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NDP and Haiti
January 18, 2010 - 7:49pm
Here is the NDP statement on the earthquake in Haiti. The statement is sorely lacking. There is no analysis of the US and other foreign intervention in Haiti that has made Haiti the poorest nation in the Western hemishpere, and that has turned a natural disaster into a human-made catastrophe. There is no mention of the Feb 2004 coup against Haiti's democratically elected president Jean Bertrand Aristide, and no call for Aristide's return to Haiti. On top of all this, the NDP has not spoken out against the millitarization of the aid effort by the US in what ammounts to a millitary invasion of Port-Au-Prince, and have not spoken out against the resulting lack of aid that is reaching the Haitian people.
For a political party that supposedly identifies itself as progressive, the NDP's response to the catastrophe in Haiti is pathetic and shameful. The Haitian people need real solidarity, not the sop to imperialism-lite that is found in the NDP's statement.
Of course, none of this is the least bit surprising. The NDP have never recognized the 2004 coup for what it really is, namely a coup; have never recognized the UN occupation of Haiti for what it is, namely an occupation; and have never called for the return of Jean Bertrand Aristide. The NDP has also gone out of its way to not criticize any actions of the Obama administration.
Ya, I can't remember which NDP MP it was who referred to the US-backed coup in Haiti as Aristide having been removed from power by the CIA. But there were toady MP's in the Bloc and I believe Liberal Parties at the time who stood up in the House and demanded in loud, overbearing voices that the NDP stop using the word removed and begin using the term departed. They threatened to have the NDP member turfed from Parliament for refusing to knuckle under to their pro-USA toadying at the time.
Lies without Borders: How CIDA-funded 'NGOs' waged a propaganda war to justify Haiti’s 2004 coup
My guess is the MP in question was either Svend Robinson or Libby Davies. Unfortuately, the NDP leadership have never taken that position, and I stand by my position that the NDP's statement on the earthquake in Haiti is sorely lacking as per the reasons I gave above.
Layton said in the House that there should be an investigation of the circumstances surrounding Aristide's removal. Do-nothings in the Bloc and the other two pro-Warshington stooge parties basically laughed it off and refused to acknowledge the NDP's concerns as usual.
Alright, I will acknowledge that the NDP did speak out against the removal of Aristide when it happened (though from the looks of it stopped short of calling it a coup). However, that does not excuse the NDP for supporting the subsequent deployment of UN tropps to Haiti, and it does not excuse the NDP for their pathetic response to the current catastrophe in Haiti.
Forced removal, coup, same thing. Still, too many Canadians don't give a damn what happens in this hemisphere. And sometimes it's like the phony war in Afghanistan. Many Canadians are against the phony war but do not question the original pretext for sending troops to that country. A greater percentage of Americans are now doubtful of crazy George's and that government's 9/11 narrative than Canadians. So in effect, Canadians are somewhat with the Republican cabal on why we're actually there on the other side of the world. It's the same with Haiti and Colombia etc. Not enough Canadians could be convinced to care enough about the USSA dictating political and economic agendas in this part of the world to turf our pro-Warshington stooges from the halls of power in Ottawa. And the NDP knows it has to concentrate on democratizing Bananada before we even think about challenging Uncle Sam on his war on democracy in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and beyond etc. The NDP just doesn't have the resources to fight our own stoogeocracy and the vicious empire on multiple fronts. Yanks will have to start their own revolution if they want real change.
Left Turn, I share your sentiments entirely - even though I agree with Fidel that I only heard opposition to the Aristide coup from NDP quarters. The rest of the parties fell into line like [insert a Fidel-style graphic image]. Likewise, the only clear calls for withdrawal from Afghanistan (or non-involvement in the first place) came from the NDP. The problem, in both cases, is consistency and staying power on the part of the leadership. The moment the members and supporters sit back, they waver.
This is a dangerous moment, when besides backing the whole U.S. - French - U.N. neocolonial setup, the Harper government is getting ready to send a massive so-called "peacekeeping" force (consider the obscene irony of that) to help ensure Haiti never again escapes their control. Now is the time for progressive people to speak out and put pressure on all political forces - not least the NDP, which is the most likely to respond positively. It is our internationalist duty toward the people of Haiti.
Why would anyone want to "control" Haiti - the place has no natural resources whatsoever and is of no particular geopolitical value. The place is utterly worthless to any other country. Its not as if they are sitting on any oil reserves or anything. There is NOTHING there. Even the soil is completely eroded due to deforestation. If the world didn't feel sorry for Haiti because its so poor and has suffered such a tragedy this past week - the easiest thing to do would be to do would turn our backs on the place and not spend one red cent there.
It will never happen, but probably the only hope for Haiti would be to ask to be reincorporated into France and then have everyone in Haiti get an EU passport and have massive EU development funds funneled in and for Haitians to get access to French universal social programs etc... nearby Martinique and Guadeloupe are departments of France and people there have per capita incomes that are about 100 times what Haitians have. Or maybe Haiti could apply to be the 11th province of Canada and they could have Michaelle Jean as their head of state!
The Haitian diaspora seems to be quite entrepreneurial and prosperous. If you look at places like Montreal or Miami or New York or Paris where there are large Haitian communities they are some of the most successful recent immigrants. i read that Haitian immigrants in the US within a few years have higher average incomes than African-Americans whose families have been in the US since the beginning of the 19th century. Maybe another solution might be to simply evacuate the whole country and invite the entire population of Haiti to immigrate to Canada or the US or France and turn Haiti into a giant national park.
Perhaps, Stockholm, your residence should be turned over to homeless cats and dogs. That way, besides fulfilling a humanitarian need, there would be less offensive sounds issuing therefrom.
Or, you could apply for incorporation into Zimbabwe - then you could work for change from within - I've read some of your suggestions, and all you lack is the power to implement them.
I've got lots of other good ideas for how to deal with your life. I think it's unfair that you have to sit there solving everyone else's problems without getting some help in return.
The Right Testicle of Hell:
History of a Haitian Holocaust Greg Palast
Uncle Sam's war on democracy in the Caribbean and Latin America continues.
Re Haiti and NDP - Run with Hare hunt with Hounds - Make one or two figleaf statements of support as sop to supporters - if confronted later refer to token figleaves - dissemble...if caught and all else fails - point out the others are worse - NDP=No Difference Party and this is their standard operating procedure...
Three Years Later, Canada Must Be Held Accountable
http://www.sevenoaksmag.com/features/haitithreeyearslater.html
"...The reality, however points to a stunning lack of democratic discussion here in Canada. To take just one example, there was the startling fact that the coup in Haiti did not get a mention from any of the major parties in the last federal election. Despite a concerted activist effort to help NDP leader Jack Layton find his voice against the coup, Haiti did not warrant even a line on the party's webpage during the 2006 election.."
Canada's NED? Whose Rights? What Sort of Democracy?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=10677
"In mid July 2005, Magloire issued a statement on behalf of the 7 member 'Council of the Wise' saying that any media that gives voice to 'bandits' (code for Lavalas supporters) shoult be shut down. She also asseted that the Lavalas Family should be banned from upcoming elections..
Again, one must ask whose rights and what sort of democracy does Rights And Democracy support, when it effectively aligns itself with fascistic elements in Haiti? But why should anyone care...?
RIghts and Democracy was formerly headed by Ed Broadbent, a former leader of Canada's New Democratic Party...Rights and Democracy has negatively influenced the position of the social democratic NDP..."
http://auto_sol.tao.ca/node/1259
"Through detailed discussions between MPs and the Haitian Solidarity activists, it was made clear that an NDP conciliation with the Liberals on the Haiti issue would not only be a betrayal of the principles of equal relations between peoples and the interests of the Canadian polity, but would also play badly electorally for the NDP...
For certain, in the future, no NDP from BC can claim they were not informed about the Haiti issue or were ignorant of the crimes being committed in Hait in the name of Canada..."
Why would anyone want to "control" Haiti? Oh, I don't know, to ensure that companies like Disney and Gilden Active Wear can continue to pay Haitian workers 28 cents an hour. Which, btw, is another aspect of the neoliberal imperialism in Haiti on which the NDP has been silent.
A Very Canadian Coup d'etat in Haiti The Top 10 Ways that Canada’s Government Helped the 2004 Coup and its Reign of Terror
Oh yeah? you may be surprised...
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=17063
'Ms Laurent reminds us of Haiti's offshore oil and other mineral riches and recent revival of an old idea to use Haiti as an oil refinery - to be built there as a trans shipment terminal for US supertankers..'
Haiti is a Rich Country - Eurasian Minerals Inc (Vancouver)
http://www.fanmilavalasny.com/main12/Eurasian.html
Amazing that some are using the plight of Haitians in a political way to try and discredit the NDP...
...good grief it is pretty damn sickening.
Agreed. There's plenty of other issues to bring about that discrediting effect. The scale of this catastrophe is such that no political words from either part of the spectrum can measure up to the profound tragedy that this is.
I disagree that people should not be talking politics when it comes to what's happening in Haiti. That is the right-wing line - oh no, we can't talk about what caused this! We can only talk about charity and food drops now!
Wrong. After you've given your donation to MSF or Red Cross, which takes all of about three minutes, since most of us can't go there, now is DEFINITELY the time to talk about political reasons why this happened.
Now is the time to talk about why it is that Haitians are so poor and why their country has no money to build earthquake-resistant housing and infrastructure.
Now is the time to talk about why Canada and the US aren't "heroes" for chipping in a bit of aid during a catastrophe, when they were directly responsible for the political upheaval there, and for the lack of democracy.
Now is the time to talk about why overwhelming debt has created the conditions for such devastation during a national catastrophe. Now is the time to state clearly and unequivocally that these Haitians have died of POVERTY, not of an act of God.
Now is the time for anyone who gives a shit about social justice and global economic and environmental justice to stand up and say, this was preventable, and patting ourselves on the back for giving some aid, without recognizing the responsibility we bear for the situation in the first place, is inadequate.
And yes, now is the time for any party that pretends to give a shit about any of this at all to stand up and say so. And now is also the time, on a political discussion forum, for people who give a shit about these things to talk about them, and to also critique those who aren't talking about it.
Furthermore, I'm sure that if people were critiquing the response of any party to this disaster other than the NDP, people here wouldn't find it "sickening" at all.
Last thing i would ever think about in this instance is what any of the damn political parties had to say on their web sites...
moreover, i could have rushed on here a couple of days back and stated I just saw Olivia on the news in respect to getting Canadian borders open to Haitian refugees, family re-unification peoples, and adoption in progress children as soon as possible.
however, i give a rat's ass that she is NDP, I am just glad someone in Ottawa is doing something to further this obvious action. It did not even strike me for a moment to be "proud" that she was 'NDP' and doing so.
Don't disagree with a thing you are saying Michelle, it is time to talk politics, but petty partisan blatherings is something I do disagree with playing, and did ya notice anyone here who is NDP partisan start a thread about the failings of the Conservatives and Liberals, or indeed the Green Party?
Nor even start a thread about Olivia's almost immediate actions?
No!
'nuff said.
Then why are you even in this thread, if you don't care about what the NDP (or any other "damn party") has to say about Haiti? What made you decide to click on "NDP and Haiti" on babble to see what people were saying if it was the very last thing you'd ever think of discussing at a time like this?
My point is - this is a political discussion forum. People talk politics here, when they have some free time that they're not using to save the world in other ways. So if you think it's such a huge waste of time and so "sickening" to discuss what the NDP response should be to this disaster, then what are you doing discussing it?
If you're just here to wag your finger at people and tell them that discussing the NDP's response to this "sickens" you, then great. Noted. Thanks for sharing.
No one wants you to feel sick, certainly, but unfortunately, we can't help it if you click on a thread that sickens you.
Trying to claim that American imperialism caused an earthquake is as absurd as Pat Robertson claiming that the earthquake was caused by God punishing Haitians for making a pact with Satan 200 years ago.
Right now, there is a humanitarian crisis going on. I think that if the NDP started putting out press releases days after the earthquake trying to blame the earthquake on American imperialism etc...it would be ridiculed and would be seen as the NDP trying to exploit a humanitarian disaster to score some cheap political and ideological points.
There will be plenty of time to discuss the political history of haiti and what did or did not contribute to the earthquake having a worse impact than it might otherwise have had. But now is not the time for that. Now is the time to get as much assistance into the country as possibly and save lives while people are buried in rubble. This is not the time for a seminar on "the Marxian perspective on Haiti"
Everything Michelle said, plus:
Considering that the emergency summit is being held in Canada next week on reconstruction efforts - it is very much relevant to discuss our parties's responses. The world is watching and there is an opportunity for the NDP to get some messaging out there about Aristide, why he is in exile and why he won't be invited to this conference or most likely returning to Haiti. It is not an attempt to "discredit" the NDP, but to encourage them to stand up for democratic principles when it matters. Stating the truth about Aristide in QP is one thing, but stating it when the world is gathered in Montreal to discuss Haiti during this crisis is another.
Edit to respond to Sven: Of course the US or other countries did not cause the Earthquake. The Earth moves on its own rhythm and we have no developped any reliable means to predict earthquakes. However, if an Earthquake of this magnitude hit Vancouver, the situation would not be as dire. There are reasons for that.
And, most importantly going forward is how all this reconstruction money is going to be spent? I for one believe sweatshops for cheap Disney garbage will be taking precedence over adequate housing, utlities, etc. This is not about politicizing a tragedy, but discussing the issues involved honestly.
Stockholm, please read for comprehension.
No one is saying that American imperialism "caused the earthquake". They're saying that poverty is the reason the earthquake was so devastating, and you can lay the poverty directly at the doorsteps of those who supported the overthrow of democratic governments in Haiti, and who supported Haiti being crushed under debt.
Haitian earthquake: Made in the USA
No, actually, there WON'T be lots of time to discuss the reasons why this happened, because no one will give a shit later, certainly not the media or politicians, anyhow. Now IS the time to discuss this.
call it fascination with a train wreck sydrome...
but point taken, why bother checking to see if it is the usual partisan bashers, gnashing their teeth over sfa, or indeed make political commentary about those being partisan on the backs of those already exploited and in great misery, i should have just taken it for granted that it was so...next time.
meanwhile as I am here and involved, IMV, the analysis of why Haiti is in this mess, would be grossly inappropriate in the NDP's statement on what their actions are in respect to aleviating immediate plights, and what people can do, in the first days in an emergency.
The horses are out of the barn on that score, and what needs to be done is immediate efforts and direction, not posturings on why the horses got out of the barn.
This thread reminded me that I wrote a piece about the NDP leadership's silence about the Haiti coup during the 2006 election campaign. Stockholm's plea for getting aid to the people of Haiti reads as merely pro forma, given his earlier comment that I think sadly reveals the mentality of too many right-wing social democrats or liberals about Haiti: they just don't give a damn. (So much so that they can't even feign interest in the historic causes of Haiti's immiseration in the wake of 150,000+ dead bodies in the streets of Port-au-Prince). 'Why even keep Haiti around as a country?' In other words, while protesting against an analysis of imperialism's history of subjugating Haiti, Stockholm expresses the ultimate imperialist arrogance and advocates the ethnic cleansing and liquidation of Haiti as a nation. That will teach those slaves not to rebel successfully ever again. He may protest that his tongue was firmly in cheek but, then, this no time to be waxing sarcastic, is it?
Ironically, the democratic government of Aristide and the Lavalas movement whose repeated overthrow was sponsored by Canada, the US and France -- leaving the country so woefully without infrastructure, or public sector resources, or a remotely credible government -- was hated by the neoliberals to the north for its stubborn insistence on implementing a crazy, radical, utopian project: moderate, pragmatic, social democratic reforms to alleviate the worst poverty in the hemisphere. The fact that our self professed pragmatic, moderate NDPers could care less speaks volumes.
I would encourage folks to check out the amazing coverage at http://democracynow.org.
going to put it in blunter and more personal analogy terms....about how inappropriate it would have been for the NDP's first statement to ramble into the area of how Haiti got so poor.
So here goes my direct analogy....I believe that the death of my granddaughter's father was directly attributable to his parent's failure to support his alcohol addictions treatment, because they did not want the commuity at large to know of their son's plight, as they thought they would lose face and status.
Should I have sent them a Sympathy card stating it was their damn fault he was dead? Or stood up at the service and railed about the fact that had they gotten help for him, an dbeen less shallow, perhaps his daughter would not now be without a father?
Of course the answer is a resounding, No!
There is a time and place for commentary...and the time now is to get real political action happening to help Haitians in their plight, not standing around pointing fingers at any political party's failure to give "class analysis" about a current and developing human tragedy of epic proportions in their initial statement on what happened and call to action.
"How'd Haiti become so poor?"
How did North Koera become so poor? How did Zimbabwe become so poor? How did Gabon become so poor? How did Ireland get to be so rich after being so poor? How did Chile become by far the richest country in Latin America?
There have been many books as thick as a a New York phone book trying to explain and speculate on why some countries are so poor and others are so rich. There are no simple answers.
Imagine what the reaction on babble would be if the earthquake had hit Cuba instead of Haiti and there were hundreds of thousands dead and the Harper government immediately put out a press releasing stating that the huge loss of life in Cuba was proof that Communism was a failure and that it was all Castro's fault? I saw that there were massive floods and landslides in Venezuela that killed thousands - i guess it must all be the fault of Chavez!
I remember very well how "touchy" some people on babble got whenever anyone pointed out that an estimated 100,000 North Koreans died of starvation in the 90s and that maybe just maybe, it was partly the fault of the pseudo-communist kleptocracy that runs North Korea (after all in neighbouring South Korea people have the same stadard of living as in Japan!). Instead I got a chorus of apologists for Kim Jogn Il saying "no, no, no, the famines in North Korea have NOTHING to do with government policy there - its just that they had a typhoon!" (I guess the typhoon mysteriously stopped right at the border between North and South Korea)
I don't believe for one second that the earthquake would have been any less devastating if Aristide had been power for the last ten years. haiti was dirt poor then and its dirt poor now.
Haiti isn't dead, despite our best efforts.
Thank you, derrick, for your post.
I'm sorry, have there been subsequent statements about what happened? Clearly no one expects an initial response to be analysis - you want to give help immediately.
But this happened a week ago. So what's wrong with analysis? I just did a search for "Haiti" on the NDP web site, and there seems to be a stronger focus on speeding up the adoption process for Haitian children to Canadian families than getting aid to Haiti anyhow.
And in general (not that the NDP is doing this, necessarily), when you're giving immediate help, patting yourself on the back about how benevolent Canada is for doing so is just as much political commentary (by sweeping under the rug our complicity in the death toll) as it would be to state that Canada is simply giving what it owes, and not nearly enough either.
There's a difference between geopolitical analysis and domestic partisan positioning, when juxtaposed against the literal backdrop of mountains of dead people, the most impoverished in the hemisphere. Haven't they been exploited enough?