "We, the women of Haiti, believe that in the wake of the void left by the earthquake of January 12, which devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and much of the southwest, Jean-Bertrand Aristide has tremendous contributions to offer towards the rebuilding of the country.[We] ask President Obama to return President Aristide and his family, without conditions, as required by Article 41 of the Haitian Constitution." (full text below) Haitian women know what's best for them and their families, and for the reconstruction of their communities and their country. We urge you to meet their demand so that President Aristide and his family can finally return home. TO SIGN THE ON-LINE PETITION, CLICK HERE: http://www.petitiononline.com/haitiwom/petition-sign.html Background On 8 March, International Women's Day, 3,000 women at Camp Mesiane, Vilaj Solidarite, Champs de Mars, Place Boyer, Bonne Fille, Mais Gate, Site Soley and others issued a statement calling for the return of Jean- Bertrand and Mildred Aristide, and for women's demands to be central in the reconstruction of Haiti. Soon another petition was circulating - it already has more than 20,000 signatures. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former liberation theology priest, was elected by the people of Haiti as their president in 1990 and again in 2000 (by 60% and 92% of the vote respectively). Both times President Aristide was overthrown by military coups; in 2004 it was directly by the US with backing from France and Canada. UN troops have occupied Haiti ever since, and thousands have been persecuted and killed for demanding his return. After the earthquake, Aristide told the media, from his forced exile in South Africa, that he wanted to come back immediately to be with his people. So far he has not been allowed home despite the growing call for his return. Women and men are invited to sign in support of the women's demands. Open Petition from Women of Haiti to President Barack Obama For the Return of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti "We, the women of Haiti, represent more that 52% of the Haitian population. For the past two centuries we have waged a long struggle to be able to exercise our political rights against tremendous opposition. Thanks to President Aristide in 1991, the exercise of women's political rights began to be a reality. Jean- Bertrand Aristide is the only president of Haiti who worked to officially open up space for all Haitian women to participate in the political life of the country at every level. To advocate and educate for the respect of women's rights, and to ensure that women's voices were represented at every level of government, President Aristide created a Ministry of Women's Affairs. At the same time beginning in 2001, President Aristide's administration initiated social programs that benefited women and children, such as a national school lunch program, a national literacy program, the construction of hundreds of new public high schools and primary schools, and a public health program with health clinics in every communal section of the country. We, the women of Haiti, believe that in the wake of the void left by the earthquake of January 12, which devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and much of the southwest, Jean-Bertrand Aristide has tremendous contributions to offer towards the rebuilding of the country. Women who have been participating in the democratic debates at the auditorium of the Aristide Foundation for Democracy each Saturday since the earthquake launch this petition and undertake to gather signatures of women throughout the country, from every department of Haiti to ask President Barack Obama to return President Aristide and his family, without conditions, as required by Article 41 of the Haitian Constitution. We ask women around the world who support the popular movement of Haiti to take up this petition, add their names, and send it to President Obama and his wife Michele Obama." This petition was launched by women meeting at the Democratic Debate at the Aristide Foundation for Democracy on May 22, 2010. Endorsement call issued by: Global Women Strike (GWS) and Women of Colour in the GWS www.globalwomenstrike.net Email: [log in to unmask] Tel: 323-276-9833 Information: www.Haitisolidarity.net Email: [log in to unmask] www.Aristidefoundation.net _____________________________________________ Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it. Submit via email: [log in to unmask] Submit via the Web: portside.org/submit Frequently asked questions: portside.org/faq Subscribe: portside.org/subscribe Unsubscribe: portside.org/unsubscribe Account assistance: portside.org/contact Search the archives: portside.org/archive