Haitian trade union says: Against Aristide and the Opposition: support the worke

Submitted by Anon on 22 May, 2004 - 10:14

A statement from the militant union organisation, Batay Ouvriye, on the current political situation in Haiti

Already, before Aristide's departure, the political crisis had shifted up a gear. As of January 2004, the mandates of a number of Parliamentarians expired, creating a big vacuum. With the opposition's anti-Aristide, anti-Lavalas [Aristide's Party] offensive, the situation became more extreme: numerous officials abandoned their posts. The power vacuum increased. With the departure of the president, it was like an explosion: The state is in real crisis. This crisis is clear for all to see.

There is no person legitimately in charge anywhere. A whole series of upstarts have taken advantage of this situation to set themselves up as the authorities, as chiefs, and, in the process, the people are really suffering. This situation cannot continue!

We are absolutely clear that, during the period of its rule, Lavalas did nothing for us. On the contrary! It was just corruption, theft, rape, and illicit trafficking of all kinds. We always fought this state of affairs. As for repression, this was the common currency of this disastrous regime.

But we mustn't come through the Lavalas era and then just fall in the shit! In 1986, the experience showed us that we knew much of what we didn't want, but we weren't clear about what we did want, or how to fight for it. And for this reason, today we find ourselves in this macabre and confused situation. We've had the illness; we must know the remedy!

Today, after a new style of coup d'etat, the country finds itself occupied.

All our democratic rights that have not yet been trodden underfoot are heading that way. The free trade zone at Ouanaminthe is the most obvious proof. There, members of the Dominican middle class, taking advantage of the vacuum at the state level, do nothing but increase their rate of exploitation. As ever, the result is the denial of our rights and subsequent repression. It's the same at the factories run by local capitalists where these local blood suckers, again benefiting from the institutional vacuum, use violence to try to crush even the few rights that we previously enjoyed in this most unfair society: massive dismissals at the merest suspicion of union organising, systematic repression, permanent intimidation… terror!

In the framework of this offensive they have even begun, in certain cities - in Cap-Haitien for example, to take control of the public administration.

In the countryside, the big landowners (grandons) or Duvalierists who had been long exiled, supported by the self-proclaimed "rebels" and former Army torturers, have returned to sow terror among hard-working people, blatantly trying to steal the land of the small farmers, just like in the 'good old days'.

Everywhere, therefore, in the towns and in the countryside, there is an offensive by a ruling class, which is bolstered by the occupation.

The terror we suffered under the Lavalas regime still haunts us. Nobody will stop it for us. As far as the ruling class is concerned, we are clear: the occupiers only came to resolve the problems of the international and local ruling classes! Our responsibilities to defend ourselves in this new situation should only be assumed by us! In every town, in every district, in every hamlet, section, commune or rural zone, we must set up organisations to defend the interests of workers!

Those known as "the Opposition", along with the imperialists, think they are going to rebuild the same rotten state without our consent. It is indeed the same apparatus that they intend to establish, without any substantial change, without any major transformation, to again deprive us of any means of achieving truly popular control. It is imperative for us to block this project or make it fail! And it is only by our autonomous struggles, with our organisations solely based on our own interests as exploited people, the majority, workers, will we be able to deal with these two problems which confront us today, namely:

The popular masses must continue to organise themselves and continue their fight for democratic rights. Electricity, drinking water, roads, the cleaning up of our districts, support for craftsmen's workshops, irrigation in the countryside… problems of health, education, justice!… but, also a lowering of the cost of living, blocking the market taxes which are only used to enrich the authorities, demanding that the state recognises that land belongs to those who work it and not to any upstart or self-declared official!

Long live the popular democratic struggles!

Faced with the existing vacuum, we must propose our own alternatives. The persons in charge at all the levels must be chosen by us, and not by the central state, even less by the political parties. Moreover, with those that we choose, we must require not only the acceptance of a clear and explicit mandate, and not only must we require the perfect execution of these mandates, but we must set up of the mechanisms to control them and to dismiss them whenever this becomes necessary. Long live another new and different state!

It is certainly a difficult moment. However, if we start with our own interests and our platforms already set out, we can organise ourselves resolutely and make big advances.

Let us grasp our responsibility with two hands!

Long live the autonomous workers' fight!

Let us work to unite across the land! Resolutely organised for this task, the moment is ours! Let's seize it!

Long live the Haitian workers' struggle!

No Sweat shorts

  • An official collection taken at the National Union of Teachers' conference raised £517 for No Sweat.
  • Migrant Labour and Exploitation: Chinese working-class activist Jabez Lam will be speaking about Chinese migrant workers in the UK at the South West London No Sweat meeting, 7.30pm, Thursday 27 May, Trade Union Centre, 898 Garratt Lane, Tooting (Tube: Tooting Broadway). All welcome.

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