U.N. peacekeepers opened fire Monday on Haitians protesting election results, killing at least one and wounding four, witnesses said as flaming roadblocks paralyzed the capital.
In an image that galvanize this uprising,
Associated Press journalists saw the body of a man in the street in the Tabarre neighborhood, a T-shirt bearing the image of leading candidate Rene Preval soaked in blood. Witnesses said Jordanian U.N. peacekeepers opened fire on them, killing two and wounding four. The body of the second victim was not at the scene.
Haitians have complained for over a year that the tensions were highest with Jordanian troops over other nationalities in the peace keeping force. In Haiti Information Project publications Haitians pointed out the irony of the army of dictatorship occupying them ostensibly to bring the Haitians democracy.
Meanwhile the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network is also reporting U.S. troop movements into the Dominican Republic. This, along with the credible fraud allegations reported on yesterday, is a potentially dangerous development. The Nonviolent Haitian Uprising is starting to look like the Orange Revolution in the red, blue and white of the Lavalas Movement. The UN troops have long been on the repressive side and US forces have almost a century of a brutal legacy which includes numerous violent occupations. The American instructors trained for most of the top military leadership of the Duvalier dictatorships and for key players in the 2 coups against democratically elected governments (of Jean Bertrand Aristide), while the CIA had these "Tonton Macoute" on their payroll.
Haiti is in need of attention and solidarity. What do we have to give?
On a side note, CNN's title for coverage of the killing was "Witnesses Claim Peacekeepers in Haiti Open Fire." Well at least AP staff was decent enough to be among the witnesses.
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La Luchita: Paz, Justicia y Libertad
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