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Haiti Reborn Update - Apr 24, 2007 - Neptune Freed

Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit

sent by Tom Ricker, Quixote Center/Haiti Reborn
haiti-list@quixote.org

Haiti Reborn Update - Apr 24, 2007

Dear friends,

I hope this message finds you well. This update has a few action items and
some news. First, we just embedded a video on our website from the
satirists at the Onion News Network concerning news coverage of Haiti ? very
funny, but sadly all too true. So check it out when you have a chance ? its
only 2 minutes long.

Just Say ?No?

One of our partner programs here at the Quixote Center ? the Alliance for
Responsible Trade ? is organizing a signature ad campaign calling on
Congress to ?Just say no? to fast track. Fast track is the common name for
?Trfast trackade promotion authority? ? which is a process through which
Congress passes its Constitutional authority (one might say obligation) to
regulate international commerce to the President for a period of years ?
usually five years at a time. This seemingly innocent authority is actually
quite controversial because Congress essentially agrees to vote yes or no on
trade agreements negotiated by the President with no amendments or
re-working of the text.

The Alliance for Responsible Trade is asking Congress to just say no to fast
track right now ? no quick fixes. Then they can take some time to evaluate
our current trade policy and reform it. You can read more about the
campaign, fast track, and the details on signing the New York Times
signature ad here. They are asking a donation for signature.

This issue is potentially very important for Haiti. If Bush were to get
Fast Track authority it is likely that the next regional bloc to be included
in this administration?s piece meal construction of a hemisphere wide trade
zone would be CARICOM (the Caribbean Common Market) ? which now includes
Haiti. Central America?s experience with ?negotiating? should be a warning
to CARICOM. The Central America regional integration process was completely
disrupted by the CAFTA. It would be the same for CARICOM. And Haiti
already has the lowest tariffs in the region ? the result of which has been
the destruction of Haiti?s agriculture and soaring unemployment.

Jubilee Conference/Debt Update

A couple of weeks ago I send around a reminder about the Latin America
Solidarity Conference in Chicago (which happened April 13-15), and was told
by a few folks that it was a little late - for many people who were seeing
it for the first time - to make plans to actually attend. My apologies. So
not to repeat that mistake ? I want to let everybody know about another
conference ? in Chicago again ? with a bit more advanced notice. This is
with the Jubilee USA Network. It is their second annual grassroots
conference June 15-17. To get more information check the website. Haiti
Reborn/Quixote Center are members of the Network Council of Jubilee USA and
will be attending the conference.

Jubilee USA is a network of faith-based, solidarity, environmental and human
rights organizations that have been working for debt cancellation for the
world?s poorest countries for 10 years now. We have been working with them
recently in promoting the House resolution to cancel Haiti?s debt, H. Res
241, introduced by Maxine Waters (D-CA) in March.

This resolution has gained 4 new co-sponsors, for a total of 11, since it
was introduced. An identical resolution introduced during the last Congress
garnered 65 co-sponsors so we have our work cut out for us! We will be
calling for a national call-in day/day of action for debt cancellation on
May 18, Flag Day in Haiti, one of several important celebrations of Haiti?s
hard won independence and sovereignty. So mark your calendars! Of course
if you are so inspired there is no reason to wait until May 18 to call your
member of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor H. Res 241. The capital
switchboard is 202-

In other news?

Our delegation to Nicaragua with some of the founders and leaders of the
Commission of Women Victims for Victims (KOFAVIV) has been delayed again.
Our partners in this effort based in Nicaragua have been working hard to get
the appropriate paperwork done in order to secure visas for five women from
KOFAVIV. This has proven a difficult process, with many hurdles, but we are
within a week of a final decision on the visas. However, since the
delegation was slated for May 3-10 ? which begins next Thursday ? we decided
to delay for three weeks to provide plenty of time to work out the details
once the visas are granted. Among other things, the visas need to be picked
up in the Dominican Republic, since Nicaragua has no consulate in Haiti.

Funeral services were held in Miami this weekend in memory of Lifaiti Lully.
Lully died at the end of 22-day voyage in open waters from Haiti. Lully was
one of 102 Haitian?s that ventured the crossing to Florida. The 101
survivors are being held in detention at several facilities in South
Florida. Unlike other refugees, Haitians are detained during proceedings
concerning their fate. Most other people are paroled out to family-members
or friends while their futures are determined. Detention makes it nearly
impossible for refugees to seek council and it splits up families. The fate
of the detainees is still open. Community members in Miami and several
members of Congress have asked President Bush to release them to family
members. The local Catholic Church has said it would take responsibility
for them as well. A formers US soldier, born in Haiti, Henry Petit-Homme
took part in a 15-day hunger strike to protest the detentions. To keep up
to date on the case you can visit the website of Fanmi Ayisyen nan Miyami
(FANM) ? a grassroots organization long active in the defense of the rights
of Haitian refugees. We will have more on the case next week ? Tuesday May 1
has been called as a national for the promotion of immigrant rights.

Finally, former Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune has been released and
cleared of all charges. Below is a press release on this case.

Have a great week,

Tom

***

(visit Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti for more on this case.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, April 20, 2007
Brian Concannon, IJDH.org, (541) 432-0597, brianhaiti@aol.com
Jens Iverson, HastingsHumanRights.org, (347) 200-1449, iverson j@uchastings.edu
Mario Joseph, BAI, 011-509-221-6200, mariohaiti@aol.com

ALL CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST FORMER HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER

TWO YEARS AFTER LAW STUDENTS AND ATTORNEYS LODGE COMPLAINT WITH
INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION

Many political prisoners continue to suffer in dismal prison conditions.

San Francisco, CA: April 20, 2007. After years of illegal imprisonment and
unsubstantiated charges, former Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune is a
free man. A Haitian appeals court has ruled that all charges against him
must be dropped, due to the unconstitutional manner in which they were
filed. Charges against former Minister of the Interior Jocelerme Privert
were also dropped.

While Neptune is free, many others are not,? stated University of California
Hastings law student Jens Iverson. ?Neptune?s release is a case study in
how international pressure and attention can help those caught in a
dysfunctional justice system, where many prisoners are simply forgotten and
left to rot.? U.C. Hastings Professor Naomi Roht-Arriaza stated that ?the
partnership between renowned Haitian attorneys such as Mario Joseph, human
rights experts and willing law students has proven to be truly effective.
But much remains to be done.?

On April 20, 2005, law students at the University of California, Hastings,
along with Haitian and U.S. attorneys filed a petition with the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on behalf of Neptune.
Neptune had been illegally imprisoned since June 2004. The law students?
petition requested immediate action on the part of the Commission to prevent
further endangerment of Mr. Neptune's life. In addition to calling for the
former Prime Minister?s immediate release from arbitrary detention, the
petition asked for international oversight and supervision of Haitian
prisons in order to improve their dismal conditions.

Mr. Neptune?s continued detention placed his life in substantial danger. He
survived at least two assassination attempts, as well as a prison massacre
and a prison breakout since his arrest. While the Yvon Neptune was
eventually released from prison due to the worldwide outcry at his illegal
imprisonment, charges remained lodged against him.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IAHCR) decided in November
2005 to declare the present case for Yvon Neptune admissible with respect to
Articles 5, 7, 8, and 25.1 of the American Convention and to proceed with
the examination of the merits of the case.

In November 2006, at the request of the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights (IAHCR), the Bureau des Advocats Internationaux, the Institute for
Justice for Democracy in Haiti, and the Hastings Human Rights Project for
Haiti, submitted their support for referral of the case to the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

?The Appeals Court victory is not the victory that Mr. Neptune and his
?co-defendants deserve, and the prosecutor had recommended, because it does
?not recognize the absence of evidence against them,? explains Brian
?Concannon of the Institute of Justice and Democracy in Haiti, a co-filer of
?the complaint before the Inter-American Commission that brought Neptune?s
?plight to worldwide attention. ?But it is a victory, because it ends
?almost three years of legal struggle, including over two dangerous years in
?prison for Mr. Neptune and Mr. Privert. Credit is due Mario Joseph and his
?legal team at the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, but the lawyers never
?would have had their day in court without the persistent pressure applied
?from outside Haiti.?

The IACHR is conducting an on-site visit to Haiti from April 16-20, 2007 to
observe the human rights situation. The IACHR is charged by the
Organization of American States (OAS) to examine and report on human rights
in the western hemisphere. The Commission investigates claims of human
rights violations, makes recommendations to governments, and refers cases to
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The Commission investigated the
violations of Neptune?s rights and referred the case to the Court. That
case will remain active due to the suffering Neptune endured and the
overriding concerns regarding Haiti?s defective justice system.

*
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