The Lancet has just published a unique and potentially ground-breaking study by two Wayne State University researchers, "Human rights abuse and other criminal violations in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti: a random survey of households."

Back in December I spoke at length to a NED program officer named Fabiola Cordova. She had recently taken over the Haiti file after some recent turnover which saw the departure of Program Officer Jennifer Stevens, and long time right hand man for Carl Gershman, Christopher Sabatini (Sabatini, from his new office at Council of the Americas, refused to discuss his work with the NED in Haiti, even disparaging me because of my affiliation with Narconews). Cordova, new to her job with NED but bringing with her six months of in-country Haiti experience (with NED affiliate, NDI, in 2002), gave me considerable insight regarding the NED's policies in Haiti and Venezuela prior to the overthrow of Aristide and the Lavalas government:

"When I was in Haiti when Aristide was still there he had obviously a prominent presence both in Congress and local government and everywhere else in public life. There were a lot of lines being drawn between Haiti and Venezuela, that, basically, Venezuela could become a Haiti where you have, well, a democratically elected leader but that's slowly taking over all the branches of government and then arming their own people and the opposition is getting armed..."

A significant development in Haiti's battle to end the foreign occupation of their country, and the growing movement in solidarity with this demand:

"According to the Mission of Investigation and Solidarity with the Haitian People, Haiti's problem is not a military problem. As such, there is no reason for the ongoing occupation of Haiti by foreign military forces. The Mission of Investigation and Solidarity with the Haitian people is led by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, and includes a number of representatives from social movements.

In Brazil, the MST is of the same opinion. The Landless Workers' Movement demands the immediate withdrawal of Brazilian troops, who currently lead the MINUSTAH forces. For the MST, the presence of foreign troops on Haitian soil jeopardizes her sovereignty. According to figures compiled by the group, close to 246 Haitian men and women have been killed by MINUSTAH and National Police forces during the October 2004 -- August 2005 period."

The original, in Portuguese, is here, the English version is here.

The news of the death of retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer Marc Bourque, who was in Haiti under the auspices of a security mission for Haiti's controversial elections on behalf of a government-funded NGO, Canadem/Canpol, is grabbing many headlines  across Canada today.

The Canada Haiti Action Network (CHAN) issued this press release on Bourque's death.

"A growing network of Haiti solidarity activists in Canada has expressed regret over the tragic killing of retired RCMP constable Marc Bourque in Haiti yesterday."

Con poca fanfarria, tres días antes que el gobierno liberal minoritario de Paul Martin cayera por un voto de desconfianza en la Casa de los Comunes de Ottawa (el 28 de noviembre), el bloqueado Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores Pierre Pittigrew designó a Christian Lapointe como el próximo embajador de Canadá en Ecuador. Lapointe ha estado trabajando como director de la División del Caribe, América Central y la Región Andina al interior del Departamento de Relaciones exteriores. Este movimiento podría significar un problema para Ecuador en la medida que Canadá está en medio de un profundo cambio en su política exterior que busca apoyar la desestabilización bajo la cubierta de apoyo a la “promoción de la democracia”.

With little fanfare only three days before the minority Liberal government of Paul Martin fell by way of a non-confidence vote in Ottawa's House of Commons (on November 28th), beleaguered Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew appointed Christian Lapointe as Canada's next Ambassador to Ecuador. Lapointe has been serving as Director of the Caribbean and Central America and Andean Region Division within the Department of Foreign Affairs. This move could spell trouble for Ecuador as Canada is in the midst of profound changes in foreign policy that find new support for destabilization under the cover of support for "democracy promotion."

Mainstream news of recent UN aggression in Haiti's slums has gone from UNderreported to UNreported. The lone report thus far seems to be that by Dave Welsh, interviewed by Flashpoints radio on Thursday, November 10th. Welsh also discusses some of his recent experiences in Haiti while he (and others, part of an International Tribunal on Haiti) investigated UN involvement in reported massacres. The entire transcribed interview is posted HERE, with excerpts below.

Disturbingly, I recall several conversations with MINUSTAH officials in Haiti a few weeks ago, wherein they referred to Cite Soleil as the only neighborhood that had not yet been sufficiently 'pacified.' To carry this pacification through to its inevitable conclusion, I was told that an extra battalion of Jordanian (750) soldiers were being brought in to Cite Soleil ("like a boot") for just this purpose.