‘Balanced’ reporting of political violence in Haiti is not fair

[struggle4progress]

<snip> “Haiti’s fragile peace” is another in a long line of articles published in the mainstream media that portray the conflict in Haiti as a chaotic power struggle between equally violent rival factions over which the interim government is attempting to gain control. After interviewing community organizers, elected officials and labor leaders, we came away with a very different impression.

Whether or not the government of Haiti currently acknowledges having ties to the former military, despite the fact that Latortue hailed them as “freedom fighters” in early March, it was our impression that the majority of Haitians see the interim government and the former military as two hands on the same body. One hand presents the façade of legitimacy, while the other violently represses legitimate political dissent.

We believe that it is irresponsible to state that angry Aristide loyalists are “just as dangerous” as the ex-military soldiers that have now taken over several towns in the south of Haiti and continue to force thousands of grassroots community organizers and former Lavalas officials into hiding. Indeed, Aristide loyalists are angry. They feel that their fledgling democracy and the laws and procedures dictated by the Constitution have been taken away from them by a relatively small armed force and an international community intent on removing the president they elected. <snip>

The former military is composed of several thousand heavily armed soldiers with no political mandate; those that support Aristide are part of a popular movement that is several million strong, essentially unarmed and comprised of citizens who have the right to protest. The so-called “chimere” represent only a fringe element of an overwhelmingly peaceful movement, whereas violence and intimidation are the sole tactics used by the former military to silence the voice of the masses. <snip>

http://www.sfbayview.com/091504/balancedreporting091504.shtml