Protect Vice President, Francia Marquez: An Open Letter to President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro

11 de enero 2022 – January 11, 2022

Media Contact
communications@blackallianceforpeace.com
+001 (202) 643-1136

Honorable President Gustavo Petro,

Today the Vice President of Colombia, Francia Marquez, revealed on Twitter that her “security team found a device with more than 7 kilos of explosive material on the road that leads to [her] family residence in the village of Yolombó, in Suárez, Cauca”. This security breach against Vice President Marquez is only the most recent worrying incident, which has reinforced our ongoing concern around her security. We have received reports that call into question the physical security of the Vice President. 

We, the Black Alliance for Peace’s Haiti/Americas Team, seek assurance that your administration is also watching this with concern and we hope the government will take appropriate measures. The Black Alliance for Peace is a coalition of organizations and individuals that oppose militarization, imperialism, and the permanent war agenda of the U.S. state domestically and globally. As the Haiti and the Americas Team, we are focused on achieving the liberation of all peoples in the region and real peace in Nuestra América, through the advancement of an “Americas-wide” struggle for authentic decolonization and social development. 

As you are aware, Vice President Marquez’s position is unique. In addition to being a high-ranking public official in Colombia, she has been a long-time activist for the rights of Afro-Colombian and Ethnic peoples and communities. This activism and her position are important not only in Colombia, but Marquez is also a prominent leader for all of us in the African diaspora, particularly in the Americas. As an activist outside of the government, she was under constant death threats, as are so many activists in Colombia, who since 2016 have faced even more violence and uncertainty. We understand this is part of a pattern of violence against social activists, particularly Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Colombian leaders, which both the Santos and Duque administration did little to stop. According to Indepaz, at least 1,550 social leaders have been murdered since 2016, with 189 killed in 2022 (more than in 2021). We condemn the ongoing targeting of social leaders, including the Vice President Marquez, as well as the continued racist comments and other slurs against the Vice President. We urge you, President Gustavo Petro, to take note of these matters, increase the capacity to protect social leaders, and act in all necessary ways to ensure the physical integrity of the Vice President, her relatives and close advisors.

Sincerely,
Haiti/Americas Team
Black Alliance for Peace

————————————— Español —————————————-

11 de enero de 2023

Contacto:

info@blackallianceforpeace.com

+001 (202) 643-1136 (EE. UU.)

Honorable Presidente Gustavo Petro,

Ayer, la Vicepresidenta de Colombia, Francia Márquez Mina, reveló en Twitter que su “equipo de seguridad encontró un artefacto con más de 7 kilos de material explosivo en la vía que conduce a la residencia de [su] familia en la vereda Yolombó, en Suárez, Cauca”. Esta brecha de seguridad contra la Vicepresidenta Márquez es solo el incidente preocupante más reciente, que ha reforzado nuestra preocupación constante por su seguridad. Hemos recibido informes que ponen en entredicho la seguridad física de la Vicepresidenta y las prioridades del gobierno colombiano para garantizar su protección.

Nosotros, el Equipo de Haití/Américas de la Alianza Negra por la Paz, buscamos la seguridad de que su administración también está observando esto con preocupación y esperamos que el gobierno tome las medidas necesarias. La Alianza Negra por la Paz es una coalición de organizaciones e individuos que se oponen a la militarización, el imperialismo y la agenda de guerra permanente del Estado de los EE. UU. a nivel nacional y mundial. Como Equipo Haití/Américas, estamos enfocados en lograr la liberación de todos los pueblos de la región y la paz real en Nuestra América, a través del avance de una lucha “en toda América” por una auténtica descolonización y desarrollo social.

La figura de la vicepresidenta Márquez es única. Además de ser una funcionaria pública de alto rango en Colombia, ha sido una activista por los derechos de los pueblos y comunidades afrocolombianas y étnicas durante mucho tiempo. Este activismo y su cargo son importantes no solo en Colombia, sino que Márquez también es una líder destacada para todos nosotros en la Diáspora Africana, particularmente en las Américas.

Como activista fuera del gobierno, estuvo bajo constantes amenazas de muerte, al igual que muchos activistas en Colombia, que desde 2016 han enfrentado aún más violencia e incertidumbre. Entendemos que esto es parte de un patrón de violencia contra activistas sociales, particularmente líderes afrocolombianos e indígenas colombianos, que tanto la administración de Santos como la de Duque hicieron poco para detener. Según Indepaz, al menos 1.550 líderes sociales han sido asesinados desde 2016, con 189 asesinados en 2022 (más que en 2021).

Condenamos los continuos ataques contra líderes sociales, incluida la vicepresidenta Márquez, así como los continuos comentarios racistas y otros insultos contra la vicepresidenta. Le exhortamos, Presidente Gustavo Petro, a tomar nota de estos asuntos, aumentar la capacidad de protección de los líderes sociales y actuar en todas las formas necesarias para garantizar la integridad física de la Vicepresidenta, sus familiares y allegados.

Atentamente,

Equipo de Haití/Américas

Alianza Negra por la Paz

Banner photo: Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Vice President Francia Márquez celebrate their victory at the Movistar Arena in Bogotá on June 19. (courtesy Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)

An Africa Anti-Imperialist Week of Actions Launches Today to Expose and Denounce Biden Administration’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C.

For Immediate Release     

Media Contact

communications@blackallianceforpeace.com 

(202) 643-1136

DECEMBER 12, 2022— In a direct response to the Biden administration’s “U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit''—taking place in Washington, D.C., December 13-15—the U.S Out of Africa Network, the organizational arm of the Black Alliance for Peace’s (BAP) campaign to shut down the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), has launched an anti-imperialist week of actions in Washington to raise public awareness about the cynical intentions of the summit.

BAP’s December 9 statement challenges in detail the Biden administration’s claim that the summit will “demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities.” BAP pointed out the United States militarily occupies 53 of the 54 countries on the continent in one form or another, that it sustains a drone war in Somalia, and that it led the 2011 NATO destruction of Libya.

BAP’s actions throughout the week will include protests and rallies, starting on December 13 with a noon forum, “Africa Anti-Imperialist Summit: Voices from the Ground.” Then a press conference will be held at 2 p.m. on December 16. Both events mentioned will take place at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) at 1301 Connecticut Avenue, 6th Floor, Washington, D.C.

While Biden administration officials play down their concern about the inroads of China and Russia into Africa, U.S. Out of Africa Network Coordinator Tunde Osazua says, “Challenging these inroads is a clear goal of the summit. On the heels of Human Rights Day they’re convening the summit to undermine the human rights of African people and want us to ignore the historical record of the U.S. in Africa.”

BAP is also calling out the Congressional Black Caucus for their ongoing support of U.S. oppressive, murderous policies in Africa. “These members sit quietly, in active dereliction of their duty, to safeguard the rights and interests of Black and oppressed people,” says Netfa Freeman, BAP Coordinating Committee member.

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Banner photo: The center of Benghazi in ruins after years of conflict (courtesy Ivor Prickett for The New York Times.)

Invitations for a Seat at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Table Should Not Only Be Rejected, the Table Needs Turning Over!

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) recognizes the “U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit'' — scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. December 13-15th — as nothing more than collusion between neo-colonial powers and U.S. attempts to advance and maintain dominance over the continent.

Liberal elements of U.S. civil society will preoccupy themselves with the issues they think should be addressed at the Summit, claiming to act in the best interest of Africa or, as with the Summit of the Americas held earlier this year, attack those who they say do not deserve to be invited. Such dispositions presume the U.S. has honest intentions for Africa and legitimizes/obscures its real interests and role.

Convened on the heels of Human Rights Day which is held every December 10, the Black Radical Human Rights and Peace Traditions must center the historical record of the U.S. in Africa and the geo-strategic interests it is committed to upholding. The carefully considered proceedings, side events, invitations, and public relations campaigns are designed to secure greater control of Africa’s abundant resources for U.S. “national interests” aligned with the interest of international finance capital.

Having assumed the racist mantle of the “White Man’s Burden” in the Global South in general and Africa in particular, the U.S. claims that this summit will “demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities.” Such statements should be exposed as being disingenuous and an effort to cover up the United States' malign intent.

African independence movements since the 1950s have been destabilized by U.S. administrations of both parties. Democratically elected leaders such as Patrice Lumumba of Congo, who was assassinated by the CIA, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, who was overthrown in a CIA orchestrated coup, fell victim to U.S. government meddling, and they are only two among many. Contemporary U.S. interference has involved proxy wars in Congo with the assistance of Uganda and Rwanda, and in Somalia with Ethiopia (2006-2009) followed by a sustained drone war over Somalia under the guise of fighting extremists. In 2011 the U.S. led NATO in a regime change operation resulting in the total destruction of Libya. The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) occupies 53 of the 54 countries on the continent in one form or another for U.S. neo-colonial hegemony.

A core goal of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit is to challenge the inroads of the People’s Republic of China and to a lesser extent the Russian Federation vis-à-vis the continent. The political sectors of the U.S. oligarchy are concerned about regional cooperation initiated in the Horn of Africa since 2018, and anti-France and pro-Russia expressions among the people in countries like Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, which is invoking the legacy of the revolutionary Thomas Sankara.

Most notably, the complicity and silence of the Congressional Black Caucus members over the role of the U.S. federal government in Africa and the dereliction of their professed purpose to represent the interests of Black and oppressed people will undoubtedly find political cover in the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. CBC members will be key-note speakers, event conveners, and backdoor deal makers for the U.S. neocolonial, white supremacist, patriarchal order. 

In contrast, the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) is holding an anti-imperialist week of actions to raise public awareness related to the real issues that should be on the agenda for discussion at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.  BAP calls for the dismantling of NATO, AFRICOM and all imperialist structures. Africa and the rest of the world cannot be free until all peoples are able to realize the right of sovereignty and the right to live free of domination.

We demand:

1. The complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Africa;

2. The closure of U.S. bases throughout the world; and

3. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to oppose the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and conduct hearings on AFRICOM’s impact on the African continent, with the full participation of members of U.S. and African civil society.

Join BAP for an anti-imperialist week of actions!

Banner photo: The 2014 summit table surrounded by the empty chair reserved for invited participants (courtesy DOS Flickr)

Black Alliance for Peace Stands in Solidarity with the People of Haiti and Haitian Migrants Against Racist Harassment and Mass Deportations in the Dominican Republic

The Haiti/Americas Team of the Black Alliance for Peace Stands in Solidarity with the People of Haiti and Haitian Migrants Against Racist Harassment and Mass Deportations in the Dominican Republic

In Support of the Day of Solidarity with Haiti and Haitian Migration in the Dominican Republic and Around the World

For Immediate Release     

Media Contact

communications@blackallianceforpeace.com

(202) 643-1136

NOVEMBER 30, 2022—Haitian people, Haitian-descended Dominicans, and Africans from other parts of the globe are being harassed, detained, and deported across the Dominican Republic. The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) stands in solidarity with Dominican and Haitian organizations in denouncing Dominican President Luis Abinader’s campaign of mass deportations under Decree 668-22. This decree enables the government to round up and deport people of Haitian descent who have been living in the Dominican Republic for years. Some sources say that this year alone nearly 20,000 people have been deported, including 1,800 children.

Decree 668-22 is just the latest in a series of racist, anti-Haitian orders, rulings, and actions that have scarred the history of the Dominican Republic. The most egregious example remains the 1937 Parsley Massacre, in which tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were systematically killed. More recently, in 2013, under ruling 168-13, Dominican courts stripped over 200,000 Haitian-descended Dominicans of their citizenship, rendering them stateless and vulnerable to abuse and expulsion. Over the past few months, the Dominican Republic has been conducting mass deportations of Haitian people who had first arrived in the country after fleeing the instability and violence unleashed because of the deteriorating security situation in Haiti.

If the crisis in Haiti is a crisis of imperialism, the question of Haitian migration is clearly a direct result of the imperial crisis. The deportation, detention, abuse, and harassment of Haitians in the Dominican Republic—and, we must add, in the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas, and elsewhere—has structural and historical origins in the international community undermining Haiti’s sovereignty as well as brutally gutting its government and economy since 2004. Haiti has been under some form of Western foreign military occupation and control since that time, ruled by the Core Group (a body of Western countries) and administered by the United Nations through programs colloquially known as MINUSTAH and BINUH. Their policies have led to mass migration from Haiti and have further stoked the flames of anti-Haitian sentiment in the Dominican Republic as well as throughout the Americas. This “migration crisis” will not be resolved without the ability of the Haitian people to assert their sovereignty and decide their own fate without imperialist meddling.

BAP’s Haiti/Americas Team supports calls against the harassment and deportation of Haitians, Dominicans of Haitian descent, and all African peoples in the Dominican Republic, as well as action to end racist treatment and violence against Haitian people globally. The war on Haiti and Haitian people must be seen as part of a global war on African people. 

In recognition of this situation, BAP’s Haiti/Americas Team endorses the Day of Solidarity with Haiti and Haitian Migration in the Dominican Republic and Around the World [Dia de solidaridad con Haití y con la migración haitiana en República Dominicana y en el mundo], being observed today. In solidarity, we share the following statement by the Haitian-Dominican civic organization Reconocido Movement. The Spanish version of the statement follows below.

Stop the Racist Harassment! No More Deportations!

—

Visit Black Alliance for Peace’s Haiti page for additional resources on Haiti’s struggle against U.S./UN/OAS colonialism.

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 Day of solidarity with Haiti and Haitian migration in the Dominican Republic and around the world

On November 11, the Abinader government of the Dominican Republic approved decree 668-22, which creates a specialized police unit to pursue and expel from the country immigrants living on state or private lands. Since then, persecution, evictions and massive deportations, as well as violence against Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent who have been living for decades in bateyes in the country's sugar cane zones have increased. Images of destroyed homes, police and citizen violence, denial of medical attention, and hate speech towards the Haitian origin population have escalated to alarming limits, in an ongoing nationalist campaign, that already totals more than 85,000 mass deportations so far this year.

In the Dominican Republic there is a danger of perpetrating an ethnic cleansing similar to that committed by the Trujillo dictatorship who orchestrated the Parsley Massacre in 1937 killing more than 15,000 people because of their origin and skin color. 

We condemn this policy of mass expulsions and violation of personal safety that affects Haitians and black people in the Dominican Republic and that is based on the ideology of racial and cultural supremacy of the State and the Dominican elite. 

IT IS TIME TO ACT! 

We call for a united voice against the racist state violence that the Dominican state systematically maintains against the most vulnerable population.

We call on the international community, Haitian and Dominican diasporas, churches, trade union, cultural and political organizations, and human rights organizations around the world to stand in solidarity with the Haitian people, with the situation of Haitian migrants and their families in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere in the world. 

Let us remember that the Dominican Republic is a country that is sustained by tourism. We show the world the reality in which many people live because of their origin and skin color outside its beaches and resorts.

#HaitianLivesMatter #RDRacistState #NoMoreDeportationsRD #UnityAgainstRacismRD #LasVidasHaitianasImportan

If you want to learn more about this conflict:

https://www.reconoci.do/rechazamos-el-decreto-668-22-y-las-deportaciones/

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sd9n4twbaviefP8I6Y0U_9C1cFj8d6xr/view?usp=share_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UkskV4JlCNlWyZpMp1K5GWk4RMw72S-W/view?usp=share_link

In English:

https://www.latinorebels.com/2022/11/17/antihaitiandecree/

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/11/21/americas/dominican-republic-expels-haiti-children-intl-latam/index.html

https://www.blackagendareport.com/statement-and-petition-against-inhumane-deportation-haitian-migrants-dominican-republic”

—

Banner photo: Demonstrators protest in front of the presidential palace in Santo Domingo in May calling for the restoration of their Dominican nationality. (Courtesy of Amnesty International)

En español:

El equipo de Haití/Américas de la Alianza Negra por la Paz se solidariza con el pueblo de Haití y los migrantes haitianos contra el acoso racista y las deportaciones masivas en la República Dominicana.

 En Apoyo al Día de la Solidaridad con Haití y la Migración Haitiana en la República Dominicana y el Mundo

Para Publicación Inmediata

contacto con los medios de comunicación

communications@blackallianceforpeace.com

(202) 643-1136

30 de noviembre, 2022- El pueblo Haitiano, Dominicanos descendientes de haitianos, y Africanos de otras partes del mundo están siendo acosados, detenidos y deportados en toda República Dominicana, en lo último en una historia larga de racismo y tratamiento violento de Haitianos y Afro-Dominicanos del gobierno Dominicano. La Alianza Negra por la Paz (Black Alliance for Peace) se solidariza con las organizaciones dominicanas y haitianas denunciando la campaña de deportaciones masivas y el último decreto 668-22 del Presidente Abinader. Este último decreto permite específicamente que el gobierno redondee y deporte miles de personas descendientes de haitianos que han estado viviendo en la República Dominicano durante años. Desde el inicio del decreto el 11 de noviembre de este año, algunas fuentes dicen que casi 20,000 han sido deportados, incluyendo 1,800 niños y jóvenes.

 El Decreto 668-22 es solo lo último en una serie de órdenes, sentencias judiciales y acciones que han marcado la historia de la República Dominicana. El ejemplo más atroz sigue siendo la Masacre de Perejil de 1937, en la que decenas de miles de haitianos y dominicanos de ascendencia haitiana fueron asesinados sistemáticamente. Más recientemente, en el 2013, bajo el decreto 168-13, las cortes dominicanas despojaron más de 200.000 dominicanos descendientes de haitianos de su ciudadanía, dejándolos apátridas y vulnerables al abuso y la expulsión. En los últimos meses, la República Dominicana ha estado realizando deportaciones masivas de haitianos que llegaron por primera vez al país huyendo de la inestabilidad y la violencia desatada por el deterioro de la situación de seguridad en Haití. Si la crisis de Haití es una crisis del imperialismo, la cuestión de la migración haitiana es claramente un resultado directo de la crisis imperial.

La deportación, detención, abuso y acosamiento de haitianos en la República Dominicana –también, debemos agregar, en los Estados Unidos, México, las Bahamas y otros lugares– tiene como origen estructural e histórico el socavamiento de la comunidad internacional de la soberanía de Haití y el brutal desmantelamiento de su gobierno y economía desde 2004. Haití ha estado bajo alguna forma de ocupación y control militar extranjero occidental desde ese momento, gobernado por el Grupo CORE y administrado por las Naciones Unidas a través de MINUSTAH y BINUH. Sus políticas han llevado a la migración masiva desde Haití y avivado aún más las llamas del sentimiento anti-haitiano en la República Dominicana y en todo el continente americano. Esta “crisis migratoria” no se resolverá sin la capacidad del pueblo haitiano de hacer valer su soberanía y decidir su propio destino sin la intromisión imperialista.

El equipo Haití/Américas de la Alianza Negra por la Paz apoya los llamados contra el acoso y la deportación de haitianos, dominicanos de ascendencia haitiana y todos los pueblos africanos en la República Dominicana, así como la acción para poner fin al trato racista y la violencia contra el pueblo haitiano en todo el mundo. La guerra contra Haití y el pueblo haitiano debe verse como parte de una guerra global contra el pueblo africano.

En reconocimiento a esta situación, el Equipo de BAP Haití/Américas respalda el Día de Solidaridad con Haití y la Migración Haitiana en República Dominicana y el Mundo. En solidaridad compartimos el siguiente comunicado de la organización cívica Haitiano-Dominicana Movimiento Reconocido. 

¡Alto al acoso racista! ¡No más deportaciones!

Visita a la página web Haiti de la Alianza Negra por la Paz para recursos adicionales sobre la lucha haitiana contra el colonialismo de EEUU/ONU/OEA.

# # #

Desde nuestra organización queremos invitarte a ser parte de la campaña "Dia de solidaridad con Haití y con la migración haitiana en República Dominicana y en el mundo" dicha campaña busca llamar la atención internacional a la dramática situación de violencia y vulneración de derechos hacia las personas migrantes de origen haitiano y dominicanas de ascendencia haitiana en República Dominicana a raíz del último decreto presidencial que legitima y promueve las deportaciones masivas. Te invitamos a que te unas a esta campaña el día de hoy, miércoles 30 de noviembre durante todo el día. 

Para ser parte de la campaña haz lo siguiente:

1. Pon la imagen que te anexamos en tu perfil de instagran, facebook y twiter

2. Usa los siguientes hashtag: #RDEstadoRacista #NoMasDeportacionesRD #LasVidasHaitianasImportan #UnidadContraElRacismoRD

3. Etiqueta #Tourismrd para que el mundo vea la realidad en que viven muchas personas por fuera de sus playas y resorts

4.  Copia y pega el texto que te dejamos aquí en tus redes:

Dia de solidaridad con Haití y con la migración haitiana en República Dominicana y en el mundo

El 11 de noviembre el gobierno de Abinader de la República Dominicana aprobó el decreto 668-22, que crea una unidad especializada de la policía para perseguir y expulsar del país  a las personas inmigrantes que vivan en tierras estatales o privadas. Desde entonces la persecución, desalojo y deportaciones masivas, asi como la violencia hacia personas haitianas y dominicanas de ascendencia haitiana que viven desde hace décadas en bateyes de las zonas cañeras del país se ha incrementado. Las imágenes de viviendas destruidas, violencia policial y ciudadana, la denegación de atención médica, y los discursos de odio hacia la población de origen haitiano en el país han escalado a límites alarmantes en una campaña nacionalista en curso que ya suma más de 85 mil deportaciones masivas en lo que va de año.

En Rep. Dominicana existe el peligro de que se perpetre una limpieza étnica similar a la cometida por la dictadura de Trujillo quien orquestó la Masacre de Perejil en 1937 asesinando a más de 15,000 personas a causa de su origen y color de piel. 

Condenamos esta política de expulsiones masivas y de atropello a la seguridad personal que afecta a personas haitianas y a personas negras en República Dominicana y que está basada en la ideología de la supremacía racial y cultural del Estado y la élite dominicana. 

¡ES TIEMPO DE ACTUAR! 

Hacemos un llamado a unir la voz en contra de la violencia estatal racista que mantiene el estado dominicano de manera sistemática contra la población más vulnerable.

Llamamos a la comunidad internacional, a las diásporas haitianas y dominicanas, a las iglesias, a las organizaciones sindicales, culturales, políticas, a los organismos de derechos humanos de todo el mundo, a solidarizarse con el pueblo haitiano, con la situación de los migrantes haitianos y sus familias en República Dominicana y en otras partes del mundo. 

Recordemos que Rep. Dominicana es un país que se sustenta gracias al turismo. Le mostramos al mundo la realidad en que viven muchas personas por su origen y su color de piel por fuera de sus playas y resorts.

#LasVidasHaitianasImportan

#RDEstadoRacista

#NoMasDeportacionesRD

#UnidadContraElRacismoRD

Si quieres obtener más información sobre este conflicto:

https://www.reconoci.do/rechazamos-el-decreto-668-22-y-las-deportaciones/

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sd9n4twbaviefP8I6Y0U_9C1cFj8d6xr/view?usp=share_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UkskV4JlCNlWyZpMp1K5GWk4RMw72S-W/view?usp=share_link

The Black Alliance for Peace Welcomes Delayed Security Council Vote on Western Invasion of Haiti

The Black Alliance for Peace Welcomes Delayed Security Council Vote on Western Invasion of Haiti

BAP's Explicit Call for Security Council Opposition Was Heard

For Immediate Release    

Media Contact

info@blackallianceforpeace.com

(202) 643-1136

October 18, 2022 — One day after the Black Alliance for Peace - and other individuals and groups from Haiti and the Haitian diaspora - requested that Russia and China oppose the Biden Administration's UN Security Council resolution providing cover for another Western invasion of Haiti, the Security Council delayed consideration of the vote. The delay is a critical pause on a reckless, poorly-thought out, and potentially disastrous intervention into Haiti. In response to the delay, BAP’s Haiti-Americas team stated:

“We welcome the decision by Chinese and Russian representatives to the security council to speak up against the U.S.-Mexico push for another foreign military invasion of Haiti. We must also note, with worry, that the call for a “Non-UN” armed force, with no oversight, to invade Haiti is extremely reckless, and demonstrates the contempt with which the west and its minions hold Haitian people. Haitian people do not want another U.S.-led foreign intervention; they want to assert their sovereignty and an end to imperialist meddling in their country.” 

As we stated in a release yesterday, we want to be clear: The crisis of Haiti is a crisis of imperialism. 

The crisis is a result of consistent manipulation and intervention by the US, the Core Group, and aligned Western powers–with Mexico, Canada, the Dominican Republic, and the CARICOM nations assuming prominent roles.  The supposed “humanitarian” invasion that they are planning is not designed to serve the Haitian people and support their demands for sovereignty over their own affairs, but to bolster the illegitimate, criminal puppet government that they themselves have installed.

The Black Alliance for Peace, in alignment with the wishes of the Haitian masses and their supporters, absolutely stands against any foreign armed intervention in Haiti. We continue to demand an end to the ceaseless meddling in Haitian affairs by the United States and its alliance of interventionists. We hope our colleagues in the region who support democracy and self-determination will also stand with Haiti, and work toward establishing the Americas as a Zone of Peace by rejecting imperialism in all its forms.

END

Banner photo: A protester taunts police officers during Jean-Jacques Dessalines Day in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, October 17, 2022 (courtesy AFP)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BAP Opposes Biden Administration’s Security Council Resolution on Haiti and Calls for its Veto

The Black Alliance for Peace Opposes Biden Administration’s Security Council Resolution on Haiti and Calls for its Veto

The Crisis of Haiti is a Crisis of Imperialism

For Immediate Release   

Media Contact

info@blackallianceforpeace.com

(202) 643-1136

October 17, 2022. The Black Alliance for Peace emphatically opposes the Biden administration’s draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council to call for the immediate deployment of a “multinational rapid action force” to Haiti. We have specifically asked two permanent members of the Security Council - the representatives of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation - to veto this resolution. 

Western nations, led by the United States, and supported by Canada, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean Community, among others, are at the forefront of the push for another foreign military intervention in Haiti. Through a global public relations campaign, they are justifying invasion by pointing to a “humanitarian crisis” (including a new cholera outbreak) that has come about as a result of “gang violence.” 

Yet by now, we should know that when it comes to Haiti, we cannot trust the words of Western politicians and the coverage of Western media. In the context of the current “crisis,” politicians and media have worked overtime to shape the discussion of Haiti by highlighting particular details – while ignoring important historical facts.

 In the first instance, when calling for a military invasion of Haiti and promoting a narrative of crisis, the western media does not acknowledge that the current “government” in Haiti is unelected and unaccountable to Haitian people. It also fails to acknowledge that one core demand of the people is for authentic Haitian self-determination. Therefore, the last thing the Haitian people want is another “humanitarian” invasion and occupation by the US and the “Core Group.''  

Second, rarely does the media mention that, along with the demand for self-determination, the nationwide protests of hundreds of thousands of Haitian people have also been against the massive economic distress caused by a sharp increase in the cost of living. This increase was a direct result of a major increase in the cost of fuel – an increase decreed by the puppet Prime Minister and dictated by the IMF. 

Third, media coverage refuses to implicate the U.S., France, and Canada in the 2004 coup d’etat which removed the country’s popularly elected president, eventually leading to the current crisis. 

Much of what we hear about Haiti today is a distortion - or outright fabrication - of Haiti’s social and political reality. Much of it lacks historical context, especially when it comes to the unrelenting meddling of the foreign agents and institutions, for understanding the Haitian situation. Much of it is based in a deep racism that presumes that Black people are ungovernable while resenting the implications of Haiti’s historical commitment to Black freedom.

As a response to distortions and deceptions surrounding Haiti, the Haiti/Americas Team of the Black Alliance for Peace has compiled a dossier of recent statements, essays, and articles which collectively demonstrate both the imperial origins of Haiti’s crisis and the racist justifications supporting it.

We want to be clear: The crisis of Haiti is a crisis of imperialism. 

The Black Alliance for Peace, in alignment with the wishes of the Haitian masses and their supporters, absolutely stands against any foreign armed intervention in Haiti, and continues to demand an end to the unending meddling in Haitian affairs by the United States and Western powers. 

-Haiti/Americas Team of the Black Alliance for Peace 

~END~

ARTICLES :

“The Black Alliance for Peace Rejects the Calls for Foreign Intervention in Haiti and Demands that International Community Respect Haitian Sovereignty and the Wishes of the Haitian People for National Self-Determination" 

https://blackallianceforpeace.com/bapstatements/nooascallforhaitiintervention

Open Letter to Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), on the need to Support Haitian Sovereignty

https://blackagendareport.com/open-letter-secretary-general-caribbean-community-caricom-need-support-haitian-sovereignty

An Open Letter to His Excellency, Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), President of Mexico, on the Renewal of the UN Occupation of Haiti

https://blackallianceforpeace.com/movement-news/amloopenletter

Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Renewal of the UN Mission to Haiti (BINUH) 

https://blackallianceforpeace.com/bapstatements/2022unmandaterenewal

Who Rules Haiti? Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Undermining of Haitian National Sovereignty

https://blackallianceforpeace.com/bapstatements/whoruleshaiti

What is the Core Group?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t6RmBawvRCIY9VPYdv1ng_4fdEtor_zZp6njuzbBhlw/edit

What is the OAS?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gYy1MkLVReCfTS6WqQN8r80f8vEipdyJmkcDRXbs6fU/edit

Haiti: On Interventions and Occupations

https://blackagendareport.com/haiti-interventions-and-occupations

The Empire’s Front Yard and the Monroe Doctrine

https://hoodcommunist.org/2022/06/02/the-empires-front-yard-and-the-monroe-doctrine/

The "Leftism" of the Americas Collapses at the Door of Haitian Sovereignty

https://www.blackagendareport.com/leftism-americas-collapses-door-haitian-sovereignty

Borders, Blackness, and Empire

https://blackagendareport.com/borders-blackness-and-empire

PROCLAMATION: LIBERTY OR DEATH, JEAN JACQUES DESSALINES, 1804

Editors, The Black Agenda Review

06 Oct 2021 

https://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php/proclamation-liberty-or-death-jean-jacques-dessalines-1804

END—

Banner photo: A protest in Haiti. (courtesy AP)

No to Foreign Military Intervention In Haiti! Yes, to Haitian Self-Determination!

NO TO FOREIGN MILITARY INTERVENTION IN HAITI!

YES, TO HAITIAN SELF-DETERMINATION!

An Open Letter to the Representatives of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation

The Black Alliance for Peace asks that the representatives of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation vote against a United Nations-sanctioned military force to Haiti. The Haitian people view the presence of the United Nations Integrated Office (BINUH) as a foreign occupation that, since 2004, has suppressed Haiti’s independence and sovereignty. We call on your countries to respect Haitian sovereignty and to support the Haitian masses in their stand against the ongoing occupation of their country by foreign powers. 

We want to point out that the Haitian people have been engaged in nonviolent, nonstop protests for eight weeks. Despite the erroneous representation of these protests in Haiti as simply “gang violence,” the latest demonstrations are a direct result of two factors. First, they are a response to the everyday economic misery caused by rising inflation, especially through the staggering increase in the price of fuel. Second, they are part of a long history of demands for the end of foreign meddling in Haitian affairs, especially via the installation and maintenance of an unelected and illegitimate government by the Core Group, of which the United Nations is a part.  

Attempting to solve the current crisis in Haiti through the deployment of a foreign armed force to protect unelected and illegitimate Haitian “stakeholders” will only exacerbate the situation for regular Haitian people. 

We share with you the words of a coalition of Haitian grassroots organizations responding to the erroneous claims by UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterrez, that the protests in Haiti were only “gang violence:”  

“[T]hese popular protests are part of a struggle for a Haiti free from suffocating foreign interference, gangsterization, this extreme manufactured misery and an anti-national, illegitimate, criminal political regime established by the Core Group of which the UN is a member.”

Here is the Haitian people’s response to the recently passed IMF austerity measures on the country, measures which included the removal of fuel subsidies, tripling prices and raising inflation by 30%:

“This new decision, taken to the detriment of the interests of the people, has aroused his anger and also intensified a protest movement already initiated, whose objective is the recovery of our sovereignty, the recovery of Haiti's destiny by Haitians, the establishment by Haitians of a legitimate government, capable of defending the interests of the people and meeting the various challenges of the moment.”

A brief historical contextualization is in order:

The UN Mission to Haiti Is a Foreign Occupation Repressing Haitian Sovereignty

As you surely are aware, the United Nations became an occupying force in Haiti after the U.S.-France-Canada-led 2004 coup d’état against Haiti’s democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. We must note that, in addition to Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, only Jamaica’s P.J. Patterson, in his capacity as leader of CARICOM, spoke up against the coup.  

Following the coup, the UN took over from U.S. forces. Under Chapter VII of the UN charter, the UN established the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (or MINUSTAH), for the tasks of military occupation under the guise of establishing peace and security. The Workers Party-led government of Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva then betrayed the Haitian people and undercut Haiti’s sovereignty by agreeing to lead the military wing of the UN mission in Haiti.

The history of the UN in Haiti has been a history of violence. An expensive, multi-billion dollar operation, MINUSTAH had between 6,000 and 12,000 military troops and police stationed in Haiti alongside thousands of civilian personnel. Like the first U.S. occupation (1915-1934), the UN occupation under MINUSTAH was marked by its brutality and racism towards the Haitian people. Civilians were brutally attacked and assassinated. “Peace-keepers” committed sexual crimes. UN soldiers dumped human waste into rivers used for drinking water, unleashing a cholera epidemic that killed between 10,000 and 50,000 people. The UN has still not been held accountable for this needless death.

The Core Group — an international coalition of self-proclaimed “friends” of Haiti — came together during the MINUSTAH occupation. Non-Black, un-elected, and anti-democratic, the goal of the Core Group is to oversee Haiti’s governance. Meanwhile, as with the first occupation, the United States and MINUSTAH trained and militarized Haiti’s police and security forces, often rehabilitating and reintegrating rogue members. The United States, in collusion with MINUSTAH and the Core Group, also over-rode Haitian democracy, installing both neo-Duvalierist Michel Martelly and his Haitian Tèt Kale Party (PHTK), alongside Martelly’s protege and successor, the late Jovenel Moïse.

It is claimed that this occupation officially ended in 2017 with the dissolution of MINUSTAH. But the UN has remained in Haiti under a new acronym: BINUH, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti. BINUH has had an outsized role in Haitian internal political affairs. For example, soon after Moïse was assassinated, its representative, Helen La Lime, asserted that Claude Joseph would be installed as Haiti’s leader. Later, the “Core Group” switched gears and demanded that Ariel Henry should be president. And this is exactly what happened when a “new” Haitian government was announced on July 20, 2021, with Henry as leader. This, without any say from the Haitian people, without any pretense of a democratic process, without any concern for Haiti’s sovereignty.

UN Occupation Increases Violence and Instability

Haiti currently has an unelected, unpopular, unaccountable, and illegitimate prime minister, propped up by the United States and the western nations. Meanwhile, Haiti’s security situation has deteriorated considerably as groups, armed by the transnational Haitian and Levantine elite, continue their attacks on the Haitian people. We must emphasize that, in the eighteen years that the United Nations mission has participated in the occupation of Haiti, the Haitian people have only experienced violence and political instability. You must recognize the foreign occupation of Haiti has left it in a state of disarray and violence. 

The consequences of Foreign Meddling and Occupation

We must remind you that we are entering the ninth week of protests of the Haitian people against both the U.S.-backed puppet government of Ariel Henry and the continued occupation and meddling of the Core Group and the UN itself. With all the talk of Haitian “lawlessness,” one would never know that the other main reason for the protests was the illegitimate government’s decision, under IMF austerity dictates, to cut fuel subsidies, amid spiraling inflation and economic insecurity. 

No to Occupation. Yes to Self-Determination.

The speed at which contemporary events are moving in Haiti makes it difficult for those outside the Caribbean republic to understand its internal political dynamics. Because of this, it is easy to resort to historical cliches and short-hand analyses in an attempt to neatly package and summarize or flatten what are oftentimes complex, structural, and historical formations whose origins are as much rooted outside than inside the country. Thus to outsiders Haiti is in the middle of a crisis, a never-ending crisis marked by lawlessness and violence, by the failure of government and the collapse of the state, and by a savage populism paired with well-armed, predatory gangs. 

We believe this representation of Haiti is fueled by an ancient racism premised on the notion that Haitian people (and African people more generally) are incapable of self-government, and this notion, in turn, nurtures the rationalization for the strengthening of the current mandate for the continued international occupation of Haiti. 

We ask that you think with all seriousness about supporting this western-led military invasion of Haiti to attempt to solve a problem that western states themselves created. All nations should be able to chart their own destiny, not just some. You must know the history of the proud Haitian people whose Revolution changed the course of world history and material aid helped the liberation of the Americas from colonial rule and enslavement. Despite the continued affront to its self-determination, the people of Haiti will continue to fight for its liberation.

The Black Alliance for Peace, in alignment with the wishes of the Haitian masses and their supporters, absolutely stands against any foreign armed intervention in Haiti, and continues to demand an end to the unending meddling in Haitian affairs by the United States and Western powers. We hope that the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China will stand with the people of Haiti in its fight for liberation by voting NO on another military invasion to brutalize the long-suffering Haitian masses.

Signed,

The Black Alliance for Peace, Haiti/Americas Team

Banner photo: Armored UN military vehicles with armed soldier on board drives down middle of street in Haiti, with Haitian people watching. (courtesy UN News" - The United Nations)

BAP Rejects Calls for More Foreign Intervention in Haiti & Stands for Respecting Haitian Sovereignty and Self-Determination

“The Black Alliance for Peace Rejects the Calls for Foreign Intervention in Haiti and Demands that International Community Respect Haitian Sovereignty and the Wishes of the Haitian People for National Self-Determination" 

For Immediate Release    

Media Contact

info@blackallianceforpeace.com

(202) 643-1136

OCTOBER 7, 2022 — The Haitian people have been protesting for months against ongoing foreign occupation and U.S. support for a corrupt government that was not elected by a popular vote or mandate. In the last weeks, popular protests and uprisings have intensified, but the U.S. and its allies have responded by claiming all the disruption in the country amounts to “gang violence” that needs to be quelled with increased foreign intervention, on top of the ongoing BINUH occupation. In addition to the ongoing UN occupation, nine thousand Dominican soldiers are stationed on the border with Haiti and videos have recently surfaced of Dominican military forces entering Haitian territory. Given the Dominican Republic’s history of anti-Haitian sentiment and violence, this is particularly concerning.

Responding to these circumstances, on September 30, The Black Alliance for Peace delivered an open letter to CARICOM (the Caribbean Community), urging the 11-nation group to support Haitian sovereignty and oppose further calls for foreign intervention. BAP reminded the leaders of CARICOM that the situation in Haiti could not be reduced to a sensationalist assertion that so-called gangs were behind the popular uprisings on the island:

"...the latest demonstrations are a direct result of two factors. First, they are a response to the everyday economic misery caused by rising inflation, especially through the staggering increase in the price of fuel. Second, they are part of a long history of demands for the end of foreign meddling in Haitian affairs, especially via the installation and maintenance of an unelected and illegitimate government by the Core Group, of which the United Nations is a part."

BAP member Netfa Freeman delivering open letter to CARICOM to the Embassy of the Republic of Suriname

BAP member Rebecca Bonhomme delivering open letter to CARICOM to the embassy of Antigua and Barbuda

BAP urges popular mobilization against continued U.S. intervention in Haiti and in support of Haitian sovereignty. This Sunday, October 9 at 4pm EST in Washington, DC, leaders from 87+ Haitian-American, faith, and human rights organizations will convene at Black Lives Matter Plaza and march to the White House “to demand the Biden Administration stop propping up a corrupt regime that has plunged Haiti into chaos, and to let Haitians decide their own future, including creating a legitimate Haitian-led transition back to democracy and security”. We encourage all who can to show up and support the Haitian people to decide their own future.

The Black Alliance for Peace has been consistent. The crisis of Haitian democracy is the result of the colonialist interventions of the U.S. and other Western powers. As we said in our communication with CARICOM: 

"BAP absolutely stands against any foreign armed intervention in Haiti, and continues to demand an end to the unending meddling in Haitian affairs by the United States and Western powers. We call for the dissolution of the imperialist Core Group, an end to Western support for the unelected and unaccountable puppet government of Ariel Henry, and for the respect of Haitian sovereignty."

We say No to Occupation. Yes to Self-Determination.

Banner photo: Canada Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly, U.S. Sec of State Anthony Blinken, and OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro in a meeting regarding Haiti. (courtesy of @Almagro_OEA2015 on Twitter)

Open Letter to Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), on the need to Support Haitian Sovereignty

An Open Letter to Her Excellency, Dr. Carla Natalie Barnett Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), on the need to Support Haitian Sovereignty

Dear Dr. Barnett: 

On September 19, 2022, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) issued a short statement expressing grave concern about worsening conditions in Haiti and pressing for “urgent and immediate attention from the international community.” In light of CARICOM’s more direct engagement in Haitian affairs in recent months, we call on your organization to respect Haitian sovereignty and to support the Haitian masses in their stand against the ongoing occupation of their country by foreign powers. Despite the erroneous representation of the current protests in Haiti as simply “gang violence,” the latest demonstrations are a direct result of two factors. First, they are a response to the everyday economic misery caused by rising inflation, especially through the staggering increase in the price of fuel. Second, they are part of a long history of demands for the end of foreign meddling in Haitian affairs, especially via the installation and maintenance of an unelected and illegitimate government by the Core Group, of which the United Nations is a part. 

We applaud your concern for Haiti. We have also noted the support your member nations have given to Caribbean and Latin American self-determination. For this reason, we would like to remind CARICOM members that the U.S., Canada, France, and other Western countries, along with the Core Group, and UN missions such as MINUSTAH, are directly responsible for the current conditions in Haiti. Attempting to solve the current crisis in Haiti through a dialogue between unelected and illegitimate Haitian “stakeholders” will not be successful. It will only serve the needs of non-Haitians.

We share with you the words of a coalition of Haitian grassroots organizations explaining the main reason for the currency protests: 

“[T]hese popular protests are part of a struggle for a Haiti free from suffocating foreign interference, gangsterization, this extreme manufactured misery and an anti-national, illegitimate, criminal political regime established by the Core Group of which the UN is a member.”

A brief historical contextualization is in order:

The UN Mission to Haiti Is a Foreign Occupation Repressing Haitian Sovereignty

As you surely are aware, the United Nations became an occupying force in Haiti after the U.S.-France-Canada-led 2004 coup d’état against Haiti’s democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. We must note that, in addition to Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, only Jamaica’s P.J. Patterson, in his capacity as leader of CARICOM, spoke up against the coup.  

Following the coup, the UN took over from U.S. forces. Under Chapter VII of the UN charter, the UN established the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (or MINUSTAH), for the tasks of military occupation under the guise of establishing peace and security. The Workers Party-led government of Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva then betrayed the Haitian people and undercut Haiti’s sovereignty by agreeing to lead the military wing of the UN mission in Haiti.

The history of the UN in Haiti has been a history of violence. An expensive, multi-billion dollar operation, MINUSTAH had between 6,000 and 12,000 military troops and police stationed in Haiti alongside thousands of civilian personnel. Like the first U.S. occupation (1915-1934), the UN occupation under MINUSTAH was marked by its brutality and racism towards the Haitian people. Civilians were brutally attacked and assassinated. “Peace-keepers” committed sexual crimes. UN soldiers dumped human waste into rivers used for drinking water, unleashing a cholera epidemic that killed between 10,000 and 50,000 people. The UN has still not been held accountable for this needless death.

The Core Group — an international coalition of self-proclaimed “friends” of Haiti — came together during the MINUSTAH occupation. Non-Black, un-elected, and anti-democratic, the goal of the Core Group is to oversee Haiti’s governance. Meanwhile, as with the first occupation, the United States and MINUSTAH trained and militarized Haiti’s police and security forces, often rehabilitating and reintegrating rogue members. The United States, in collusion with MINUSTAH and the Core Group, also over-rode Haitian democracy, installing both neo-Duvalierist Michel Martelly and his Haitian Tèt Kale Party (PHTK), alongside Martelly’s protege and successor, the late Jovenel Moïse.

It is claimed that this occupation officially ended in 2017 with the dissolution of MINUSTAH. But the UN has remained in Haiti under a new acronym: BINUH, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti. BINUH has had an outsized role in Haitian internal political affairs. For example, soon after Moïse was assassinated, its representative, Helen La Lime, asserted that Claude Joseph would be installed as Haiti’s leader. Later, the “Core Group” switched gears and demanded that Ariel Henry should be president. And this is exactly what happened when a “new” Haitian government was announced on July 20, 2021, with Henry as leader. This, without any say from the Haitian people, without any pretense of a democratic process, without any concern for Haiti’s sovereignty.

UN Occupation Increases Violence and Instability

Haiti currently has an unelected, unpopular, unaccountable, and illegitimate prime minister, propped up by the United States and the western nations. Meanwhile, Haiti’s security situation has deteriorated considerably as groups, armed by the transnational Haitian and Levantine elite, continue their attacks on the Haitian people. We must emphasize that, in the eighteen years that the United Nations mission has participated in the occupation of Haiti, the Haitian people have only experienced violence and political instability. You must recognize the foreign occupation of Haiti has left it in a state of disarray and violence. 

The consequences of Foreign Meddling and Occupation

We must remind you that this is the sixth week of protests of the Haitian people against both the U.S.-backed puppet government of Ariel Henry and the continued occupation and meddling of the Core Group and the UN itself. With all the talk of Haitian “lawlessness,” one would never know that the other main reason for the protests was the illegitimate government’s decision, under IMF austerity dictates, to cut fuel subsidies, amid spiraling inflation and economic insecurity. Hear the people’s words:

“This new decision, taken to the detriment of the interests of the people, has aroused his anger and also intensified a protest movement already initiated, whose objective is the recovery of our sovereignty, the recovery of Haiti's destiny by Haitians, the establishment by Haitians of a legitimate government, capable of defending the interests of the people and meeting the various challenges of the moment.”

No to Occupation. Yes to Self-Determination.

The speed at which contemporary events are moving in Haiti makes it difficult for those outside the Caribbean republic to understand its internal political dynamics. Because of this, it is easy to resort to historical cliches and short-hand analyses in an attempt to neatly package and summarize or flatten what are oftentimes complex, structural, and historical formations whose origins are as much rooted outside than inside the country. Thus to outsiders Haiti is in the middle of a crisis, a never-ending crisis marked by lawlessness and violence, by the failure of government and the collapse of the state, and by a savage populism paired with well-armed, predatory gangs. 

We believe this representation of Haiti is fueled by an ancient racism premised on the notion that Haitian people (and African people more generally) are incapable of self-government, and this notion, in turn, nurtures the rationalization for the strengthening of the current mandate for the continued international occupation of Haiti. 

We ask that you think with all seriousness about the relationships among nations in our region. All nations should be able to chart their own destiny, not just some. You must know the history of the proud Haitian people whose Revolution changed the course of world history and material aid helped the liberation of the Americas from colonial rule and enslavement. Despite the continued affront to its self-determination, the people of Haiti will continue to fight for its liberation.

The Black Alliance for Peace, in alignment with the wishes of the Haitian masses and their supporters, absolutely stands against any foreign armed intervention in Haiti, and continues to demand an end to the unending meddling in Haitian affairs by the United States and Western powers. We call for the dissolution of the imperialist Core Group, an end to Western support for the unelected and unaccountable puppet government of Ariel Henry, and for the respect of Haitian sovereignty. 

Signed,

The Black Alliance for Peace, Haiti/Americas Team

#####

END

Banner Photo: Protesters demanding the resignation of the President in Port-au-Prince.Credit (Courtesy Reuters by Andres Martinez Casares)

Amidst the Biden Administration’s Forever-Wars Policy in Africa, BAP Launches a Month of Action Against AFRICOM (U.S. Africa Command)

For Immediate Release:

Media Contact
communications@blackallianceforpeace.com
(202) 643-1136

SEPTEMBER 19, 2022—October 1, 2022 is the 14th anniversary of the launch of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). Yet, jihadist terrorist violence on the African continent has increased since the founding of AFRICOM and NATO’s destruction of Libya resulting in civilian casualties and instability, which the West has used as pretext and justification for the continued need for AFRICOM. Since its founding, coups carried out by AFRICOM-trained soldiers have also increased.

That is why the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) is organizing an International Month of Action Against AFRICOM in October. This is an effort to raise the public's awareness about how the presence of U.S. military forces exacerbates violence and instability throughout the continent.

Despite its rhetoric, the purpose of AFRICOM is to use U.S. military power to impose U.S. control on African land, resources and labor to service the needs of U.S. multinational corporations and the wealthy in the United States. It also serves as a major boon to “defense” contractors.

AFRICOM is a direct product of NATO via the U.S. European Command (EUCOM), which originally took responsibility for 42 African states. In 2003, NATO started expanding; four years later, in 2007, EUCOM commander James L. Jones, who was also NATO commander of operational forces, proposed the creation of AFRICOM.

NATO has become a huge global axle in the wheel of the military industrial complex, which includes more than 800 U.S. military bases around the world as well as  joint bases or relationships with almost all African countries. These are all controlled by the U.S. empire for realizing the U.S. policy of Full Spectrum Dominance, which is driven by the ferocious appetite of international finance  capital.

NATO continues today in the form of AFRICOM facilitating wars, instability and the corporate pillage of Africa. This hypocrisy explains why 17 African nations abstained from the March 2 United Nations resolution condemning Russia. One African state, Eritrea, even voted no. Their experiences with NATO and AFRICOM ensure skepticism of self-proclaimed noble motives.

Motives such as bill H.R. 7311, the “Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act',' a racist affront to African sovereignty designed to dictate what bi-lateral relations African states are permitted to have.

That is why we call on our friends and allies to endorse this month as an individual or organization. Beyond that, we are calling on you to participate each week using our calls to action, for which we have provided materials on our webpage. Each week’s call to action ranges from watching our kick-off webinar to organizing mass actions like banner drops, facilitating teach-ins using our materials and spreading the word using BAP’s custom graphics.

The Black Alliance for Peace calls for the dismantling of NATO, AFRICOM and all imperialist structures. Africa and the rest of the world cannot be free until all peoples are able to realize the right of sovereignty and the right to live free of domination.

We demand:

• The complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Africa;

• The demilitarization of the African continent;

• The closure of U.S. bases throughout the world; and

• The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) oppose U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and conduct hearings on AFRICOM’s impact on the African continent, with the full participation of members of U.S. and African civil society.

Black Alliance for Peace Condemns FBI Attack on the African People’s Socialist Party

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) unequivocally condemns and opposes the latest domestic U.S. state repression and intimidation tactics currently being leveled against the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP).

On Friday, July 29, 2022, the FBI executed multiple raids against APSP’s Uhuru House in St. Petersburg, Florida and their Uhuru Solidarity Center in St. Louis, Missouri and the private residence of APSP Chairman Omali Yeshitela also in St. Louis. The FBI employed flashbang grenades and handcuffed Yeshitela and his wife while their house was raided. The FBI claims that the raids are connected to the federal indictment of a Russian national, Aleksandr Ionov, alleging that he has been working to spread "Russian propaganda" in the United States.

BAP believes that these raids continue the history of state repression directed against Black people in the U.S. This repression now occurs under the guise of opposing “adversary” nations but regardless of how these actions are characterized, Black people still bear the brunt of surveillance and police violence. The APSP has the right to freely associate with people around the world, to hold any political beliefs it may choose, and to express them without fear of intimidation, persecution, or prosecution.

We believe this repression to be a hysterical response to the United States’ loss of legitimacy in the context of the deepening crisis of capitalism and U.S. global hegemony. The unleashing of policing and counterintelligence forces domestically and increased militarism and warmongering abroad in the name of national security are the only avenues left to the U.S. ruling class that is engulfed in an irreversible economic crisis. They represent the hallmarks of a naked fascism that the U.S. ruling class appears to be increasingly committed to in order to maintain the rule of capital. 

BAP reminds the public that the war against working class people generally, and Black, Brown, and Indigenous workers particularly, is ongoing. The masses must acknowledge and resist this reality. While it is APSP today, it will ultimately be the rest of us tomorrow. Resistance is our only option.

Given our steadfast commitment to rebuilding the broader anti-war, anti-imperialist peace movement, BAP is not intimidated and will not retreat. We are guided by the position articulated by the Black is Back Coalition, of which BAP is a proud member, that "Now is the time to throw off all hesitation, open up new forms of struggle and to launch every protest, demonstration, and anti-imperialist action - from the ballot box to the barricades - as an act to deepen the crisis of imperialism." 

The treatment of the APSP is reminiscent of McCarthyist witch hunts that targeted and criminalized workers, immigrants, and colonized people who organized domestically and internationally against capitalist imperialism. Likewise, the FBI’s actions represent COINTELPRO-like tactics employed to crush organizations and individuals fighting to protect and expand the rights of oppressed people in general, and Africans in particular.

These tactics came back forcefully in response to the 2014 uprisings in Ferguson, Missouri. FBI agents tracked the movements and monitored the individuals tied to the protests. In 2016, when the murder of Freddie Gray ignited protests in Baltimore, the FBI admitted to providing an aircraft for surveillance in the weeks following the unrest. In 2017, the FBI created the designation “Black Identity Extremist” to monitor Black movement organizers. The term was updated to “Racially Motivated Violent Extremism” in 2018. FBI surveillance was rampant going into the summer 2020 rebellions, with FBI agents attempting to infiltrate protests in Portland.

The Black population in the United States has historically stood at the forefront of resistance and condemnations of war and state repression. In this spirit, the Black Alliance for Peace reiterates the critical, moral stance against such government aggression and stands in resolute solidarity with the APSP. 

By comprehensively linking the issue of state violence and militarism, BAP will continue to concentrate its efforts on not only opposing the U.S. war agenda globally but the war and repression being waged on Black and Brown communities within U.S. borders.

In this charge, The Black Alliance for Peace says there will be "No Compromise and No Retreat!”

BAP Coordinating Committee

Photo credit: Omali Yeshitela stands in front of his St. Louis, MO home with his supporters (St. Louis Post-Dispatch}.

Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Renewal of the UN Mission to Haiti (BINUH)

Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Renewal of the UN Mission to Haiti (BINUH)  

The Ineffective and Unpopular UN Mission to Haiti Must End 

For Immediate Release            

Media Contact
communications@blackallianceforpeace.com
(202) 643-1136

JULY 18, 2022—On Friday, July 15, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted the resolution to extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) for one year (until July 15, 2023). The vote took place two days after it was postponed by the People’s Republic of China, which wanted additional consultation and significant adjustments to the resolution co-penned by Mexico and the United States.

The Black Alliance for Peace welcomed this delay, as well as several of the objections to BINUH’s renewal raised by China and supported by the Russian Federation. In reviewing the terms of BINUH’s renewal, we continue to condemn the UN Mission to Haiti as a foreign occupation and as a violation of the sovereignty of the Haitian people, as we outlined last week in our press release and open letter to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and in our communications to government representatives of China and Russia. 

Nonetheless, we recognize the adjustments made to the resolution—spearheaded by China and supported by Russia—represent a step forward against the often rubber-stamping of U.S.-led Western hegemony in Haitis. These adjustments included prioritizing the authority of regional institutions (like CARICOM) partnered with Haitian authorities over UN police advisers, as well as calling on states to stop the trafficking of weapons and ammunition to non-state combatants in Haiti. Yet, China’s suggested adjustments fall short because the focus is solely on the current upswing in paramilitary violence, not on the UN occupation itself. 

We ask again: What has the UN mission done in its 18-year militarized presence in Haiti except foment pain and violence on the Haitian people? Why does BINUH—and UN Special Representative in Haiti Helen La Lime—have such an outsized role in Haitian politics? When will the United States, Canada and France take responsibility for their promotion of the 2004 coup d’etat against Haiti’s democratically elected president? Why do the UN Mission and Western rulers of Haiti continue to support the unelected de facto Prime Minister, Dr. Ariel Henry, and his unpopular Pati Ayisyen Tèt Kale (PHTK)—the violent right-wing government installed by the West and the direct cause of the current crisis? Why not listen to the Haitian people who call for an end to foreign meddling and occupation?

We also note, with disappointment, the way the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has repeatedly fallen in line with the imperialist wishes of the United States and has supported the full renewal of the UN Mission. In their upcoming “delegation” to Haiti, we encourage CARICOM to reconsider this position and instead support Black sovereignty, by working to facilitate an end to the UN Mission to Haiti. There cannot be justice and self-determination in Haiti without an end to the UN Mission and re-establishing Haitian control of Haiti’s affairs. 

The Black Alliance for Peace calls on civil society organizations and the regional nation-states of the Americas to monitor the situation, oppose continued foreign occupation, and support sovereignty in Haiti. We want to remind CARICOM and the leaders of the Americas: The Americas cannot be free and sovereign unless all countries are free and sovereign. We say No to Occupation, Yes to Self-Determination. 

Photo credit: Haitians protest in 2010 (Mark Snyder)

Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Extension of United Nations Mandate in Haiti and Calls on Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to Support Haitian Independence and Sovereignty

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Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Extension of United Nations Mandate in Haiti and Calls on Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to Support Haitian Independence and Sovereignty

UN Mission to Haiti Is Foreign Occupation and Denial of Sovereignty 

For Immediate Release

Media Contact
communications@blackallianceforpeace.com
(202) 643-1136

JULY 12, 2022—On Wednesday, July 13, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will vote on an extension of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office (BINUH) in Haiti. Since beginning a 2-year term on the UNSC, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) of Mexico has supported U.S.-backed initiatives that would extend BINUH’s occupation of Haiti. Mexico and the United States are “co-penholders” for this process, indicating the leadership role of the Mexican government in bringing forth this year’s UNSC resolution on Haiti. 

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) condemns in the strongest possible terms Mexico spearheading the renewal of the United Nations Integrated Office (BINUH)’s mandate in Haiti. The Haitian people view BINUH’s presence as a foreign occupation that undercuts Haiti’s independence and sovereignty. In solidarity, BAP, along with other civil society organizations, delivered an open letter to President López Obrador deploring Mexico’s role in extending the UN occupation. 

In this letter, we ask AMLO to reconsider Mexico’s role as a co-penholder (with the United States) of the UNSC mandate, effectively serving the interests of Western imperialism in Haiti. We argue that not only does the UN occupation deny the sovereignty of the Haitian people, but it has both increased violence and instability in the republic while undermining the goal of national independence and self-determination for all countries in the Americas.

AMLO has emerged as one of the more progressive voices in the hemisphere, ostensibly working towards more equitable relationships between the peoples and nations of the region. BAP was heartened by and commended AMLO’s decision not to attend last month’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, as a call for fair representation and recognition of the sovereignty of all nations. In this vein, we have asked AMLO if — for some reason — Haiti does not count among those countries whose sovereignty and independence should be respected.

Like Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2004, who displayed his “leadership” by spearheading military action during the 2004-17 UN occupation of Haiti (MINUSTAH), AMLO’s support of BINUH’s mandate will result in the Haitian people paying the price for others’ political gains. Unfortunately, this is all too common among so-called “progressive” and “leftist” politicians in the Americas, who conform to the U.S.-led imperialistic system that these UN occupations represent.

Instead, we ask AMLO to contribute toward ending the foreign control of Haiti. This would be a positive step toward allowing Haitian people to determine their own fate, reversing regional militarization, and facilitating the realization of the Americas as a Zone of Peace, as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States has called for.

We say No to Occupation. Yes to Self-Determination.

La Alianza Negra por la Paz Condena la Extensión del Mandato de las Naciones Unidas en Haití y Llama al Presidente Mexicano Andrés Manuel López Obrador a Apoyar la Independencia y Soberanía de Haití

Misión de la ONU a Haití es ocupación extranjera y negación de soberanía

Para publicación inmediata

Contacto para medios de comunicación
communications@blackallianceforpeace.com
(202) 643-1136

11 DE JULIO DE 2022—El miércoles 13 de julio, el Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas (CSNU) votará sobre una extensión del mandato de la Oficina Integrada de las Naciones Unidas (BINUH) en Haití. Desde que comenzó un mandato de 2 años en el Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas, el presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) de México ha apoyado iniciativas respaldadas por los Estados Unidos que extenderían la ocupación de Haití por parte de la BINUH. México y los Estados Unidos son “coautores” de este proceso, lo que indica el papel de liderazgo del gobierno mexicano en la presentación de la resolución del CSNU de este año sobre Haití.

La Alianza Negra por la Paz (BAP) condena en los términos más enérgicos que México encabece la renovación del mandato de la Oficina Integrada de las Naciones Unidas (BINUH) en Haití. El pueblo haitiano ve la presencia de BINUH como una ocupación extranjera que socava la independencia y soberanía de Haití. En solidaridad, BAP, junto con otras organizaciones de la sociedad civil, entregó una carta abierta al presidente López Obrador deplorando el papel de México en la extensión de la ocupación de la ONU.

En esta carta, le pedimos a AMLO que reconsidere el papel de México como coautor (con Estados Unidos) del mandato del Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas, sirviendo efectivamente a los intereses del imperialismo occidental en Haití. Argumentamos que la ocupación de la ONU no solo niega la soberanía del pueblo haitiano, sino que ha aumentado la violencia y la inestabilidad en la república al tiempo que socava el objetivo de la independencia nacional y la autodeterminación de todos los países de las Américas.

AMLO ha emergido como una de las voces más progresistas del hemisferio, aparentemente trabajando por relaciones más equitativas entre los pueblos y naciones de la región. BAP se sintió alentada y elogió la decisión de AMLO de no asistir a la Cumbre de las Américas del mes pasado en Los Ángeles, como un llamado a la representación justa y el reconocimiento de la soberanía de todas las naciones. En ese sentido, le hemos preguntado a AMLO si, por alguna razón, Haití no cuenta entre esos países cuya soberanía e independencia debe ser respetada.

Al igual que el presidente brasileño Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva en 2004, quien mostró su “liderazgo” al encabezar una acción militar durante la ocupación de Haití (MINUSTAH) por parte de la ONU entre 2004 y 2017, el apoyo de AMLO al mandato de la BINUH hará que el pueblo haitiano pague el precio para ganancias políticas de otros. Desafortunadamente, esto es demasiado común entre los llamados políticos “progresistas” e “izquierdistas” en las Américas, que se conforman con el sistema imperialista liderado por los Estados Unidos que representan estas ocupaciones de la ONU.

En cambio, le pedimos a AMLO que contribuya a terminar con el control extranjero de Haití. Este sería un paso positivo para permitir que el pueblo haitiano determine su propio destino, revirtiendo la militarización regional y facilitando la materialización de las Américas como una Zona de Paz, como lo ha pedido la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños.

Decimos No a la Ocupación. Sí a la Autodeterminación.

Photo credit: In the Jean Marie Vincent camp in Port-au-Prince, soldiers from Brazilian troops from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) are on patrol after deadly demonstrations following elections held in November 2010. (Marcello Casal Jr/ABr - Agência Brasil)

Autor de la foto: En el campamento Jean Marie Vincent en Port-au-Prince, soldados de las tropas brasileñas de la Misión de Estabilización de las Naciones Unidas en Haití (MINUSTAH) patrullan después de manifestaciones mortales tras las elecciones celebradas en noviembre de 2010. (Marcello Casal Jr/ABr - Agência Brasil)

The Black Alliance For Peace Denounces Biden Regime’s New Sanctions on Cuba and Stands with the Cuban People

For Immediate Release     

Media Contact

communications@blackallianceforpeace.com 

(202) 643-1136 

Various right-wing groups across the Americas are preparing demonstrations in support of the one-year anniversary of the exaggerated and media-manipulated protests that took place in Cuba on 11 July 2021. In perfect lockstep, the Biden administration has issued further sanctions on Cuba—visa restrictions on 28 Cuban officials whom they have declined to name. The Black Alliance For Peace (BAP) denounces these efforts to smear the Cuban process and continues to stand in revolutionary solidarity with the peoples of Cuba. 

“It remains clear,” says BAP South member, Salifu Mack, “that the enemies of African people and the Cuban Revolution will not rest until total death and destruction are visited upon the island, all in the name of white supremacy and U.S. imperialism.”

In announcing the 28 new sanctions on Cuba on 9 July 2022, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is quoted saying that the sanctions have been implemented to "support greater freedom and economic opportunities for the Cuban people." The Biden administration has declined to name the 28 Cuban officials that they claim these sanctions have been applied to. BAP understands that sanctions targeted toward any person or group of persons, especially in a country like Cuba, which has struggled under the weight of 60 years of a U.S. economic blockade, severely limits the country’s ability to advocate for itself on the international stage. The U.S. economic blockade already excludes Cuba from international trade and banking, punishes countries which try to circumvent it, and overcomplicates immigration from the island. 

“We have seen how sanctions have been used to attack efforts toward self-determination in countries like Libya, Zimbabwe, and Eritrea,” says Austin Cole of BAP Haiti/Americas Team. “And we have also seen recently how sanctions against Russia backfire as the U.S. and NATO attempt to maintain hegemony in Eastern Europe.”

Of the 28 new sanctions being imposed upon Cuba, Blinken remarked that this measure is aimed at those who, in his opinion, allowed or facilitated violent and unjust arrests, false trials and prison sentences for those involved in the riots that took place in July of last year. As a continued strategy, U.S. imperialism is leaning into the trope of “critical support to political prisoners.” 

Today the United States holds more than 2 million people within its jail cells, the equivalent of roughly 25% of the world’s prison population. Among that prison population is an aging demographic of political prisoners, like Mutulu Shakur, Mumia Abu Jamal, Joseph Bowen, Veronza Bowers, Kamau Sadiki, Ruchell Magee, Leonard Peltier, Ed Poindexter, and Rev. Joy Powell. While the enemies of the Cuban revolution attempt to make heroes out of Cuban citizens who now face the consequences of collaborating with U.S. imperialism, African freedom fighters are rotting away in prisons, being denied life-saving medical treatment, and are only strategically released on their deathbeds. 

Additionally, there is an extreme irony in a country that supports reactionary riots throughout the world, yet regularly brutalizes protestors seeking justice within its borders and is helpless to stop its epidemic of mass shootings.  As U.S. hegemony continues to weaken, meeting formidable challenges across Latin America and the Caribbean, its violence returns home and compounds against its domestic colonies. 

The week to come is certain to be filled with the same circular and baseless attacks using “anti-Blackness” in Cuba as a tool to turn Africans in the U.S. away from support of the Cuban Revolution. BAP is clear that anti-Black racism, a development of colonialism, will only be eradicated with the defeat of colonialism. While U.S. non-profits and NGOs pour billions every year into toothless “diversity and inclusion” and “anti-racist” marketing schemes, we have faith in the people of Cuba to lead their own processes, without U.S. interference, in establishing a world where People(s)-Centered Human Rights—based on materialist reconfigurations of land, healthcare and education—are at the forefront.

When Black people in the U.S. repeat the same positions and talking points of the U.S. government they are not helping Afro-Cubans in Cuba. They are giving cover to the regime change agenda of U.S. imperialism. 

The Black Alliance for Peace calls on all serious anti-imperialists in the U.S. to continue standing with the Cuban Revolution. We must be clear that sanctions and other forms of U.S. interventions are an affront to national sovereignty and the right to self determination. It is the duty of African people living within the belly of the beast to remain vigilant against opportunism and co-optation.

Banner photo: Cuban supporters of the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel at a demonstration in Havana on July 17, 2021. (Yamil Lage / AFP)

Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Massacre of African Migrants by U.S.- Backed Moroccan Armed Forces

For Immediate Release

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press@blackallianceforpeace.com                                                            

202 643-1136

July 5, 2022 - Video images captured the horrific actions of Moroccan security forces armed and trained by the United States through the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and working on behalf of the Spanish government, systematically beating and slaughtering African migrants on June 24, 2022. The migrants' only crime was attempting to cross from Morocco to Europe via the Spanish held enclave of Melilla. For that, at least 39 human beings were beaten to death, as recorded by the NGO Walking Borders. This racist barbarism by a U.S.-backed neo-colonial regime and the lack of swift and unambiguous condemnation by the U.S. State demonstrates, yet again, that human life, especially African lives hold no value for U.S. officials. 

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) denounces first, the Moroccan government’s security forces and the Spanish government for their collaboration in this massacre and their ongoing dehumanizing treatment of African asylum seekers. We must note that, as the Moroccan police were beating and hog-tying the African migrants, AFRICOM was carrying out “Operation African Lion'' - military exercises in Morocco with more than 7,500 troops from Western nations and African neo-colonies. Soon after, NATO nations (the coterie of U.S. minions) held their meeting in Spain, with no acknowledgement of the massacre.

We especially condemn the United States government for its unmitigated hypocrisy in claiming that its presence and policies in Africa are to “promote regional security, stability, and prosperity.” The only securing and stabilizing AFRICOM and U.S. policy are doing in Africa are for the prosperity of international finance capital and hegemony of U.S. interests. We know that U.S. militarism - which guarantees European imperialism on the African continent, while giving cover to the repressive actions of neo-colonial states such as Morocco - will continue to be the main cause of escalating violence for the African people.

“All evidence suggests that U.S. militarism and training of police, and other repressive forces in Africa has only intensified death and destruction;” says Netfa Freeman, Co-Coordinator of BAP’s Africa Team 

BAP extends solidarity to all the African migrants and their families, victims of the brutal racist attack. We also demand a full independent investigation and indictment of the actions of Morocco, Spain, and the U.S. And we demand, once again, that the U.S. get out of Africa and that NATO and AFRICOM be shut down!

The Black Alliance for Peace calls on all anti-imperialists to join the U.S. Out of Africa Network to help us achieve this imperative.

U.S. Out of Africa!

Shut Down AFRICOM!

No Compromise! No Retreat!

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Banner photo: Riot police cordon off area after people crossed fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco (Javier Bernardo/AP)