Protesters In San Francisco Mark Anniversary Of Aristide's Ouster

Why target The San Francisco Chronicle?
While The Chronicle published a number of critical stories in February and March 2004 leading up to Aristide's ouster and immediately following it, the paper ran only a handful of news stories on Haiti during the rest of the year. There has been only one story on Haiti in 2005. The public has been deprived of information on the more-than-700 political prisoners jailed by the U.S.-backed government, most without warrants, without trial dates, many beaten or otherwise mistreated. Unless people search out alternative news sources, they don't know about the attacks on union activists and Haitian journalists. Sadly, the Chronicle ignored the Bay Area visit of Fr. Gérard Jean-Juste, former political prisoner and one of the most powerful voices of the democratic movement in Haiti today.The Chronicle must do better.
Why target the Chilean and Brazilian consulates?
Brazil, whose troops are mostly in Port-au-Prince, leads the U.N. "peacekeeping" mission; Chile has a large contingent of troops in the north. Some observers believe Brazil has taken on this leadership role in order to please the U.S. and gain a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. For the most part, these troops (like other U.N. forces) speak neither Creole, the language of the Haitian masses, nor French, the language of the educated. When U.N. troops accompany ill-trained Haitian police on incursions into the popular pro-Aristide neighborhoods, they can communicate neither with the police (who regularly brutalize the population), nor with the people. "It's a clear double-standard," said Douglas Spalding of the Haiti Action Committee. "U.N. troops help to arrest Aristide supporters while allowing armed and dangerous ex-soldiers complete freedom of movement."
Why target the French Consulate?
France was Haiti's original colonizer and slave master. After Haiti won independence in 1804, France demanded and received the equivalent of $21.7 billion in today's currency from Haiti as payment for the loss of land and slaves. As Haiti's 200th anniversary approached, Aristide's government demanded this amount in restitution from France. Many believe this legal claim pushed France to join with the U.S. and Canada to oust Aristide.
Why target Dianne Feinstein?
While Rep. Barbara Lee decried the "democratic government overthrown," Sen. Dianne Feinstein has ignored Lee's demand that the U.S. investigate the truth of the manner in which Aristide was removed. "Feinstein typifies the bi-partisan refusal to question U.S. foreign policy in Haiti," said Charlie Hinton, an activist with the Haiti Action Committee.
"Feinstein typifies the bi-partisan consensus that guides U.S. foreign policy," said Haiti Action Committee activist Charlie Hinton. "She neither opposed the destabilization campaign that led to the overthrow of the Aristide government nor has she supported the call for an investigation."