This article was originally published by Haiti Action and Global Research on March 2, 2004. At the time, Canada’s involvement in the Coup d’Etat was not known.

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Members of  Congress Waters and Rangel and Randall Robinson, all three, confirmed that the President and Mrs. Aristide said they were forced on an airplane, at gunpoint, with U.S. and French soldiers guarding.

The plane eventually landed in the French/US de facto protectorate known as the Central African Republic . Aristide reiterated he did not resign and that he was being held hostage surrounded by French and U.S. soldiers in a place called the Chateau De Renaissance, in the Central African Republic.

Our Black people in Port-au-Prince Haiti are being slaughtered.

The duly elected President kidnapped by U.S. Marines and flown out of the country at gunpoint and is being held hostage in the Central African Republic under U.S and French guard.

Yesterday [Feb 29], it is reported that, under U.S. marine escort the former FRAPH/FAHD thugs rolled into Port-au-Prince.

Aristide’s private residence has been raided and pillaged.

The Prime Minister’s residence has raided and pillaged. .

The first order of business for these U.S. supported death squad leaders (Guy Philippe, Jean Tatoune and Louis Jodel Chamblain) and harden criminals was to go to the National Penitentiary and forcibly break out all the 2000 prisoners there.

Now these murderers have more murderers to help them terrorize Haiti.

Practically every building Aristide and the Haitian people built these last 10 years are being burned down and destroyed. Meanwhile the U.S. troops, French troops, Canadian troops are protecting their own edifices in Haiti. No one is protecting the more than 850 million investment per year hard working Haitians of the Diaspora have invested in the security, development, shelter and nurturing of their relatives, children and family in Haiti.

Last night these opposition thugs ran through the slums of Belaire, La Saline and Cite Soleil, well known for its support of the elected President, who is now a hostage of the U.S., and indiscriminately fired, killing countless numbers, according to an independent reporter in Port-au-Prince.

The Lavalas Party has been threatened and warned to remain quiet and not denounce the Coup d’Etat and abduction of Aristide, his wife, a brother in law and two security people from Haiti. Not to tell the people President Aristide did not resign freely but at U.S. gunpoint and forced on an airplane against his will.

The oppression and REPRESSION of democracy is as follows:

Dissenters, specifically Lavalas officials, are being told if Lavalas demonstrates in Haiti and protests or defend their right to free speech and association, or for the return of Aristide and against the opposition and their Jean Tatoune/Guy Philippe/Louis Jodel Chamberlain triumvirate, then presumably the international community, that is, U.S/ France/Canada along with the opposition they broker for, will make sure that the Lavalas party is not allowed to participate in any upcoming elections!

Moreover, Prime Minister, Yvonne Neptune is technically a prisoner in his office. US/Euro soldiers surround the Prime Minister’s building. He cannot leave his office and his home has been ransacked.

From these reports, it appears any good works towards justice in Haiti that had flickered has been destroyed in one fell, U.S.-Coup d’Etat swoop yesterday. Supposedly a Triumvirate has been created, made up of 1). One member of the International Community, 2) One member of the so-called opposition and 3) One member of Lavalas.

It is reported, this Triumvirate will, in turn, pick a nine or so  member council to work towards elections and governance. The Supreme Court Judge has been appointed interim President of Haiti and it is rumored the former Haitian army head, Herald Abraham is back in office calling all former army soldiers back to their post!

According to some on-the-ground observers, Former Haitian military are right now walking side by side with U.S. Marines and French and Canadian troops in Haiti.

So many laws have been broken; I am not sure where to begin.

l. It is against the U.N. Charter, the OAS, The CARICOM charter to violently overthrow a constitutionally elected President;

2. It is against all these above-mentioned charters and international law and U.S. federal law to kidnap and take hostage, not only a President of a sovereign country but his U.S. citizen wife and the brother and two security guards. If this operation goes up Bush, if he had anything to do with this covert operation and abduction, we are talking about High Crimes and Misdemeanors, not to mention that impeachment resolution should begin to be drafted right now.

3. The 2004 US/French invasion of Haiti. It is against international law to enter a sovereign country without an invitation. All the foreign troops, French, U.S. Canadian, etc. who invaded Haiti on February 29, 2004, to conduct and maintains this crime-against-humanity-debacle are in violation of international law and treaties and Haitian sovereignty.

4. Secretary Colin Powell, Roger Noriega, U.S. Ambassador Foley and all those directly or indirectly supporting the reign in Haiti of convicted criminals, like Jean Tatoune, Guy Philippe, and Jodel Louis Chamblain and all their other terrorist, and an unelected, platformless opposition, may be charged as accomplices in the killings and slaughter of the Haitian people being murdered right now in Haiti by these ex-soldiers and death squad leaders and possibly now, their new prisoner recruits from the National Penitentiary.

5. The cover-up and/or current dismissal by the major news media and press of President Aristide’s abduction and forced resignation is violates all journalistic ethics and code. It appear as a part and parcel of the State Department’s psychological warfare to repress free speech against this dastardly deed not only in the U.S. but also in Haiti. For instance the fact that Guy Philippe an accused drug trafficker (confirmed by the US Drug Enforcement Administration), accused Coup d’Etat leader under both Preval and the Aristide administrations, is today traveling with his own embedded AP reporter. (It would be like  Bin Laden traveling around with his own embedded AP reporter). All this is evidence of the mainstream media’s outrageous and depraved indifference to the sufferings of the Black people of Haiti. There is a racist tone, which is deplorable, for instance the guest yesterday on George Stephanopoulos’ ABC News show, said that the United States has a stake in Haiti “because we have to control the flow of refugees and disease” into the U.S.

The media’s treatment of the vast majority of Haiti’s People plight and struggle to live free and establish democracy is unimaginably callous and non-factual, mainly playing into deep racists fears and stereotypes.

Another instance of reporting verbatim, without verification, state department positions is what we read today, March 1, 2004, in the New York Times about Haiti. The New York Times reports that, for instance, South Africa refused Aristide asylum. Yet, President Aristide talked this morning via telephone to Maxine Waters, Randall Robinson and Charles Rangel. He said he wanted the Haitian people and the world to know that he did not resign. It was a Coup d’Etat. U.S. Marines who came to his house with Morino, a U.S. representative to the U.S. Ambassador Foley and told him they were withdrawing his U.S. security details, that he had to leave or face Guy Phillippe who was being escorted into Port-au-Prince by U.S. soldiers. Congresspersons, Waters, and Rangel and Randall Robinson, all three, confirmed that the President and Mrs. Aristide said they were forced on an airplane, at gunpoint, with U.S. and French soldiers guarding, that eventually landed in the French/US de facto protectorate known as the Central African Republic. President Aristide said he was not allowed to call anyone, much less call South Africa, or any nation and ask for asylum. He reiterated he did not resign and that he was being held hostage surrounded by French and U.S. soldiers in a place called the Chateau De Renaissance, in the Central African Republic.

Call your local Congressperson. Call the White House. Call Secretary of State Colin Powell and the Haiti Desk at the State Department. Ask that the U.S. withdraw all support for these opposition thugs and secure the safe return of the Constitutionally elected Haitian President and Mrs. Aristide to Haiti.

 Marguerite Laurent, Esq. is Chair, Haitian Lawyers Leadership