Solidarité Québec-Haiti applauds the call issued by Coalition haïtienne au Canada contre la dictature en Haïti for active solidarity with the People of Haiti on Monday, March 29, 2021 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the Haitian consulate in Montreal, located at 300 Rue Léo Pariseau.
This demonstration against Canadian support for Jovenel Moïse’s dictatorship in Haiti is part of a larger movement of international solidarity with the people of Haiti, which brings together organizations in New York, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Santo-Domingo, Caracas, San Juan, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Halifax, Fredericton, Ottawa and elsewhere.
After more than 30 years of struggle against a Duvalier dictatorship actively supported by the CIA, the Haitian people finally neutralized the brutal Tontons Macoutes and massively ratified a democratic Constitution on March 29, 1987. Thirty-four years later, Haitian democracy is in serious danger with the continued violation of the 1987 Constitution by the de facto power of Moïse whose disputed mandate ended on February 7, 2021.
Assured of the unwavering support of his foreign tutors grouped together in the neocolonial “Core Group,” Moïse persists in his practices of terror and his de facto government is preparing to organize a referendum to adopt a new Constitution, despite the fact that Article 284.3 of the Haitian Constitution specifically prohibits this: “any popular consultation aimed at modifying the constitution by referendum is formally prohibited”. This illegal project is contested and denounced by Haitian institutions, civil society organizations, political forces, as well as the vast majority of the Haitian people. The tutors of Moïse constituting the Core Group (US, Canada, France, Brazil, etc.), Organization of American States, United Nations (in particular the UN Integrated Office in Haiti) must now face a growing popular international movement that stands in solidarity with Haiti.
Solidarité Québec-Haiti congratulates the unions of Quebec and a coalition of Quebec NGOs, Canadian Labor Congress, Canadian Union of Public Employees and many other organizations that have sharply criticized Canada’s support for Moïse’s dictatorship. Furthermore, three current and three former MPs, along with Stephen Lewis, David Suzuki, Naomi Klein and 500 others, signed a letter last month criticizing Canada’s support for a repressive and corrupt Haitian president who leads without constitutional legitimacy. In a recent press release, Chris Aylward, President of Public Service Alliance of Canada, noted how “(Moïse) came to power in 2017 after two consecutive presidential elections supported by Canada… (that were) marred by irregularities and resulted in very low turnout. Moreover, the majority of Haitians have never accepted the results of these elections.”
On March 22, 2021, Bloc Québécois MP Mario Beaulieu presented to the House of Commons a petition asking the federal government to hold a hearing of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development in order to make transparent everything pertaining to “the Ottawa Initiative on Haiti’, considered to be the initiator of both the “Core Group” and 2004 coup that overthrew 7,000 elected officials, including president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Canadian government’s response to this petition is expected in the coming days. In the meantime, everything indicates that the “Core Group” with its foreign representatives in Port-au-Prince in collusion with a dozen oligarchic Haitian families, widely considered to be the real power behind the repressive and corrupt dictator Jovenel Moïse and his self-named “legal bandits,” are ramping up a campaign of terror on the most impoverished and vulnerable Haitians. Rather than continue to legitimize this dictatorship, which largely gives way to the plundering of the country’s natural resources to the detriment of the people of Haiti, Canada must review its agenda and respect the will of the Haitian people.
Solidarité Québec-Haiti responds positively to the appeal of the Coalition haïtienne au Canada contre la dictature en Haïti which invites progressive forces in Canada and Quebec to stand in solidarity with the Haitian people. This Monday, we will be present in front of the Haitian consulate in Montreal (300 Rue Léo Pariseau) to say No to dictatorship in Haiti! No to the unconstitutional referendum! No to imperialist interference! Yes to solidarity with the valiant Haitian people!