Principal Turns Around Failing High School, One Student at a Time

Principal Anthony Smith Teams Up With Teachers And Local Phone Company to Improve Conditions.

By RON CLAIBORNE and MAGGY PATRICK

March 18, 2011

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Principal Turns Around Failing High School, One Student at a Time

Principal Anthony Smith Teams Up With Teachers And Local Phone Company to Improve Conditions.

BY RON CLAIBORNE AND MAGGY PATRICK  March 18, 2011

 

 

 

Egypt:

Democracy in the making

By Fatma Naib in

Middle East

on March 20th, 2011.

[All pictures by Fatma Naib]

Egypt is undergoing a real democratic process for the first time. Egyptians have voted overwhelmingly in favour of sweeping changes to the existing constitution in a national referendum. 

The last few days leading to the vote were full of debate discussing the referendum. There were many campaigns in the streets where people handed out leaflets explaining the Yes and No vote. There was also plenty of debate taking place in various universities and cultural centres.

Even Tahrir Square saw around 2000 people campaigning for the No vote. The square was buzzing with people since it was evacuated a week ago. It may seem normal for any other country, but for Egypt as Shafik, an accountant told me, it is different than the way things used to be. "I feel that things are different, there are no government thugs trying to threaten us and force us to vote a certain way."

On the day of the vote, as I arrived at the polling station I was struck by the sight of the endless queue that led all the way to the road. There were voters young and old, men and women, and even young parents with their toddlers.

It was humbling to see everyone waiting patiently side by side, standing in one line for men and another for women. As I walked through the crowd I asked everyone how long they had been there.

Mahmoud, 65, said he had been queuing for two and a half hours. "I don't mind waiting. I have been waiting for a day like this all my life. This is my first time voting."

Indeed he was not the only first-time voter in the crowd. Most people I spoke to were also voting for the first time.

Everyone spoke about how they felt that this time their vote would actually count.

Azza Shaban said: "I am voting today for the first time in my life, I feel that this time it will count for real."

Some forty million people were eligible to cast their vote, and the vast majority did so - relishing this newly won freedom.

The arguments for and against amending the constitution have been intense, the debate spilling over from the cyber world onto the streets and into cafes and homes of a people long denied the right of meaningful political discussion.

As I got closer to the polling station the police and army were manning the entrance, and were supported by young volunteers who were there to maintain order and ensure that everything ran smoothly.

I witnessed some extraordinary scenes as a man tried to cut the 300 people long queue claiming to be a 'VIP', before he was told by the people in the queue and the police to go to the back of the queue like everyone else.

'This is new Egypt, this behaviour was in the past', shouted one lady in the crowd.

The man sheepishly walked away. I was amazed by what I had just witnessed, but this scene was repeated several times throughout the day.

Elderly people and parents with children were allowed to the front of the queue, but I saw many over 60 years old who remained in the queue refusing any special treatment.

One young lady provoked someone in the crowd because she was wearing a t-shirt imprinted with a "No" slogan and standing by the entrance leading into the polling station.

She was reprimanded, "You are influencing people's choice." The lady in question responded by telling her that she is free to wear whatever she likes just as everyone should vote as they wish, and that this was the meaning of democracy. Their discussion carried on for a while before they each calmed down. An onlooker decided to take a photograph of the woman in the t-shirt to report it saying: "It is simple, if she is violating the voting process then this photograph will be evidence."

This newfound sense of responsibility and speaking up was echoed throughout the day. And everyone seemed to take it upon themselves to ensure that any suspicious activity or irregularity was documented.

As I walked away from the polling station I spoke to Inas, a student, who told me that she will respect the outcome whatever it is. 'We are not going to dwell on it. As long as there is no fraud then I will accept the result."

Nancy, a nurse, was less optimistic, saying: "I am happy that I am voting but part of me is worried, I heard about irregularities in some polling stations. I am not sure."

The result of the referendum will also determine whether or not parliamentary and presidential elections will take place this year.

But as I discovered, the day ultimately was not just about the result of the referendum, but about the democratic process that this country is witnessing for the first time.

The real victory has already been achieved by those who fought so hard for the right to choose.

__________________________

Activists in the region have used social media to organise themselves (Reuters)

========

Playing Politics

Beating back the elite’s rabid rage:

Against all odds Aristide returns to Haiti

Posted on 18. Mar, 2011 by Ezili Dantò in Blog, News, Essays and Reflections

Aristide Returns to Haiti, March 18, 2011 | Photo credit:Alexandre Meneghini / AP

Aristide returned to Haiti today. I’ve not seen such genuine happiness on the faces of Haiti’s poor in over seven years.

Welcome President Jean Bertrand Aristide and family. Today is a good day for the poorest of the poor in the Western Hemisphere. Their struggle and unimaginable sacrifices and sufferings bore fruit and it makes them smile. We thank the universal good for this moment. Blessed be the endless Haiti revolution against the organized tyranny of the “civilized” and “schooled” peoples.

Today, HLLN re-members the blessed Haiti revolution, Janjak Desalin and the indigenous Haiti army of today and yesterday.

On this day of the return, HLLN re-members the sacrifice of the warriors of Site Soley, Bel Air, Solino, Martissant who took up arms in self-defense against the occupation and coup d’etat. We re-MEMBER the most hunted Black man in the Western Hemisphere, who, alone, fought the most powerful armies on earth for two long years before he was assassinated by UN bullets, we remember the lynching and crucifixion of Dred Wilmè.

“On July 6, 2005, Dred Wilmè in his family where assassinated in cold blood by 1,440 heavily armed UN/US troops. With their tanks, helicopters and advanced weapons, 440 UN/US soldiers entered Site Soley in the dead of night (3am) while the community was asleep. One thousand (1000) other UN/US soldiers surrounded Site Soley to make sure no one could leave. Bombs where reported unleashed and dropped on the unarmed civilian community.

According to The Site Soley Massacre Declassification Project the UN fired over 22,000 rounds of ammunition into this thin-shacked, cardboard-house, poverty-stricken Black community of about 450,000 Haitians, most having been forced off their safer rural lands by US/USAID/WB/IMF policies in the 80s and 90s.”

All human beings have the right to life and to self-defense, including the poor in Haiti.

At the Aristides’ home, thousands of Haitians, who had waited seven long tortured years for the return of their beloved president and his family, waited a little longer to welcome them. – Photo: Jean Ristil Jean Baptiste

Today, we remember and say honor and respect to our fallen and faceless warriors- the beleaguered poor in Site Soley, Solino, Martissant, Bel-Air, Gran Ravine, et al… – ravaged by exclusion and color-coded NGO charitable distribution and allotments that slews human dignity, brings perpetual dependency. We recall the 20,000 slaughtered by the imposed Bush Boca Raton regime from 2004 to 2006, slaughtered with the complicity of UN/US firepower.

We pay tribute to Father Gerard Jean Juste, Lovinsky Pierre Antoine and all those who gave their life for this day of return of the people’s voice. We pay tribute to the ten thousands unknown Haitians, in Haiti and in the Diaspora, who never wavered.

We lift up Hazel and Randall Robinson for staying true throughout this long road and always, always supporting justice for the people of Haiti against all the odds. We lift up Minister Louis Farrakhan and Danny Glover who stood with the poor majority in Haiti and advocated for the return of Aristide in Haiti when most of the U.S. Black intelligentsia turned away.

 

Joyfully, people surround Aristide’s car as he leaves the airport. They ran beside him all the way to his house. — Photo: Jean Ristil Jean Baptiste

*

We thank all those folks, from all the races and religions, who signed letters and advocated for this return. We pay tribute to all the small Haiti radio programs abroad and in Haiti who stood for justice, Mary at SF Bayview for standing firm and resolute. We remember the unknown fanm vanyans, Haitian women like Alina Sixto who sacrificed so much, for so long without accolades and recognition and who never wavered.

We share this day by lifting up the work and life of our beloved John Maxwell. We pay tribute to the Africans, in Jamaica, in South Africa who stood in solidarity with the people of Haiti despite threats of repercussions from powerful international forces, those who even this week ignored the frantic calls from Barack Obama and the UN’s Ban-Ki Moon to again delay and destroy the will of the people of Haiti. Thank you.

This historic returns belongs to the poor suffering warriors of Haiti and to bless the spirits of those who perished too soon. Indeed it belongs to Haitian men like father Gerard Jean Juste, to all the women community leaders who where singled out and massacred at the USAID/IOM “Summer for Peace” soccer gathering on August 20 and Aug. 21st where Haitian youths were lured to their slaughter while attending a soccer game sponsored by USAID. Haiti’s young were brutally chopped up by UN/US-sanctioned coup detat police squads, working with their Lame Ti Manchet thugs and mercenaries.

This return belongs to Esterne Bruner, assassinated, Sept. 21, 2006 by members of the coup d’etat enforcers, Lame Timanchèt.

Before his death, the courageous Esterne Bruner provide Ezili’s HLLN with the names of the members who committed the Gran Ravine/USAID-soccer -for-peace massacres, the names of the death squad of Lame Ti Manchet. None of these pro-coup detat enforcers have been brought to justice in UN occupied Haiti because they helped demobilize the pro-democracy Lavalas movement.

This return that eases the insult of the bicentennial coup d’etat belongs to the hundreds of Haitians, sealed in containers and dumped off the Coast of Cap Haitian to drown, as US-supported thugs, still roaming Haiti free behind UN protection today, took over the North. It belongs to those forced onto mysterious U.S. ships, off the shores of Haiti, held and tortured in secrecy, some for two years, because they voted Lavalas or held positions in the popular government of President Aristide.

It belongs to Haitian men like Emmanuel Dred Wilmè who never left his people, never even left his neighborhood, he never attacked anyone, he simply defended his community from attack from the coup detat overseers, from UN and US guns and sycophants who hired thugs, like Labanye, to kill innocent civilians simply because they voted for Jean Bertrand Aristide and advocated for their country’s own domestic interests as opposed to the interests of the internationals, their Haiti billionaire oligarchy and poverty pimping USAID-NGO subcontractors.

There will always be more Dred Wilmés, more Father Jean Juste, more Lovinsky Pierre Antoines, more Esterne Bruners in Haiti as long as there is misery and exclusion imposed on Haiti by the powerful nations.

Most of all today, we say honor and respect to the Ezili HLLNetwork members, of all the races and nationalities, a 10 thousand strong network against the profit-over-people folks, reaching three million per post, and on our blogs, who stood with the voiceless and disenfranchised in Haiti for these last seven years against all the odds, against all the naysayers.

This historic moment belongs to all of you who stood with the indigenous Haitians at HLLN who work to make a space for Haiti’s authentic voices without Officialdom’s approval. It’s a harsh journey.

It could have been a six-hour trip to Brazil and then just a few hours to Haiti. But it took 18 hours because the “benevolent internationals” interested in our “democracy and stability” wouldn’t allow former president Aristide, the symbol of the poor’s empowerment in Black Haiti, to travel through their territories.

Etched on the older people’s faces is the truth of this woman’s sign, “We suffered greatly, but we had faith you would return home.” Thousands of Haitians died during the past seven years at the hands of the U.S. and U.N. forces occupying Haiti, compounded by the over 300,000 who were killed in the earthquake and over 4,600 killed so far in the cholera epidemic. – Photo: Etant Dupain, brikourinouvelgaye.com

It took 18 hours for Aristide to reach Haiti. Going from South Africa to Northern Africa in Senegal took 10 hours, while from Senegal to Haiti took another eight hours. I hear England wouldn’t allow a landing either.

That long, long road is symbolic of the Haitian struggle. That long road Ezili’s HLLN has shared with you and with your support and forbearance. Unlike colonial celebritism with Sean Penn, no one will give us accolades for a mere six months journey in Haiti. Ours is a centuries-long journey. We overstand. The struggle continues.

A new era begins for us here at HLLN. We ask you help us define it. For we know the empire will strike back. We expect it and thus avoid the surprise blow. As usual, we shall take the road less traveled towards healing Haiti’s poor majority with dignity, human rights, self-sufficiency, justice and inclusion. We won’t sell out. Haiti and indigenous Haitians want justice not charity, not Clinton/Farmer UN/US paternalism. It’s a desperately humiliating, bumpy, wholly disemboweling, wholly healing and fulfilling ride. Against all odds, Ginen poze. Kenbe la – hold on. (See, Don’t be distracted by Aristide in Haiti by Ezili Dantò and Avatar Haiti.)

Pierre Labossierre, Alina Sixto, Lavarice Gaudin, Jafrikayiti, Guy Antoine, Harry Fouche, Fritz Pean, Yves Point Du Jour, Jean Ristil Jean Baptise and too many others to name, congratulations on this day. Only we know what we’ve withstood in helping to overcome not one but two Bush coup d’etats on the poor majority in Haiti.

Sometimes the fierce guilt of surviving, the endless stretch ahead, the soul and psychic wounds wrought on by the shame and humiliation of powerlessness and lack of material resources to do more, are too heavy a load. It’s too ugly and desperate to articulate the bullying and blows metered out by the most educated, most wealthy and most powerful on the most defenseless and non-violent people on earth.

Their collective suffering and deaths shall not be in vain. Justice will prevail, beauty will win, eventually. If not in our lifetime, then in the next. We are the Haitians, the indigenous Haitians. From generation to generation, from the womb to the tomb, our lives are about struggle. Today, for a moment, we’ll smile through the sorrow because in this shining and eternal moment that must see us through what will come at us next, we anti-Duvalierist-Haitians managed to survive whole with dignity and to witness that against all odds, we beat back the elite’s rabid rage.

Ayibobo!

The Haitian resistance against the Western bicentennial re-colonization of Haiti lives on.

Ezili Dantò
Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network (HLLN)
March 18, 2011

******************************************************
Forwarded by Ezili’s Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network (HLLN)
******************************************************

Don’t be distracted by Aristide in Haiti: Demand Justice not Gestures

http://bit.ly/gbIETL

Video: Aristide Returning Speech In Haiti

3/18/2011

Aljazeera Video: Aristide returns to Haiti

__________________________

• 
• • Alex Dupuy
  • guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 March 2011 16.30 GMT
  • Article history

Jean-Bertrand Aristide's portrait outside the palace in Port-au-Prince. The ousted former president arrived in the Haitian capital on Friday after seven years in exile. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Much has been made in the Haitian and international media about the prospect of the return of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who has been in exile in South Africa since 2004, but has, this Friday, arrived in Port-au-Prince. Aristide is the only Haitian president to be overthrown twice. The first time was in a September 1991 coup d'état, seven months after he was elected to office. Thanks to the intervention of the French and American ambassadors with the coup leaders, he was able to leaveHaiti and spend the next three years in exile, most of it in the United States.

He returned to Haiti in October 1994, protected by 20,000 US troops to serve the remaining 18 months of his first term. He disbanded the Haitian army before he left office. Re-elected and taking office in February 2001 for a second and final five-year term, he was toppled again in February 2004. Aristide had asked the US to beef up his foreign private security; instead, the US ambassador gave him a choice to leave Haiti or face the rebel forces made up of former members of the Haitian army and paramilitaries. Aristide chose the first option, but later called it a kidnapping.

Aristide's supporters were exuberant when they thought his return was imminent after the Haitian government issued him a new passport on 7 February. A month passed, and the United States, as late as this week, was pressuring the governments of South Africa and Haiti to delay his return until after 20 March, when the compromised "electoral process" that began on 28 November was due to conclude. Aristide's supporters were guaranteed to give him a more jubilant and noisier welcome than former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier received when he returned to Haiti unexpectedly in January, after 25 years in exile; Duvalier now faces the possibility of indictments for his alleged past crimes.

Whatever the hopes of Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas base, though, I don't see any real prospect of a political comeback for the former president. After the 20,000 US troops escorted Aristide back to Haiti in 1994, he abandoned the progressive agenda he was elected to implement in 1991. Although he continued to portray himself as the champion of the poor, he largely accepted the neoliberal policies known as the "Washington consensus" as a quid pro quo for his return. And when re-elected in 2001, Aristide's chief objective was to monopolise political power, and through his Lavalas Family party, ensure that he would govern without the divided parliament and opposition he had faced in 1991.

In a vain attempt to obtain financial assistance from international financial institutions, Aristide implemented their neoliberal policies. This involved evicting farmers from a fertile area in the north of Haiti near the Dominican Republic to make way for poverty-wage garment industries geared for export to the US. Aristide's second administration was also marred by grave misgovernance. Officials in Aristide's government used their public office as personal fiefdoms, engaged in rampant corruption and drug-trafficking; they even used gangs, some of whom were armed, against their opponents. Funds allocated for public works projects were not used for those purposes or were unaccounted for. Elected officials were implicated in a scandal involving the redistribution and sale of rice imported duty-free and exempt from consumer taxes; and high-level government officials were implicated in a cooperative scheme that went bankrupt in 2002, having defrauded numerous poor and middle-class Haitians of their savings.

Blaming the opposition, Aristide's supporters attacked and burned the homes and headquarters of some of their leaders after a group of former members of the Haitian army attacked the presidential palace in 2001. Aristide loyalists also attacked members of the press critical of the government, sending many into hiding and forcing others to seek refuge in foreign embassies or flee the country; members of a pro-Lavalas organisation were subsequently indicted for the murder of Brignol Lindor, a reporter, in December 2001. And in December 2003, Aristide supporters attacked university students protesting against his government, leading tens of thousands, including members of his own Lavalas party, to take to the streets to demand his resignation.

Aristide's government's record on human rights violations is in no way comparable to that of Jean-Claude Duvalier (1971-86), or of his father, François (1957-71), when tens of thousands of Haitians were killed, disappeared, imprisoned without trial and tortured. But justice does not have a threshold below which people are not liable for human rights violations, embezzlement, corruption or drug-trafficking. Aristide himself has never been indicted for any crime, but many former Lavalas and government officials, some close to him, have been indicted, arrested, prosecuted and convicted.

Aristide still commands support among the poor, in the slums of Port-au-Prince especially, though many have now rallied behind Michel Martelly – one of the two centre-right candidates due to contest the 20 March runoff. But the November 2010 elections – riddled with fraud and with a very low turnout – should have been annulled already. With Aristide's return, an electoral process already suffering a crisis of legitimacy would seem difficult to conclude satisfactorily.

Aristide has said he wants to return mainly to resume his work in the field of education – but he is above all a homo politicus, as witnessed by the timing of this return. It would be impossible for him not to want to play a prominent role in politics. But Aristide may, in fact, prove a spent force – for all the the noise and exuberance of his supporters in Haiti, and the consternation of his opponents, including the "troika" of the United States, Canada and France.

Haiti's constitution bars him from running for a third presidential term. To change that, Aristide, who is deeply averse to structured political organisations, would have to work hard to unify his splintered and feuding Lavalas party – which was excluded from fielding candidates in the November elections – and make it once again the dominant political force in Haiti. That is a tall order. The political climate has changed considerably since 2004, and the situation will change again if, after 20 March, either Manigat or Martelly is "elected" president.

Aristide also has many enemies among the Haitian middle class, intelligentsia and political class, to say nothing of the dominant business class and the troika. Even assuming there is no attempt to indict him for human rights abuses or corruption allegedly committed by his 2001-2004 government, Aristide would still have to tread carefully to avoid being made to regret his decision to return. Despite his supporters' hopes, Aristide's homecoming may yet prove more of a retirement than a relaunch.

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Aristide's Return a Resurrection for Poor Haitians Like Gaston

Mar 19, 2011 – 8:11 PM

Text Size 

183006

Emily TroutmanContributor

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Gaston Charles walked five miles in the early morning light to see former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as he returned from exile. Not even to see him. Just to stand outside his house.

Aristide was elected twice in Haiti; once in 1990 and again in 2000. He was overthrown twice. He is a divisive figure here, popular among the very poor and derided by others. Before he was president, he was a priest.

For many like Gaston, Aristide's return Friday -- two days before Sunday's presidential election -- is nothing short of a resurrection. Thousands poured into the street to celebrate, but Gaston walked alone, making his way with a small picture of Jesus in his arms.

"Papa Defo! Papa Defo!" Friends and strangers greeted Gaston by his nickname. No one here came to see him, but they greeted him all the same.

In downtown Port-au-Prince, Gaston is that odd urban animal, a well-known loner. He made his name dancing on the floats at carnival, beloved not for his talent, but for his enthusiasm.

On this day, he smiled benevolently under a bright white beard. At 61, he is wiry and sun beaten, concave in some places, strong in others. His dark blue eyes rested on the crowd when suddenly he threw his arms up with the picture of Jesus and turned in a small circle.

Emily Troutman for AOL News

Gaston Charles, also known as "Papa Defo," is loved by many but is also alone. He stands in front of his tent in Port-au-Prince. Aristide promises him a fuller life.

His father gave him books: geography, ethics and civics, the history of Haiti. Eventually he received a copy of the catechism, guidance for how to live a Christian life.

It read like an interview with the Almighty. It answered the questions he hadn't thought to ask.

Why did Christ rise from the dead?

Christ rose from the dead to show that He is true God and to teach us that we, too, shall rise from the dead.

Will all men rise from the dead?

All men will rise from the dead, but only those who have been faithful to Christ will share in His glory.

"When I was young, I never went this way or that way," he said while zigging and zagging his hands. "I was straight."

Gaston's father never married Gaston's mother. He had another family, and other children.

For Gaston, the vast vocabulary of faith gave voice to both his loss and his good fortune. He learned to pray, fiercely, at a young age.

His parents died in 1992 and 1993, one after the other. He struggled to remember the exact years.

"During Aristide's first exile," he finally recalled.

Finding His Own Way

Gaston lived with his parents until they died; he was 43 years old. They were his best friends and confidants. As life in Haiti became more difficult, spirituality cleared Gaston's path.

He wanted more -- a real job, an identity, to share the gifts his parents gave him with the rest of the world. But times were tough.

After Aristide was ousted by Haiti's military in 1991, the United Nations and the Organization of American States instituted strict sanctions to punish the new regime. It killed the small manufacturing economy in Haiti.

Emily Troutman for AOL News

Thousands gathered in the streets in downtown Port-au-Prince on Friday to welcome back Jean Bertrand Aristide, the exiled former president.

Aristide himself had been a vex on Haiti's business class. When he came back to power in 1994, U.S. President Clinton forced Haiti to lower its trade barriers. Haiti now had cheap, imported food. Much of the agricultural industry died, too.

For Gaston, neither was urgent since he had no real skills. He wasn't a farmer or a manufacturer. But it hurt the economy. Unemployment rates coasted around 50 percent.

With the downturn, Gaston reached toward music with more vigor. He decided he was an "artist."

By 1997, he was "Papa Defo," a musical sideshow adored by many. Like studying the catechism in his childhood, being an artist allowed Gaston to understand his own injustices, especially poverty.

His father's other family -- three sisters -- rejected him and refused to give him money.

On Friday, Gaston stood outside his tent on the concrete where his parents' home once was. It collapsed in the quake.

"My family doesn't understand me."

He never married. No kids. He loved two women in his life. He left them both because he could not bear to offer them his poverty.

Maybe Gaston was never good at relationships and spirituality was his only comfort. Or maybe the rules within the catechism -- honor, marriage, sin -- gave him ways to avoid what escaped him.

As Papa Defo, he was suddenly "Papa."

"I don't have personal kids, but I have kids in the street," he said. "I am their papa because I show them the way through love."

On Friday, he walked the streets of Port-au-Prince toward Aristide's house, in slow reverence. He greeted children; he held his own small procession.

Haiti's Most Famous "Papa"

Jean-Bertrand Aristide is Haiti's most famous "Papa." Part politician, part priest, part icon. Even after his second presidency, in 2001, and second ouster, in 2004, much of the public still clamored for him.

From the beginning, he made great promises to the poor, and though he didn't have the chance to see them realized, many Haitians believed.

After the earthquake, current President Rene Preval became unwilling to speak to the people. For days they waited. For inspiration, for a patriotic spiritual message.

Emily Troutman for AOL News

Aristide supporters in Port-au-Prince celebrate the return of the former president, who went into exile in South Africa seven years ago.

Gaston's faith became stronger. "God made the earthquake and he made the tent, too." But he longed for Aristide. For Gaston, Aristide is a catechism unto himself.

Who is Jesus?

"Jesus is King of Kings because he sent Aristide back to us."

Who is Aristide?

"Aristide is a mighty person. Mighty people are mighty within themselves. ... They have the power to feed people or to let them starve."

Will Aristide deliver us, like Jesus?

"Jesus is Jesus. Aristide is a human being. He is a loving person."

As Aristide stepped off the private jet from South Africa on Friday, he seemed to speak directly to Gaston. After seven years in exile, the former president greeted the Haitian people.

"Sisters. Brothers. Honor! Respect! Sisters. Brothers. Honor! Respect!" His voice found a cadence.

"My sisters and brothers, if you could lay your hands on my heart, you would be able to feel how it beats more quickly."

No Haitian government officials came to greet him, nor candidates for Sunday's elections. His wife and young kids, American actor Danny Glover, and his lawyer accompanied him.

Aristide noted the promise of billions of dollars of natural resources in Haiti, "Oil reserves are probably larger than we think." Calling to mind the vast majority of children who cannot attend school, he said the gap was a problem of "exclusion."

Haiti is sick, he said. "If the outbreak of the crocus depends on the rays of the sun, the outbreak in Haiti depends on the sun of our love."

Determining His Vote

Last week, Gaston planned to vote for friend and fellow artist Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly instead of the professorial Mirlande Manigat. Now, for Sunday's vote, he will wait for Aristide to tell him what to do.

Martelly is loved, Gaston told me. Aristide is loved more.

"I make my own decisions," Gaston said. "But I also like it when people give me advice."

The catechism asks: How should we pray?

"To really pray," Gaston told me, "you have to put loving trust in his goodness. You have to be helpless. You have to get down on your knees. You have to beg."

As small bands and thousands of onlookers followed Aristide to his house, Gaston came behind, smitten.

At the gates, neighbors smiled at Gaston, and he smiled back. He turned, turned, turned, with the image of Jesus in his hands.

>via: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/19/aristides-return-a-resurrection-for-poor-ha...

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Aristide’s Return and Wikileaks:

When Will the US

Finally Change Course?

March 18, 2011 |

Disclaimer: I write bland headlines. But hopefully you’ll find the post itself worth your while. I’ll add links tomorrow. It’s late and I need to get home!

“President Rene Preval made reference to these rumors, telling the Ambassador that he did not want Aristide ‘anywhere in the hemisphere.’” That was in 2008, according to a secret American cable from the Wikileaks cache released today, when rumors swirled about Preval’s predecessor, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his possible passage to Venezuela.

The rumors, which began circulating again with ever-stronger intensity in the past month, finally were put to rest today.

Aristide ended a seven-year-long exile. He arrived in Haiti by private plane, gave a heartwarming speech about love and exclusion in four languages including Zulu, and headed to his mansion with his family amidst a jostling crowd of overjoyed supporters that stretched down the road surrounding his convoy.

A single smoke bomb to disperse the crowd? Nothing doing. People promptly gave each other lifts over the Aristide compounds’s newly-cleaned 13-foot-high walls. A middle-aged guy boosted me up and I clambered over.

We waited for Aristide to emerge again, some eating mangos off trees and lounging about the pool to bide their time, but he stayed inside. He’ll probably have more to say soon. When he does, many will listen, much to chagrin of his detractors, who say he tolerated corruption and violent crimes as President.

One of them is a certain Michel Martelly, a leading presidential candidate in Sunday’s runoff election, who can be seen strutting about a nightclub in a video posted on YouTube recently, saying “I would kill Aristide to stick a dick up your ass” and calling Aristide supporters “faggots.”

Martelly has been drawing huge crowds and many presume he’s handily winning the race against a less aggressive right-wing rival. But today I heard a young man remark that he’s “falling in shit.” I stifled a laugh (and a cough, as we marched through the dusty, trash-strewn streets along Aristide’s convoy).

Longtime Haitian political observer Patrick Elie, who served in the governments of Aristide and Preval, was a bit more nuanced: “These elections are going to give a president who has no legitimacy and who will be the puppet of the international community, especially now with the reconstruction.”

“I believe that his return is going to expose politicians that are on the scene and show that, as far as the Haitian people care concerned, they don’t count for much,” he told me.

So to will Rene Preval, the outgoing president, who remains a question mark until he leaves office. He hardly talks to the citizenry, and seems to have lost all standing due to the halting recovery from last year’s earthquake. Why the 180-degree reversal from three years ago? Why did his government renew Aristide’s passport last month and allow him back to Haiti now, ignoring American pressure?

Is it his answer to the obvious question, as Haitian musician Wyclef Jean posed it to me, “[Jean-Claude] Duvalier came back to the country. Why can’t Aristide, you know?” Or is it a final middle finger to the international community for proposing he flee into exile the day of the election, then successfully pressing for the ejection of his favored presidential candidate due to alleged fraud? (Martelly took his spot.)

We don’t know yet. But thanks to a slew of new US cables, obtained by Wikileaks and posted today to coincide with Aristide’s return by a Norwegian newspaper at my suggestion, we do have an unprecedented inside look at the heavy, petulant hand of American policy that thrust Aristide into exile, then silenced and kept him there over seven years. US opposition to Aristde was so strong that it had small governments in its hemispheric backyard, including Haiti’s own under Preval, mostly cowering in its shadow.

Ministers and heads of State, from the Jamaica to the Bahamas, who failed to step in line and offer full support for the removal of Aristide from Haitian political life, are variously “reminded” of American policy on Haiti. The Dominican President Lionel Fernandez was “pulled aside at a social event” by the US Ambassador for a stern talking-to after Fernandez said Aristide enjoyed “great popular support” and called for his inclusion in Haiti’s democracy. Brazil and South Africa agreed, we know, to limit Aristide’s ability to speak out from abroad. That’s not all.

This makes Aristide’s return by plane today, which detoured through Senegal to re-fuel, all the more remarkable. Indeed, when I arrived at the airport ahead of his landing, the ecstatic crowd was nowhere to be found. Toussaint Jean was one of just a few guys leaning against the fence, who left his house in Carrefour Feuilles, one where passionate Martelly supporters predominate.

Photo by Haitian journalist Jean Restil Jean Baptiste

“The mass of people haven’t really mobilized because for three days they’ve been saying he’s coming, but the Americans are putting pressure, and [we think] he can’t return soon. Today you don’t see very many people. The people are doubting – is he coming, is he not coming?”

Not long after that, Jean and around ten thousand others wildly cheered their first glimpse of Aristide on Haitian soil, but the suspicion of behind-the-scenes meddling by the United States remains. The American ambassador to Haiti, Kenneth Merten, warned on Twitter today that Aristide may be a “distraction or a disruption,” ahead of Sunday’s ballot.

For his supporters, Aristide’s presence simply obliterates the election, as if it doesn’t exist. No one knows how many people will go to the polls, how much fraud will taint the vote, and who will be declared victor. Those who aren’t huge supporters of Aristide are excitedly discussing the dueling campaigns. But in the first round, at one of the largest camps for earthquake victims, a tiny ill-equipped voting center was torn down in a rage. Ominously, there has reportedly been no improvement or expansion of the center since then.

“With the warmth of [the international community's] embrace, we are almost suffocating. Do they even realize this?” asked Haitian agronomist Ericq Pierre on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake. Regardless of how the election plays out, maybe it’s finally time American policymakers chill out, back off, and for starters, quit trying to silence the voice of the nation’s most popular-ever President and the legions of poor Haitians who see in him now renewed inspiration and hope for the future.

Update: Just had a nice conversation with the motorcycle driver on the way home through quiet, deserted streets. Very happy that Aristide is back, but hopeful that his partisans won’t come into conflict with Martelly supporters because of Martelly’s historic antipathy towards the ex-President. Said it’s time to put all that behind us (hadn’t heard about the incendiary YouTube video, though).

He’ll vote for Martelly (like seemingly every single other moto driver) because he thinks Manigat is part of the discredited political class, though he’s not sure how smoothly the election will go off. Says he’s having trouble making enough money to keep his moto maintained and feed his four kids. Cautiously optimistic about Sunday and the future.

---------------

My name is Ansel Herz. I’m a 23-year-old freelance multimedia journalist based in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Why Haiti, since September 2009? Read here.

1 Comment

One Response to “Aristide’s Return and Wikileaks: When Will the US Finally Change Course?”

• Kathryn McCulloughMarch 19, 2011 at 7:17 am | Reply

  Thanks for this anyalysis of Aristide’s return. Certainly, it would seem that Duvalier’s being in the country has paved the way for Aristide’s arrival.

  Last week I interviewed Baby Doc and this week have a series of posts on my blog about that encounter, if you are interested: “What Does One Wear to Meet a Former Dictator?”
  http://www.reinventingtheeventhorizon.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/what-does-one-wear-to-meet-a-former-dictator/
  http://www.reinventingtheeventhorizon.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/what-does-one-wear-to-meet-a-former-dictator-part-2/
  Kathryn McCullough

   

Yemen Protests: US-Backed President's Violent Crackdown Is Unsuccessful

By AHMED AL-HAJ   03/19/11 02:20 PM  

Yemeni police stand guard outside a state security court during a trial of suspected al-Qaida members, in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011. The militants are part of a group of ten suspected al-Qaida members whose trial began on Sunday over plots to attack foreign companies and state facilities in Yemen. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

SANAA, Yemen -- A crackdown that killed dozens failed to stop massive demonstrations against Yemen's U.S.-backed president, as crowds of thousands clashed Saturday with security forces smashing their protest camps and even seized control of one southern city.

In the capital, the government had to bring out tank units and other military forces to protect key buildings as crowds swelled. Protesters also stood their ground in the southern port of Mukalla, surging out of their destroyed encampment and encircling a police station.

More than a month of daily protests calling for political freedoms and an end to corruption have presented President Ali Abdullah Saleh with the most dire challenge to his 32 years of running Yemen, a deeply impoverished land of restive tribes and numerous conflicts on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

In the bloodiest single day of the uprising, Yemeni forces killed at least 46 people and injured hundreds in the capital on Friday, including with snipers firing on demonstrators from rooftops. That prompted condemnation from the U.N. and the United States, which backs his government with hundreds of millions in military aid to battle a potent al-Qaida offshoot based in Yemen's mountainous hinterlands.

The intensifying crackdown followed failed attempts by Saleh early on to end the revolt, including by pledging not to run for re-election in 2013 or to hand power to his son. The opposition has also spurned his calls for dialogue on a possible unity government. All the while, allies have abandoned him to join the protesters, including two Cabinet ministers, powerful tribal leaders and members of his Congress Party.

On Saturday, police fired live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters at a makeshift camp in Mukalla, a port along the Gulf of Aden. At least 13 people were wounded, including three hit by the live rounds, demonstrators told The Associated Press by telephone.

Thousands surged out of the camp and surrounded a nearby police station in an attempt to seize it. Police fired in the air to hold them back, protesters told the AP. They said security troops managed to uproot their encampment there but confrontations continued.

In the same province, witnesses said protesters chased security authorities out of the city of Dar Saad and were now in control. Dar Saad, with a population of around 150,000, has witnessed some of the deadliest clashes in the past few days – seven people have been killed. It is considered the gateway to the key port of Aden.

If their hold lasts, it would be the first city where protesters have gained control over security forces.

During confrontations there over the past few days, protesters set fire to the main police station, torched several police cars and blocked roads to stop security troops from bringing in reinforcements

Residents said were now forming popular committees to administer their own affairs.

Even before the uprising, many parts of Yemen were effectively beyond the weak government's direct control, as well-armed tribes run affairs in their areas.

Protests also continued Saturday in the capital, Sanaa, as soldiers in tanks and armored personnel carriers took up positions at intersections and key buildings, including the presidential palace, the state TV building and other government institutions. Soldiers searched motorists and passers-by.

Security and judicial officials told AP that orders to implement a large-scale military operation aimed at emptying main squares from protesters within the next 48 hours had been issued at a meeting of the higher defense council that was headed by Saleh Friday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the decisions taken. They said authorities were also planning to arrest opposition leaders in the next days.

Many of the victims in Friday's violence in Sanaa were shot in the head and neck, their bodies left sprawled on the ground. They included a Yemeni news photographer, Jamal al-Sharaabi, who was the first journalist killed in the unrest.

The violence was condemned by the United States, which has long relied on Saleh for help fighting the al-Qaida branch based in the country and is sending Yemen's government $250 million in military aid this year.

Several more prominent members of Saleh's ruling Congress Party announced their resignations Saturday. Among those were two former culture ministers and the head of the state-run Saba news agency, Nasr Taha Moustafa, who has close ties to Saleh.

Saba also reported that the Information Ministry deported two Al-Jazeera TV correspondents Saturday for the network's coverage of protests.

Yemen has largely stopped issuing journalist visas as it tries to control coverage of the protests and has been cracking down on reporters already in the country. On Monday, armed Yemeni security forces raided an apartment shared by four Western journalists – two Americans and two Britons – and deported them because of their coverage.

 

 

 

Ladi6

 

Here’s New Zealand Hip Hop/Soul singer and rapper Ladi6 (Karoline Tamati) with her two new videos for her latest singles – the bass heavy “98 Till Now” and the infectious “Bang Bang” laced with lush and catchy hand claps – which are both off of her sophomore album The Liberation Of….

Released in January and last year November respectively, the Slave-directed video for the “98 Till Now” is a black and white ’80s retro styled video which sees Ladi6 is braggadocios rap mode for two and a half minutes with producer Parks and boom box in tow – whilst the video for “Bang Bang,” which is directed by Oscar Kightley, shows excerpts of Ladi6 in concert mixed in with summery beach location shots amongst others. Watch both videos below.  

“98 Till Now”:

“Bang Bang”:

Purchase: Ladi6 – The Liberation Of…

The David Nathan Meyerson Fiction Prize

Named for the late David Nathan Meyerson (1967-1998), a therapist and talented writer who died before he was able to show to the greater world the full fruits of his literary potential, the prize consists of $1,000 and publication in SWR. With the generous support of Marlene, Marti, and Morton Meyerson, the award will continue to honor David Meyerson's memory by encouraging and taking notice of other writers of great promise.

RULES

The prize is open to writers who have not yet published a book of fiction, either a novel or collection of stories.

Submissions must be no longer than 8,000 words.

A $25.00 reading fee must accompany each submission.

Work should be printed without the author's name (if work is submitted online, please omit the author's name from the final "submission content text area"). Name and address should appear only on the cover letter or at the top of the online form.

Submissions will not be returned. For list of winners, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

No simultaneous or previously published work.

Postmarked deadline for entry is May 1, 2011. (Winner will be announced in August.)

The winning story will appear in Southwest Review Vol. 96, No. 4 (autumn), 2011.

All entries will be considered for publication.

Mailed entries should be addressed to:

The Meyerson Fiction Prize
Southwest Review
P.O. Box 750374
Dallas, TX 75275-0374

You may enter the Meyerson Prize online by following the directions below.

click here to pay your Meyerson entry fee with a VISA, MasterCard, or Discover card.

swr@smu.edu?subject=Meyerson Fiction Contest Entry"> click here to submit your Meyerson entry by email.

NOTE: Your entry is not complete until you have completed both of the above steps.
 

To submit your work for regular publication, click here.

 

For information about the 2010 Meyerson winner and finalists, click here.

For information about the 2009 Meyerson winner and finalists,

click here.

 

---

Southern Methodist University
PO Box 750374 . Dallas TX 75275-0374
214-768-1037 .  Fax 214-768-1408
Email: swr@smu.edu

CONTEST GUIDELINES

 

How to submit:

 

In order to reduce the costs of printing and postage and in the spirit of being a bit greener, Black Lawrence Press now accepts electronic submissions rather than hard copies for our contests.

 

Please include the following in your electronic submission:

-A cover letter with brief bio and contact information including your e-mail address(es)

-A .rtf, .doc, or .pdf attachment including a title page, an acknowledgments page, a table of contents, and your manuscript with numbered pages.

 

Email your submission to editors@blacklawrencepress.com.

 

Please submit your $25 entry fee via Paypal.

 

Deadline:

 

The annual deadline for the prize is August 31.

 

About the judges:

 

Black Lawrence Press does not use interns to screen entries. All entries are judged by the editors.

 

Notification:

 

Because of the high volume of entries received, all finalists and semi-finalists will be announced

on the Black Lawrence Press blog. All finalists will be announced on or before October 15 of each year. The winner will be announced shortly thereafter.

 

Other Notes:

 

We may request hard copies of manuscripts that make it to the finalist round and are being seriously considered for the prize.

 

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but you must notify Black Lawrence Press immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere for publication.

 

All finalists will be considered for standard publication. In addition to each year's winner, Black Lawrence Press often offers standard publication to one or more other finalists.

 

Thank you for your interest in Black Lawrence Press.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2011 Writing Contest

Enter the TIFERET 2011 Writing Contest

$500 Awards

 

TIFERET: A Journal of Spiritual Literature offers three awards of $500 in the categories of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. 

We publish writing from a variety of spiritual and religious traditions. 

Our mission is to help reveal spirit through the written word.

Alicia Ostriker, Poetry Judge * Josip Novakovich, NonfictionJudge * Gayle Brandeis, Fiction Judge 

 

Contest Guidelines:

• Unpublished poems in English must be received through our online submissions manager by May 1, 2011 deadline.
• First prize in each genre: $500 and publication in TIFERET.
• Honorable Mention Prizes will receive publication in TIFERET ONLINE.
• $20 fee for each entry. Limit 6 poems (must be submitted in one document), one story or essay up to 25 pages in length.
• To enter, go to: http://tiferet.submishmash.com/Submit Specify genre and pay your appropriate entry fee using PayPal.Winners will be announced June 30, 2011. 
• If you do not have Paypal you can enter by mailing a check ($20 per entry) made payable to "Tiferet Journal" to 211 Dryden Road, Bernardsville NJ 07924. Entries should then be emailed with your contact information to editors@tiferetjournal.com

 

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GRITtv: On the Ground in Yemen

Uploaded by lauraflanders on Jan 5, 2010

Abdul-Ghani Al-Iryani, a Yemeni political analyst, tells us what's really going on in his country--and why the US should stay out. 
GRITtv with Laura Flanders brings participatory democracy onto your computer screen and into your living room, bridging the gap between audience and advocates. Watch any show, at any time: http://grittv.org

__________________________

No Coverage Zone:

Media Ignores Brutal Crackdowns

By US Allies Bahrain And Yemen

One of the major factors in the success so far of the “Jasmine Revolution” — the wave of pro-democracy revolts across the Middle East — has been the empowering international press coverage of the protests.

Yet in recent weeks, this coverage in the United States has been overwhelmingly focused on just one country where these revolts are occurring — Libya. While the events in Libya, where rebels are battling the Qaddafi dictatorship, certainly merit coverage, the American press has unfortunately failed to provide the same detailed coverage to the events in Yemen and Bahrain, two U.S. allies where mostly nonviolent protesters are being brutally put down by the armed forces in those countries.

A ThinkProgress analysis of press coverage by the three major U.S. cable news networks — CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News — from March 14 to March 18 finds that Bahrain received only slightly more than ten percent as many mentions as Libya and that Yemen received only six percent as many mentions as Libya:

– Libya: Libya was mentioned 9,524 times by the major cable news networks.

– Bahrain: Bahrain was mentioned 1,587 times by the major cable news networks.

– Yemen: Yemen was only mentioned 599 times by the major cable news networks.

The lack of coverage of the situation in Bahrain and Yemen isn’t disturbing just because the atrocities being committed there merit coverage. It’s especially alarming because, unlike Libya, both are close U.S. allies and recipients of major U.S. military and economic assistance — meaning that the U.S. actually bears a responsibility to make sure its assistance is not being used in ways that are contrary to American values.

One network that has been paying close attention to the revolts in Bahrain and Yemen is Al Jazeera English. It filed a detailed video report yesterday from the scene of a government attack on protesters in the capital Sana’a. Watch it:

Al Jazeera English is currently running a campaign to petition U.S. cable and satellite providers to bring the network into more American homes.

__________________________

YEMEN......19/03/2011....BEWARE PICS ARE VERY GRAPHIC..A MASS SLAUGHTER IS GOING ON

Anti-government protesters carry the body of a dead fellow protester in Sanaa March 18, 2011. Yemen's beleaguered president declared a state of emergency on Friday after at least 25 protesters were killed at an anti-government rally, saying armed groups rather than the police were behind the violence.

Anti-government protesters react as they carry an injured fellow protester in Sanaa March 18, 2011. Yemen's beleaguered president declared a state of emergency on Friday after at least 25 protesters were killed at an anti-government rally, saying armed groups rather than the police were behind the violence.

An anti-government protester reacts after clashes erupted with gunmen in Sanaa March 18, 2011. Yemen's beleaguered president declared a state of emergency on Friday after gunmen including snipers shot dead at least 25 protesters at an anti-government rally, but denied his police forces were behind the violence.

Backdropped by a Yemeni flag, female anti-government protestors attend noon prayers during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 19, 2011. Witnesses and asecurity official say police have stormed a protest camp in southern Yemen where thousands are calling for the ouster of the country's longtime president. Saturday's raid was the latest attempt by security forces to put down growing unrest. On Friday,security forces in the Yemeni capital Sanaa killed at least 46 and injured hundreds in the harshest crackdown yet by President Ali Abdullah Saleh against more than one month of protests against his 32-year rule.

An injured anti-government protester lies on a stretcher at a makeshift clinic in Sanaa March 18, 2011. Yemen's beleaguered president declared a state of emergency on Friday after at least 25 protesters were killed at an anti-government rally, saying armed groups rather than the police were behind the violence.

A brother of an anti-government protestor reacts next to his body in a mosque, during clashes with security forces in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 18, 2011. Yemenisecurity forces fired from rooftops at protesters as some tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators gathered in central Sanaa, killing at least 31 protesters.

 Anti-government protestors carry a wounded protestor in a blanket from the site of clashes with security forces in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 18, 2011. Yemenisecurity forces fired from rooftops at protesters as some tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators gathered in central Sanaa, killing at least 31 protesters.

 Anti-government protestors react as a military helocopter flies overhead during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 18, 2011. Yemeni security forces firing from rooftops and houses shot at tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators, killing at least 31 as the protesters entered a downtown square in the capital to demand the ouster of their autocratic president.

Friends and relatives of anti-government protestors are seen next to their bodies in a mosque, following clashes with security forces in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 18, 2011. Yemeni security forces fired from rooftops at protesters as some tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators gathered in central Sanaa, killing at least 31 protesters.

Friends and relatives of anti-government protestors gather by their bodies in a mosque, during clashes with security forces in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 18, 2011. Yemeni security forces fired from rooftops at protesters as some tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators gathered in central Sanaa, killing at least 31 protesters.

Anti-government protestors try to save the life of a wounded demonstrator who died shortly after, at the site of clashes with Yemeni security forces in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 18, 2011. Yemeni security forces firing from rooftops and houses shot at tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators, killing at least 31 as the protesters entered a downtown square in the capital to demand the ouster of their autocratic president.

An anti-government protester, whose hand is stained with blood, flashes the victory sign as he shouts after carrying an injured fellow protester in Sanaa March 18, 2011.Yemen's beleaguered president declared a state of emergency on Friday after at least 25 protesters were killed at an anti-government rally, saying armed groups rather than the police were behind the violence.

Wounded anti-government protestors lay on the ground as they received medical help at a field hospital during clashes with security forces in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 18, 2011. Yemeni security forces fired from rooftops at protesters as some tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators gathered in central Sanaa, killing at least 31 protesters.

A wounded boy shouts from pain as anti-government protestors carry him to a field hospital during clashes with security forces in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 18, 2011. Yemeni security forces fired from rooftops at protesters as some tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators gathered in central Sanaa, killing at least 31 protesters.

Anti-government protestors carry a boy shot in the head during clashes in Sanaa,Yemen, Friday, March 18, 2011. Yemeni security forces firing from rooftops and houses shot at tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators, killing dozens as the protesters entered a downtown square in the capital to demand the ouster of their autocratic president.

An anti-government protestor shot in the head is carried to a field hospital during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 18, 2011. Yemeni security forces firing from rooftops and houses shot at tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators, killing dozens as the protesters entered a downtown square in the capital to demand the ouster of their autocratic president.

Anti-government protestors check the site of Friday's clashes with Yemeni security forces in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 19, 2011. Witnesses and a security official say police have stormed a protest camp in southern Yemen where thousands are calling for the ouster of the country's longtime president. Saturday's raid was the latest attempt by security forces to put down growing unrest. On Friday, security forces in the Yemeni capital Sanaa killed at least 46 and injured hundreds in the harshest crackdown yet by President Ali Abdullah Saleh against more than one month of protests against his 32-year rule.

Yemeni medics treat wounded anti-government protesters in Sanaa March 18, 2011 as 46 comrades were killed and scores wounded when pro-regime loyalists and police opened fire on them.

 Yemeni anti-government protesters carry away a wounded youth in Sanaa March 18, 2011 as 46 comrades were killed and scores wounded when pro-regime loyalists and police opened fire on them.

A Yemeni man resuscitates a protester wounded during an anti-government demonstration in Sanaa March 18, 2011 as 41 protesters were killed and scores wounded when pro-regime loyalists and police opened fire on protesters.

An injured anti-government Yemeni protester is treated in Sanaa on March 18, 2011 after 41 comrades were killed and scores wounded when pro-regime loyalists and police opened fire on protesters.

Yemeni men and medica prepare the bodies of protesters who were killed during an anti-government demonstration in Sanaa March 18, 2011 after 41 protesters were killed and scores wounded when pro-regime loyalists and police opened fire on protesters.

__________________________

MARCH 17, 2011

How Long Can the White House

Hold its Breath in Yemen?

When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced her plans to visit Egypt and Tunisia last week, she declared America’s intent to be "a partner in the important work that lies ahead as they embark on a transition to a genuine democracy." Step one was grandiosely whitewashing the White House’s belated response to Egypt’s revolution.

“Let me be honest with you,” says Shahira Amin of Nile TV. “Many Egyptians are disappointed. They say the Obama Administration didn’t throw its full weight behind the popular movement right from the start. The U.S. was a bit hesitant before finally extending its support to the opposition activists in Tahrir. And some are calling it “double standards.” They say the U.S. preaches democracy and freedom on the one hand, and supports autocratic regimes when it suits their own interests.”

“Well, first let me say that I don’t think there’s any doubt that the United States, President Obama, all of us stand for democracy and for the values that undergird democracy,” she replied... “So the United States was very clear about its messages, that from the beginning, this needed to be peaceful, nonviolent, respecting the rights of the individual demonstrators and having a reform agenda that would meet those needs.”

Not many Egyptians will forget what really happened though, not when America's insincerity reflects throughout the region.

Soon after being chastised by Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Saudi Arabia deployed troops into neighboring Bahrain in a “stabilization” campaign. Reports quickly surfaced that the Kingdom effectively told the Obama administration to “mind its business,” as Clinton busied herself expressing “alarm” at the government’s wider violence on opposition protesters. Then the government launched a new crackdown and arrested leading oppositional figures. Meanwhile, as Clinton vowed to support Libya’s opposition, serious decay in morale is starting to set in after Muammar Gaddafi’s brutal counterattack.

And most glaringly to The Trench, Clinton made no mention whatsoever to the ongoing government crackdown in Yemen. The “most dangerous threat to the U.S. homeland” has suddenly ceased to exist in Washington - surely just a coincidence! But the only non-existent quality in Yemen is America's message.

Although a double analysis of Yemen’s revolution is nearly complete, ongoing developments require an immediate reaction. U.S. officials last addressed Yemen’s crisis on Monday, practically an eternity in the current environment. The highest level official to go on record in the last week was counter-terrorism chief John Brennan, and his one paragraph touched off a louder U.S. response to negotiate with President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The chief problem - he’s kept beating, shooting, and killing protesters while offering a poisonous olive branch. Fully aware of how Egypt's violence unfolded, the White House continues to call for an "investigation" into Saleh's own security forces, as if they act independently of his orders.

Yemen’s opposition has widely denounced Washington’s coercive “dialogue,” and rejected responsibility for the government’s violence. Did the White House actually expect a different reaction, or is it simply assisting Saleh in his stalling tactics?

For starters, it makes no sense to deliver a political message through a counter-terrorism official. As the White House went silent again, U.S. ambassador Gerald Feierstein hammered this contradictory message home during a skeptical weekend interview with Gulf reporters. Naturally all Yemenis heard is U.S. support for Saleh. After an Embassy statement denied condoning Saleh’s violence, a tacit admission of guilt, it released another statement pointing to condemnation from the White House.

But a brief statement by a former spokesman in the State Department does not count as official U.S. policy. Where else does this happen besides Yemen?

It wasn’t until Monday morning that the U.S. Embassy in Sana'a finally updated its website. Until then Libyan news had dominated (and still is), whereas Libya’s website only addresses Libya’s crisis. Nor have there been any subsequent statements this week. However Yemen’s protests don’t occur only on the weekend, during the White House’s downtime. People have been beaten and killed for the last three days, to the point where Yemen’s government has now graciously promised not to use live bullets.

Then another large-scale crackdown hit Hodeidah. Some random U.S. official may be forced to speak up, yet the White House has defied this logic throughout Yemen's revolution.

The systematic nature of Yemen’s coverup is particular disturbing; silence and duplicity have kept Washington's response "consistent." This policy also appears unsustainable no matter how much Washington needs Saleh to buffer al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), or how many distractions it can hide behind. Feierstein dared the opposition to formulate a plan for Saleh's exit and the opposition is responding to his bluff. Although encasing a multitude of ideologies and objectives, the opposition shares the singular demand for Saleh’s immediate resignation. Nor are the differences afterward that wide, given the circumstances. A divided Egypt found unity through revolution.

Turns out America’s silence has intensified the animosity against Saleh, accelerating his fall and the doomsday scenario Washington fears. As the White House discovered in Egypt and may find out in Libya, failing to support democratic revolutions comes with inescapable consequences.

POSTED BY JAMES GUNDUN AT 9:23 AM

>via: http://hadalzone.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-long-can-white-house-hold-its.html

__________________________

Why is US backing force in Libya

but not Bahrain, Yemen?

By Andrew NorthBBC News, Washington

Gulf Co-operation Council forces used tanks to drive protesters from a central square in Manama, Bahrain

Libya Revolt

• Libya crisisLive
• Uprising in maps
• Monitoring ceasefire
• UK jets readied

What's the difference between Libya and Yemen or Bahrain?

All three states have been using violence to crush pro-democracy protests.

But only against Libya are the US and its Western allies planning a military response.

Yemen and Bahrain's crackdowns have so far been met only with words, not action.

On one level the answer is obvious.

Bahrain and Yemen are US allies - especially Bahrain with its large US naval base. Libya is not.

The US response to Bahrain is further complicated by neighbouring Saudi Arabia, Washington's number one Arab ally.

Sunni 'red line'

The Saudis were not happy to see Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak go.

"Having watched Tunisia and Egypt go, other Arab leaders are following Libya's lead in drawing a line in the sand and opting for force rather than dialogue”

 

Losing the Sunni monarchy in its neighbour is a red line - that's why it took the unprecedented step of sending 1,000 troops over the border into Bahrain, after which the crackdown began.

But what happened to the "universal values" US President Barack Obama cited when he eventually backed protesters in Egypt?

His decision to abandon an old US ally there - Mr Mubarak - gave some the impression he was preparing to apply those values universally and to break with the past US policy of cosying up to other Middle Eastern regimes.

Critics say it was a dangerous impression, raising protesters' expectations as well as Gulf monarchs' blood pressure.

'Interests come first'

"The US always preaches values that it cannot live up to," says Marina Ottaway, director of the Middle East programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

"In the end, its interests come first."

As the uprisings have spread out of North Africa to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, those interests have come to the fore again, with Washington taking a more cautious, country-by-country approach.

For the US, stability in those oil-rich states now appears to trump the hopes of their protest movements.

Its concerns about Iran play into this thinking. Most of the protesters are from Bahrain's Shia majority.

Both the Bahrainis and the Saudi authorities establishment have accused Tehran of helping to orchestrate the unrest. And some US officials fear the toppling of the Sunni monarchy would become a victory for Iran.

Yemen is crucial to Washington for its battle with al-Qaeda - which makes the Obama administration cautious in how hard it pushes Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"The US is very afraid that if Saleh goes, Yemen will fall apart," Ms Ottaway says.

Mr Obama condemned the latest violence in Yemen, in which at least 40 protesters were killed.

Reluctance

But he would only call for "those responsible... to be held accountable", without directly laying it at Mr Saleh's door.

Washington has had a low-key response as well to violence used by Iraqi security forces against protesters there.

Even with Libya, the new caution is on display. The administration was reluctant for some time to back a no-fly zone, fearing it could lead to a third US war on a Muslim country, after Afghanistan and Iraq.

It only did so only after it got support from Arab states and European allies.

And it is still not clear how much the US will contribute militarily to the UN-backed no-fly zone or what will happen if Col Gaddafi succeeds in hanging onto power.

With recent history in mind and the tide of protest still sweeping through the region, caution arguably looks a sensible policy from a US point of view.

But it also risks giving conservative Arab leaders the breathing space they need to stall the push for reform and hang on.

Having watched Tunisia and Egypt go, other Arab leaders are following Libya's lead in drawing a line in the sand and opting for force rather than dialogue.

It's not clear if Mr Obama can do anything about it.

>via http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12792637