a
;

‘Haiti — land of misery,
illiteracy and repression

_ According to big media reports, there has been an
attempt by a group of Haitian exiles living in the U.S. to
Invade the French-speaking Caribbean nation of Haiti
and overthrow the brutal Duvalier dictatorship there.
Although little is known of the political aspirations of
the Teported leader of the expedition, Bernard San-
Saricq, he is described as a long-time foe of Haitian
President-for-Life’’ Jean Claude Duvalier. How much
Support he has within the island itself is difficult to ascer-

tain at present. So far, there has been little comment on
the attempted invasion from the Parti Unifié des Com-
_munistes Haitiens (Unity Party of Haitian Communists),
the most representative of the opposition groups fighting
the Haitian regime.

The action by the exiles nevertheless once again re-
minds us of the reign of terror and exploitation that exists
under the Duvalier family rule in Haiti, the earliest inde-
Pendent Caribbean nation state, but which is now de-
Scribed by most political analysts as ‘‘a real hell hole of a
country’’.

_ Supported by some of the world’s leading western
industrialized countries, the Haiti government rules over
the most suffering people in the Western Hemisphere.
Noted in the Final Declaration of the 1st Continental

Onference in Solidarity with Haiti held in Panama last
September: ‘Less than one percent of the population
Owns over 40% of the national wealth. Eighty percent of
the wealth is distributed among five percent of the popu-
lation. The average yearly per capita income is $260.

—

The Unity Party of Hai-
tian Communists (PUCH)
is appealing for the re-
lease of Rock Derose,
Member of the party’s
Secretariat who was ar-
rested Nov. 12, 1981 and
whose life is in danger.
PUCH asks that cables be
Sent to: President Jean
Claude Duvalier, National
Palace, Port au Prince,
Haiti 5 OE FOF

iGMNeTO sa a SU
“
a phic in ‘ 42%

From the
Caribbean

Norman
Faria

Property owners own 50% of the land. The country’s 200
millionaires enjoy a life of extravagant luxury which is an
insult to the Haitian nation. Meanwhile, the young
people are condemned to ignorance and victimized by
malnutrition that begins even before birth.

‘Freedom of expression is curtailed even in popular
theatre, where the language used is creole, the national
language. The right to habeas corpus is completely ig-
nored. Freedom of association and assembly, even the
slightest complaint, are considered an attack on the

‘established power: The regime is one of absolute illegal-

ity, of absolute denial of democratic rights,’ the
Declaration added.

The regime rules with outright military terror. To
preserve its rule, the Duvalier family (his mother is said
to really pull the strings), has established a secret police
force known as the ‘‘Tontons Macoutes’”’ similar to the
now disbanded ‘‘Mongoose Gang”’ set up by deposed
Prime Minister Eric Gairy of Grenada.

Political opponents, and even ordinary citizens who
criticize the regime, may be picked up at any time,
imprisoned and held without trial — a state of affairs
which has even been condemned by the country’s con-
servative Catholic Church.

In Nov. 1980, for example, after the arrest and de-
portation of over 20 Haitian journalists from Radio Haiti
Inter and other media houses, 1,400 priests and-‘nuns sent
a protest noted to Duvalier condemning the undemo-
cratic dentention without trial practices. Duvalier ac-
cused the journalists and anti-government forces, such
as those within the Christian Democratic Party of being
“‘communists’’. :

_ The harsh poverty and exploitation in Haiti has forced
hundreds of Haitians to risk their lives in leaky wooden
boats to try and reach the neighboring Bahamas and

: ae a : *
ra _ Ciel
Young people are condemned to ignorance and mainu-
trition that begins even before birth ...

Florida. Effectively, the policy of the Reagan govern-
ment is to order the U.S. Coast Guard to escort them
back to sea and certain death.

Said a statement issued by the Caribbean Council of
Churches (CCC) following a Conference last year on
Haitian refugees: “It is recognized that severe violations
of the human rights of many persons (in Haiti) were
taking place. The displacement resulting from their en-
deavor to find refuge in places like Florida ... was a
matter of grave concern . . ."” The Conference noted that
there was a marked difference (shown to the Haitian
refugees) from the generosity afforded (by the U.S.
Government) to refugees from other states such as Indo-
china or Cuba.

Because there is Virtually no employment in Haiti,
thousands of Haitians cross the border into the’ Domini-
can Republic to find jobs. There, these migrant workers
(and permanent exiles) work like virtual slaves. They are
‘‘sold’’ for a few pesos to the state-owned sugar corpora-
tion in the Spanish speaking territory, the large planta-
tions or to the Gulf and Western Company (the U.S.
multinational corporation which has an octopus-like grip
on the economy of the Dominican Republic).

Although the U.S. and other western countries try to
undermine dissent by creating a few jobs by building
capital works projects like highways, most development
economists argue that this strategy will change nothing
in Haiti. With Duvalier and his close associates control-
ling the treasury, these highways usually head straight
for the mansions and factories the dictatorship owns.

Among the hundreds of political detainees are demo-
cratic minded priests and other patriotic citizens.

Wherever did
we find him?

Readers of this column may
getting a touch tired of the
Constant criticism of our Ex-
ternal Affairs Minister. In fact,
\t Would be better for everyone
if Mark MacGuigan were less
ae Or, put another
» If he’d stop putting his
foot in his paeuttr: igre
- The problem, of course, is
at MacGuigan talks for
Canada (officially) and if no-
Ng were said about his re-
Marks on urgent matters,
People might think he really
represents Canadian opinion.
f ain last week he sallied
Orth. And again it was about
Poland.
_ Fresh from receiving new
Information from the IG Ra
acGuigan told the press he
Now believes the USSR plan-
1 the martial law steps in Po-
and. And then: ‘I don’t have
any Proof of that. I have reason
lieve there is information
and evidence to indicate that
happen.”
wey arming to his subject, he
i €nt on to say he doesn't be-
lve Polish figures of 17
Ss. “I can’t give you,a
feure with any degree of certi-
Ude (!) just to say I believe it is
ce a than the official number

Eighteen? Eighteen

hundred?

The day MacGuigan was
baffling his listeners with this
junk, the new Secretary-
General of the United Nations,
Javier Perez de Cuellar said
there was no evidence of
foreign interference in Poland
in response to questions of any
UN action.

Just what new evidence
Haig palmed off on poor Mac-
Guigan that led him to say, “‘I
have no proof’, can only be
imagined. Perhaps Canada
should start cracking U.S. dip-
lomatic codes like the Ameri-
cans are doing to ours.

‘You call that
a government?’

With the Sinai due to return
to Egypt in April, the Negev
desert is assuming additional
military importance. The prob-
lem for Israel is that the Negev
is the home of 40,000 Bedouin
Arabs, a nomadic people who
have inhabited the region for
centuries.

In a gruesome story, the
New York Times, Dec. 26 tells
how this problem is being
handled. :

““The semi-nomadic Be-
douins, who have survived the
cruel elements of the desert
and the ravages of successive
conquerors, now face a new
danger ... It has the innocent

name of the ‘green patrol’ and
it operates under the Israeli
Ministry of Agriculture.”’

The green patrol, set up in
1977 ‘‘has launched a silent
war of attrition’ against the
Arab Bedouins. The aim is to
force people from the land and
drive them into ‘‘closed zones
akin to Indian reservations’’.

To date 15,000 have been
“‘resettled’’ and another 6,000
are to be removed to make
room for a planned military air
base. The other 19,000 will
then be moved.

The Times story describes
the raids, the shooting of Be-

te Bea!

douin dogs, the confiscation of
goat herds, the tearing down of
encampments and the force-
able transport of women and
children.

It’s important we remember
this. The spotlight recently is
on Israeli annexation of Golan

and its terrible war against

Lebanon. But the plight of the
Arab population inside the
country, the jailing of mayors,
bombing of people’s homes,
closing of universities — are an
important part of the picture of
Israeli reality too.

As one old Bedouin man told
the Times reporter, ‘*You call

israel’s Bedouins driven into “closed zones”.

that a government? That can’t
be a government.”’

Sports, politics
and showbiz

Everybody knows that in the
USA sports and politics don’t
mix.

So what have we got at the
big Super Bowl XVI? To begin
the game the crowd is asked to
stand in one moment’s si-
lence forthe “‘brave people of
Poland’’.

This raises some interesting
thoughts: Had the organizers
called for another minute for
the brave people of Chile, or El
Salvador, or South Africa, or
the Palestinians or many
others who feel the weight of
American power, the game
wouldn’t have started until
early Monday morning.

Perhaps the organizers
chose Poland to mention be-
cause of the economic and
food boycott Reagan has im-
posed on that country.

Or maybe it’s in anticipation
of the showbiz extravaganza
planned for satellite television
Jan. 31 where the Poles will be
treated to the Ronnie-Pierre-
Margaret Show. If it’s because
the Poles are enduring the U.S.
food weapon and are awaiting
the cultural treat to follow,
brave people they certainly
are.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEB. 5, 1982—Page 5