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From: Allen Ruff <[log in to unmask]> 03/10/04 09:57AM >>>
>
>
>HAITI ACTION ALERT:
>Aristide Under Lock & Key, U.S. Delegation Says
>
>*take action to get the word out*
>
>Dear friends,
>
>We would like to encourage you help circulate the following press
>release on breaking news regarding the status of Haitian President
>Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who is being held virtually incommunicado on
>the instructions of U.S. authorities. We have established an
>easy-to-use system that will allow you to send the press release to
>the local and national media of your choice. This system also will
>allow you to send a brief customized message, if you would like, to
>the media outlet(s) you choose. By working together around the
>country, we can encourage and/or pressure the media to pursue this
>story.
>
>Thousands of people in Haiti have risked life and limb in recent days
>to demonstrate in Port-au-Prince in support of the return of the
>democratically elected president of Haiti and in opposition to the
>U.S. coup d'etat and occupation. Take a few moments to help circulate
>this press release to show solidarity with the Haitian people.
>
>Below is the press release, entitled "Aristide Under Lock & Key, U.S.
>Delegation Says." Below the press release is the link for the
>easy-to-use system that allows you to send out this press release to
>the media outlets of your choice.
>
>ARISTIDE UNDER LOCK & KEY,
>U.S. DELEGATION SAYS
>
>March 7, 2004
>
>A delegation from the United States has arrived in the Central
African
>Republic to meet with overthrown Haitian President Jean-Bertrand
>Aristide. President Aristide was taken involuntarily to the Central
>African Republic following a U.S. coup d'etat on February 28. The
>group was granted visas on Thursday and Friday and departed the
United
>States on Friday evening.
>
>The delegation includes Kim Ives from the Haiti Support Network, and
>Johnnie Stevens and Sara Flounders from the International Action
>Center. Ives, Flounders and Stevens are representing former U.S.
>Attorney General Ramsey Clark. Also on the delegation are Brian
>Concannon, acting in the capacity of President Aristide's lawyer; and
>Katherine Kean, a friend of President Aristide.
>
>Kim Ives, a personal friend of Jean-Bertrand and Mildred Aristide,
>said "This morning, the delegation went to the Palace of the
>Renaissance, the presidential compound where President Aristide is
>being held." Mr. Ives had spoken to the Foreign Minister on Thursday
>to inform him that the delegation was coming to the Central African
>Republic to meet with President Aristide.
>
>"We were stopped at the gates by a guard who contacted a Central
>African Republic official inside the building. A representative of
the
>Central African Republic came out to speak with us," Ives reported.
>"We asked to go in to visit President Aristide and were told we could
>not. We asked if he could come out to see us, and we were told no. We
>asked if we could send in a note or our phone number, and we were
told
>no. The official then told us that he had spoken with the Minister of
>Defense and that Aristide was not allowed to receive visitors."
>
>Mr. Ives also reported that he placed a call to the cell phone that
>the Aristides have been using to place calls to their friends,
>attorneys and the media. "Mildred Aristide answered the phone. I
said,
>'Hello Mildred, this is Kim Ives, we are here.' At that point, the
>phone line went dead. We have tried to call many times since then but
>there has been no answer."
>
>Brian Concannon is also a member of the delegation, acting in the
>capacity of President Aristide's attorney. Standing outside the gates
>of the compound where President Aristide is being held, Mr. Concannon
>requested to meet with President Aristide alone for a consultation.
>This was also denied.
>
>"The world has been told that President Aristide is free to come and
>go, and that he has simply chosen not to leave," said Sara Flounders
>of the International Action Center. "The fact that our delegation has
>been denied all forms of contact with President Aristide confirms, in
>fact, that he is being kept under lock and key, at this point not
even
>able to communicate by phone."
>
>"The U.S. and French governments chose to take Aristide to the
Central
>African Republic, a formerly colonized and impoverished country,"
said
>Johnnie Stevens of the International Action Center. "The Central
>African Republic, similar to many formerly colonized countries in
>Africa and around the world, has been isolated and underdeveloped
>because of the past policies of France, the U.S. and other colonial
>and neo-colonial powers. The U.S. and France should be paying
>reparations to the Central African Republic."
>
>* * * * *
>
>HELP CIRCULATE THIS PRESS RELEASE TO SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH THE HAITIAN
>PEOPLE
>
>Click on the following link to send an e-mail to your local and
>national media outlets urging them to cover this important story:
>http://www.capwiz.com/votenowar/issues/alert/?alertid=5296001&type=ME
<http://www.capwiz.com/votenowar/issues/alert/?alertid=5296001&type=ME>
>
>After you click on the link, simply follow the easy-to-understand
>instructions. You will first enter your zip code and press "go." You
>will be taken to a list of media outlets. You can select the media
>outlets you want to send to and then choose "compose a message." You
>can then add your customized message (if you would like) and send the
>email.
>
>---------------------------
>
>Email circulated by:
>A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
>Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
>
>FOR MORE INFORMATION:
>http://www.InternationalANSWER.org
>[log in to unmask]
>Washington 202-544-3389
>New York 212-633-6646
>Los Angeles 213-487-2368
>San Francisco 415-821-6545
>
>Sign up to receive updates (low volume):
>http://www.internationalanswer.org/subscribelist.html
>
>To make a tax-deductible donation, go to
>http://www.internationalanswer.org/donate.html
>

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