Continental Conference to End MINUSTAH

by Kim Ives (Haiti Liberte)

Delegates from around the world will converge on Port-au-Prince May 31 to take part in a two-day Continental Conference aimed at bringing an end to the United Nations Mission to Stabilize Haiti or MINUSTAH, which marks its ninth anniversary on Jun. 1.

Cholera Legal Suit Against the UN Takes Shape: Lawyers Seek Haitian Claimants in New York

by Kim Ives   (Haiti Liberte)                                                

On May 8, lawyers representing over 5,000 Haitian cholera victims told the United Nations that they are taking the world body to court in 60 days if it doesn’t accept responsibility for introducing the deadly microbe into Haiti’s waters.

Two Years After His Return, Aristide Finally Speaks Out

by Kim Ives (Haiti Liberte)

Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide called for national unity to tackle the problem of hunger in Haiti and thanked the Haitian people for their massive show of solidarity the day before when thousands joined him in a slow procession through Port-au-Prince back his residence from making a court deposition on May 8.

            “Yesterday, was an ordinary day, but you made it into an extraordinary day, and I say thank you,” Aristide said on May 9 to about 20 journalists assembled in his home’s Spartan study, where he has spent most of the past two years since his return to Haiti from a seven year exile on Mar. 18, 2011. Since that day, when thousands also accompanied him home, it was the first time he has spoken publicly.

After Aristide Testifies to Investigating Judge: Massive March Signals Lavalas Movement’s Resurrection

by Kim Ives (Haiti Liberte)

Well over 15,000 people poured out from all corners of Haiti's capital to march alongside the cortege of cars that carried former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide back to his home in Tabarre from the Port-au-Prince courthouse he visited on May 8.

            Thousands more massed along sidewalks and on rooftops to cheer the procession on, waving flags and wearing small photos of Aristide in their hair, pinned to their clothing, or stuck in their hats.

ONA: Senate Uncovers Stupefying Corruption

by Yves Pierre-Louis (Haiti Liberte)

Since President Michel Martelly’s accession to power two years ago, corruption has become the hallmark of his regime. The State’s entire administration is in decline, marred by bribery, waste, mismanagement, illegal and arbitrary dismissals, and incompetence.

            The latest corruption scandal to erupt is in the National Insurance Office for the Elderly (ONA), Haiti’s social security institution which is supposed to manage the contributions of Haitian workers in the private sector to ensure their welfare as regulated by the Labor Code.

Despite Losing $1 Billion in Iraq, DynCorp Given Haiti Troop Contract

by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)

This article reveals how Washington is still investing in Haiti’s military occupation, not winding it down. HL

In an Apr. 9 press release, DynCorp International announced that the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) had awarded the company with a $48.6 million contract. The purpose of the contract is to “recruit and support up to 100 UNPOL and 10 U.N. Corrections Advisors. DI will also provide logistics support to the Haitian National Police (HNP) Academy and each academy class. In addition, DI will supply five high-level French and Haitian Creole speaking subject matter experts to advise senior HNP officials.”