Protests continue as Haitians fight coup regime

On March 24 thousands of Haitians living in Cite Soleil, a poor seaside community in Port-au-Prince, demonstrated, shouting, “Aristide forever,” and waving pictures of the popularly elected president who was kidnapped by U.S. troops on Feb. 29, 2004.

In demonstrations earlier in March, United Nations forces occupying the country provided the escort for the demonstrations and up to 10,000 people came out and marched peacefully.

Still, everyone at the March 24 demonstration knew that Haitian National Police have killed scores of people protesting since the coup forced Aristide out of the country.

According to Haïti Progrès newspaper, the UN seems to want to re-establish an equilibrium between the Macoutes—death-squad supporters—and urban-based business owners.

Now it seems the cops and the UN have settled their differences after the UN physically disarmed some ex-soldiers. Four UN soldiers and about a dozen ex-soldiers died in those confrontations.

The ex-soldiers—who were organized, trained and financed by the United States—defend the interests of the large landowners, the pro-death-squad wing of Haiti’s ruling class.

Of course, the UN ultimately operates in Haiti to ensure the political interests of the United States, too.

In the face of the current political machinations and despite real physical danger, the people still came out in massive numbers on March 24. The demonstration didn’t break up until two protesters were killed by gunfire as it reached a local police station.

Later that night, heavy gunfire broke out in the Delmas neighborhood. Some one shot up a car belonging to a director of the Judicial Police, seriously wounding the driver. Two nights earlier, someone killed a bodyguard in front of the justice minister’s house.

Whatever their origin, these attacks—combined with the stubborn resistance of the Haitian people to the coup—have made the political situation very tense.

When Samba Boukman, spokesperson for the Resistance Cells of the Fanmi Lavalas Base, was asked by Haïti Progrès why his organization no longer notified the police about its marches, he responded, “We had fulfilled this constitutional obligation every time, but when the cops showed up, it wasn’t to escort us but rather kill us.”

Boukman said the UN force occupying Haiti is working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Haitian National Police. Their differences are over which lies to tell about which massacres, he said.

Boukman promised that the popular struggle to return President Jean-Bert rand Aristide to Haiti would continue until victory.