Haiti Action Alert: US-UN-OAS Stop Supporting Dictatorship in Haiti!
The Biden Administration continues to back an increasingly autocratic Jovenel Moise regime in Haiti. Moise’s dictatorial grip on power and his plans to hold an illegal constitutional referendum and sham elections have been contested by every sector of Haitian society. Just weeks ago, throughout Haiti, people in cities and towns marked Haitian Flag Day with renewed protests, while Haitians marched in Washington DC and other cities to denounce US support for the Haitian ruler. On June 18th, Haitian organizations in the diaspora are again mobilizing to denounce the increasingly isolated regime. Faced with this spiralling opposition, Moise had to postpone the referendum, originally scheduled for June 27th. The US State Department, which for months has refused to condemn the referendum, finally issued a statement of opposition.
Moise continues to insist that a referendum will be held. And the Biden Administration continues to back Moise in his plans to hold phony elections aimed at solidifying his party’s rule over Haiti. US diplomatic, economic, and military aid empower Moise to further undermine democracy in Haiti, reinforce the power of the Haitian elite and exclude the Haitian majority – a process set in motion with the 2004 coup that overthrew President Aristide’s democratic government.
The UN has already provided $20 million and material/logistical support for Moise’s illegal referendum and planned elections, including training the murderous Haitian National Police to provide election security. Now the Organization of American States (OAS) has sent a delegation to Haiti, financed by the US, to provide legitimacy for these fake elections. Those of us who support the popular movement in Haiti need to act now.
Contact US and UN officials with these demands:
- Withdraw all US/UN/OAS support for the dictatorship of Jovenel Moise.
- US/UN/OAS must oppose any sham elections organized by the Moise regime.
- US/UN/OAS must denounce any new attempt by the Moise dictatorship to reschedule the illegal referendum.
- US/UN! Stop funding the Haitian National Police and the Haitian Army – the regime’s repressive security forces.
President Joe Biden:tweet@POTUS;email https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Secretary of State Antony Blinken: tweet @SecBlinken; ph: 202-647-4000; email https://register.state.gov/contactus/contactusform
Secretary General of the UN António Guterres: tweet @antonioguterres; ph: (212) 963-7160
- The State Department has endorsed Moise’s illegitimate claim to another year in power, despite rulings by the Haitian Bar Association, the Supreme Court and a broad consensus among Haiti’s citizens that his term ended on February 7, 2021.
- Moise continues to press forward with his illegal referendum to change Haiti’s constitution. The proposed changes amount to institutionalizing and legalizing dictatorship. Drafted by Moise appointees, the new constitution would restructure the government to centralize power in the presidency, legalize land grabs, and protect members of the administration from prosecution. This legalized impunity would do away with cases in Haitian courts involving corruption such as the stolen PetroCaribe funds and crimes against humanity related to the massacres and assassinations perpetrated by the regime.
- The United Nations is actively providing support for the referendum, despite having made public statements of concern about its lack of transparency and inclusion. The UN has allocated $20 million to support the referendum and has agreed to provide logistical support to hold the vote. The UN will also assist the repressive Haitian National Police to develop an election security strategy.
- The Biden Administration persists in calling for immediate Haiti elections even though elections do not equal democracy when they are held under the auspices of an illegitimate president who is ruling by decree in the absence of a functioning legislature, who kills and imprisons his opponents and responds to popular protests with an iron fist. UN funds are already in place to provide technical support for the elections.
Haitians are calling on the Biden Administration to stop supporting Moise and cease calling for fake elections controlled by a dictatorial regime. If not, they warn that the US will be responsible “for every kidnapping, every political assassination, every disappearing of young activists staged by the totalitarian and criminal PHTK government they are supporting.”
The recent success of the TPS campaign, led by determined Haiti immigration activists, proves that public pressure works. After shamelessly deporting more Haitians in a few months than Trump did in an entire year, the Biden administration reinstated TPS, giving welcome temporary relief to undocumented Haitians living in the US. Now we must go further to address conditions in Haiti that force people to flee in the first place. We must demand an end to US support for Jovenel Moise, demand the US/UN condemn his illegal referendum to impose a new constitution and fake elections.
We must demand an end to US/foreign intervention in Haiti. Respect the Haitian people’s right to decide how to best move forward. US/UN Out of Haiti! US/UN Stop Supporting Dictatorship in Haiti! No to Support for the Regime’s Constitutional Referendum! US/UN Stop Funding Police Terror in Haiti!
