NewsTrust - Haiti - Most Recent Stories: News (Independent)

Haiti: WikiLeaks Cables Expose How U.S. Blocked Aristide's Return After 2004 Coup

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Aug. 11 (Investigative Report) - A new exposé on Haiti reveals how the United States led a vast international campaign to prevent former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from returning to his country while he was exiled in South Africa. It’s part of a series of reports by The Nation magazine and the Haitian weekly Haïti Liberté that draw from almost 2,000 U.S. diplomatic cables on Haiti released by WikiLeaks. The cables show that high-level U.S. and U.N. officials coordinated a politically motivated prosecution of Aristide to prevent him from "gaining more traction with the Haitian population and returning to Haiti."

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Clinton Foundation Accused of Sending Haiti Shoddy Trailers Found Toxic After Katrina

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jul. 12 (News Report) - A new exposé in The Nation magazine reveals that trailers the Clinton Foundation donated to post- earthquake Haiti to use as temporary classrooms — and to double as hurricane shelters — are plagued by mold, shoddy construction. In at least one case, an air quality test revealed worrying levels of formeldahyde. The trailers were built by the same company that is being sued in the United States for providing formeldahyde-laced trailers to displaced residents after Hurricane Katrina. We speak with the journalists who broke this story, Isabel Macdonald and Isabeau Doucet. “What does it say about the reconstruction efforts in Haiti if the very first project approved by the commission that is supposed to ensure accountability and transparency in Haiti's rebuilding passes this kind of project and Bill Clinton himself has his hands all over it?,” says Macdonald. “He is the co-chair of this commission that is supposed to ensure Haiti is built back better.”

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Leaked WikiLeaks Cable: 2005 Democracy Now! Report on Haiti Killings Irked U.S. Embassy

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez - Jun. 24 (News Report) - Democracy Now! is mentioned in a U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks that cites our 2005 report on a deadly raid in the poor neighborhood of Cité Soleil by United Nations forces. “You accurately reported on what was going on and the embassy was alarmed by it,” says our guest, longtime Haiti correspondent Dan Coughlin. “What they were upset about is there wasn’t PR push back on Democracy Now! by the U.N.” Another cable shows U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called embassies around the world to tell them to “get the narrative right” with editors and fight negative portrayals of U.S. deployment in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. [includes rush transcript]

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Haiti: Leaked Cables Expose U.S. Suppression of Min. Wage, Election Doubts and Elite's Private Army

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman - Jun. 24 (News Report) - Drawing on almost 2,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables on Haiti released by WikiLeaks, a partnership between The Nation magazine and the Haitian weekly, Haïti Liberté, exposes new details on how Fruit of the Loom, Hanes and Levi’s worked with the United States to block an increase in the minimum wage in the hemisphere's poorest nation, how business owners and members of the country's elite used Haiti's police force as their own private army after the 2004 U.S.-backed coup that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and how the United States, the European Union and the United Nations supported Haiti’s recent presidential and parliamentary elections, despite concerns over the exclusion of Haiti's largest opposition party, Lavalas, the party of Aristide. We speak with the reports' authors, longtime Haiti correspondent Dan Coughlin and Haïti Liberté editor, Kim Ives.

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WikiLeaks Haiti: Cable Depicts Fraudulent Haiti Election

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Dan Coughlin, Kim Ives - Jun. 10 (News Report) - Confirming what Haitians already knew, a WikiLeaks document shows how US and international donors staged the phony presidential election.

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WikiLeaks Cables Reveal "Secret History" of U.S. Bullying in Haiti at Oil Companies' Behest

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez - Jun. 03 (News Report) - The Nation magazine, in partnership with the Haitian weekly newspaper, Haïti Liberté, has launched a series of reports based on more than 19,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks. Called "The PetroCaribe Files," the series begins with an exposé of how the United States—with pressure from Exxon and Chevron—tried to interfere with an oil agreement between Haiti and Venezuela that would save Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, $100 million per year. "It is really amazing to see an ambassador pushing around a president, and all his officials telling them what to do, trying to tell them what Haiti's interests are. It is the epitome of arrogance," says the report’s co-author, Kim Ives. We are also joined by veteran Haiti correspondent, Dan Coughlin.

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Obamas Donated 14% of Their Income to Charity in 2010

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Chronicle of Philanthropy - By Lisa Chiu - Apr. 19 (News Report) - President Obama and his wife, Michelle, donated 14 percent of their income to charity in 2010, according to the couple’s 2010 tax return. The couple, which reported an adjusted gross income of $1.7-million in 2010, gave $245,075 to 36 charities.

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Haitians Deported From the U.S. Held in “Absolutely Horrific” Conditions

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Mar. 30 (News Report) - The United States resumed the deportation of Haitians back to Haiti in January even as the country remains ravaged by an earthquake and cholera epidemic. In February, one of 27 Haitians deported and sent directly to a Haitian detention center died of cholera-like symptoms. Citing inhumane conditions, the Center for Constitutional Rights has called for the Obama administration to extend the Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants in the United States. Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman recently spoke with CCR’s Laura Raymond in Port-au-Prince. “The walls of the detention center here were covered in feces and vomit, and the bathrooms weren’t working, so men had to go to the bathroom in trash bags. And these conditions, during a cholera epidemic, are literally deadly,” Raymond says.

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Long Night’s Journey into Day: Democracy Now!’s Exclusive Interview of Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Mar. 22 (News Report) - Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his family returned to Haiti last week for the first time since a 2004 U.S.-backed coup forced him out of office. A 2005 U.S. State Department cable recently released by the online whistleblowing website WikiLeaks recounts how U.S. and French diplomats threatened to block several Caribbean countries and South Africa’s seating on the U.N. Security Council, unless South Africa kept Aristide in exile. This time, President Obama called South African President Jacob Zuma to tell him not to fly the Aristides home to Haiti. South Africa refused to comply. In a _Democracy Now!_ broadcast exclusive, Amy Goodman was there on Aristide’s flight from exile. Today, part two of her conversation on the flight with Aristide as the plane approached Haiti. [includes rush transcript]

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Former President Aristide On His Party’s Exclusion from Haiti’s Election: “Exclusion is the Problem, Inclusion is the Solution”

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Mar. 21 (News Report) - In this broadcast exclusive, _Democracy Now!_ follows former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide flight’s out from South Africa and his historic return to Haiti after seven years of exile. Aristide returned two days before a delayed presidential run-off election was held on Sunday between pop star Michel Martelly and former First Lady Mirlande Manigat. Special thanks to Hany Massoud and Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Nicole Salazar, K.K. Kean and Kim Ives.

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Amy Goodman Reports From South Africa on Aristide’s Planned Return Trip to Haiti After Seven Years in Exile

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Mar. 16 (News Report) - Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has decided to return to Haiti this week ahead of Sunday’s presidential runoff election. Aristide has lived in exile in South Africa since 2004, when he was ousted in a U.S.-backed coup. Despite U.S. pressure on the governments of Haiti and South Africa not to allow him to return, Aristide and his family are planning to leave on Thursday. Amy Goodman is in South Africa to cover Aristide's return trip to Haiti. She joins us from Johannesburg along with K.K., an award-winning filmmaker and a personal friend of Aristide.

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EXCLUSIVE: Authorities Search and Copy U.S. Journalist’s Notes, Computer and Cameras After Returning From Haiti Reporting Trip

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Brandon Jourdan, Catherine Crump, Amy Goodman - Feb. 15 (News Report) - Independent journalist Brandon Jourdan recently returned from Haiti after being on assignment documenting the rebuilding of schools in the earthquake-devastated country. However, when he returned to the United States, he was immediately detained after deboarding the plane by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. He was questioned about his travels and had all of his documents, computer, phone and camera flash drives searched and copied. This is the seventh time Jourdan says he has been subjected to lengthy searches in five years, and has been told by officials that he is “on a list.” Jourdan joins us in our studio. Catherine Crump, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, says that Jourdan is not the only one facing such treatment by the Obama administration. Crump says many journalists and lawyers who often work abroad have also experienced similar interrogations—and the ACLU believes the First and Fourth Amendments must be honored within U.S. airports.

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'Baby Doc' Duvalier back in Haiti after long exile

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

palmbeachpost.com - By Jacob Kushner - Jan. 16 (News) - Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier returned Sunday to Haiti nearly 25 years after a popular uprising against his brutal dictatorship forced him into exile, The Duvaliers tortured and killed their political opponents, ruling in an atmosphere of fear and repression ensured by the bloody Tonton Macoute, their feared secret police force.

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Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier surprises Haiti with return

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

GlobalPost - Jan. 16 (News) - Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, a former dictator, mysteriously returned to Haiti Sunday for the first time since he was deposed in a coup 25 years ago.

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Haitian amputees find new outlet in soccer

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Associated Press - By By JULIA GALIANO-RIOS - Jan. 11 (News Report) - Amputee soccer gives physical benefits and emotional support for the players. Sorrell said he also hopes to eventually raise enough money for a rehabilitation center that will provide physical therapy and educational training for amputees.

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Haitians Barricading Streets With Coffins as Protests Against U.N. Continue Over Cholera Outbreak

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Ansel Herz - Nov. 18 (News Report) - Protests are continuing in Haiti over the cholera outbreak that has now killed more than 1,100 people and infected some 17,000. On Wednesday, residents in the city of Cap-Haitien clashed with U.N. troops for the third consecutive day. Crowds have taken to the streets expressing anger at the Haitian government and the United Nations for failing to contain the disease. We go to Cap-Haitien to speak with independent journalist Ansel Herz.

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As cholera worsens, violence breaks out in Haiti

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

GlobalPost - By Ezra Fieser - Nov. 16 (News Report) - Anger over the cholera outbreak led to violent demonstrations today as protesters set fire to a police station and clashed with U.N. forces in Cap-Haitien, a city on the north coast. One protester was killed. Many Haitians blame a Nepalese U.N. contingent for causing the outbreak when sewage from their camp leaked into the Artibonite.

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Thousands of Haitians Face Risk of Forcible Evictions from Temporary Camps

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS, Mark Schuller, - Aug. 17 (News Report) - It's been over seven months since Haiti's devastating earthquake left up to 300,000 dead and displaced over 1.5 million. Only a small fraction of the displaced have found new homes, and those who've found shelter in temporary camps now face a new round of displacement. According to Haitian community groups, thousands of Haitians are at risk of forcible eviction from some of the 1,300 camps established since the quake. The evictions come at a time when reports show a rising number of rapes and sexual abuse in the aftermath of the quake, especially in the camps for the internally displaced.

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Oh Yeah That: Haiti, Six Months Later

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

theawl.com - Jul. 12 (News Report) - "Jean Renald Clerisme, the presidential adviser, says that in any case the Haitian government hasn't received the money it was promised by the donors, which it would need to buy land and reconstruct. 'At a big donors' meeting in New York, we were promised $10bn (£6.64bn),' he says. 'But we haven't received even 2% of this money – how do you explain that?'"

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Haitian Farmers Commit to Burning Monsanto Hybrid Seeds

Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Beverly Bell - May. 19 (News Report) - "A new earthquake" is what peasant farmer leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste of the Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP) called the news that Monsanto will be donating 60,000 seed sacks (475 tons) of hybrid corn seeds and vegetable seeds, some of them treated with highly toxic pesticides. The MPP has committed to burning Monsanto's seeds, and has called for a march to protest the corporation's presence in Haiti on June 4, for World Environment Day.

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"We Made a Devil's Bargain": Fmr. President Clinton Apologizes for Trade Policies that Destroyed Haitian Rice Farming

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Apr. 01 (News Report) - President Bill Clinton, now the UN Special Envoy to Haiti, publicly apologized last month for forcing Haiti to drop tariffs on imported, subsidized US rice during his time in office. The policy wiped out Haitian rice farming and seriously damaged Haiti’s ability to be self-sufficient. On Wednesday, journalist Kim Ives of Haiti Liberté questioned Clinton about his change of heart and his stance on the return of ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

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The Bill and Hillary conference at the U.N.

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Lee Hockstader - Mar. 31 (News Report) - The Bill and Hillary conference on Haiti started at the stroke of 9:00 a.m. today at the United Nations, a somber pageant of hundreds of international grandees, foreign ministers, diplomats, do-gooders, journalists and hangers-on of every description, many of whom were hanging mostly on to every word and gesture of the real stars of the show: the Clintons.

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Zakiya Khatou-Chevassus, Wyclef's Mistress, Received $105,000 From Yele Haiti, Blogs Allege

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Mar. 16 (Other) - Wyclef Jean tearing up at his January press conference. Khatou-Chevassus is currently listed on Yele's web site as the organization's vice president. But according to five sources familiar with Yele's operations, in 2008 she served as Jean's

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"Haiti - The Politics of Rebuilding": A Video Report from Avi Lewis of Al Jazeera

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Avi Lewis - Feb. 16 (Special Report) - Much of Port au Prince remains under mountains of rubble and Haitian officials say it would take years to clear out the rubble and begin the process of rebuilding the destroyed city. As pledges of billions of dollars of international aid and investment are made, debates over the vision of a new Haiti are already underway. Well journalist Avi Lewis was recently in Haiti exploring the politics of rebuilding the shattered country. He spoke to a number of people including Haitian presidential adviser Patrick Elie and economist Camille Chalmer. His report aired on the program Faultlines on Al Jazeera English last week.

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Haiti: US Lawmakers, NGOs Call for Debt Cancellation

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

TruthOut - By Jim Lobe - Feb. 04 (News) - Three weeks after Haiti's devastating earthquake, nearly 100 U.S. lawmakers joined with key civil society groups here Thursday to urge the Group of Seven (G7) leading western nations to commit to cancelling all of the Caribbean country's multilateral debt. read more

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