Black Caucus backs Caricom's call for Haiti probe

[seemslikeadream]

By Curtis Williams in Washington, DC


Saturday, March 6th 2004


The Black Caucus of the United States Congress has come out in support of the call by Caricom that an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the departure of former Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide be conducted by the United Nations.

The Caucus has also vowed that the matter will not die quietly.

Dean of the Congress Black Caucus, Charles Rangel, told the Express that his organisation was shocked by what has happened in Haiti, and was demanding not just the UN investigate but that any other body, including the Congress, investigate.

He said: "We have made it known that we are of the view that the United States facilitated a coup d'etat and we want not just the UN to investigate but also the congress."

Rangel said the Black legislators will keep up the pressure on the Bush administration both on Capitol Hill but also through the media


http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=16664777

[MasonJar]

1. I wish Rangel were my rep instead of follow-the-leader, Anne

Northrup. (GAG)

[goclark]

2. Rangel is A True Champion!

I love the man with all my heart!
He is absolutely brilliant and always,IMO, on target.

Go get um Charlie Rangel! Bush should be impeached for the Haiti situation. The Black Caucus is not just blowing in the wind,they have been on this issue 24/7

Maxine Waters is mad as hell about what happened as well and she does not hold her lips closed for anybody!

Black Caucus, I'm with you all the way...:yourock:

[cliss]

3. Isn't it amazing?

Just when you think there cannot possibly a group of people who haven't been angered or slighted by Bush and his cronies, lo and behold there is yet another one.

I believe now Bush has managed to anger every nation on earth, except maybe Antarctica.

And his TIMING is so awesome, too. Rather than let things take their course (after all, what do we want with Haiti), or actually help out with the Marines. Instead, they act like the complete Buffoons that they are and Kidnap Aristide, and then deny it until they are blue in the face. "Outrageous", "Ridiculous", scoffs McClellan.

Well, keep it up Bush. If you were a dancer, you would have 2 left feet.

And remember, if they're in the US, chances are they can VOTE.

[seemslikeadream]

4. Sheila Jackson Lee - Urgent Need for Aid in Haiti

For Immediate Release Contact: Dana J. Thompson
March 3, 2004 [phone]

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Participates in Subcommittee Hearing to Stress Urgent Need for Humanitarian Aid in Haiti

Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, First Vice Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, and Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Control will participate in a hearing of the House International Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere concerning the crisis in Haiti. Testifying before the Subcommittee will be Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega, USAID Assistant Administrator for Latin America, Robert McGuire of Trinity College, and Jeff Sachs of Columbia University. “This hearing is important to make Congress clear as to the grave humanitarian need that exists in Haiti right now. In addition to the loss of stability, peace, and adherence to democratic principles, there is a loss of lives at the hands of lawless thugs in the region,” said Congresswoman Jackson Lee.

Yesterday, the Congresswoman issued letters to Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi urging that they schedule immediate congressional hearings to investigate the events surrounding the alleged removal of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the United States’ alleged involvement. “The purpose of our involvement in Haiti should have only been to help restore peace, give humanitarian aid, and to uphold the principles of democracy and the rule of law,” said Congresswoman Jackson Lee.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee stresses the need for the Administration to give Haitian asylum-seekers relief through amendments in U.S. immigration laws. “Haitian asylum-seekers must be given a fair chance to satisfy the requirements for entitlement to an asylum hearing. I am disturbed by the lack of parity between the Haitian refugees and the Cuban refugees. While Haitian refugees are detained and then removed from the United States, Cuban refugees who reach American soil are welcomed. They are admitted or paroled into the United States, and a year later they are eligible for adjustment of status to that of lawful permanent residents. This difference in treatment is unfair and unjustifiable. Temporary Protective Status must be extended to Haitian asylum seekers now to end the bloodshed that comes from their wrongful refoulement, or return to Haiti,” concluded Congresswoman Jackson Lee.

http://www.jacksonlee.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=8031

[seemslikeadream]

5. Barbara Lee Questions Bush Administration

For Immediate Release Contact: Stuart Chapman

March 3, 2004 [phone]


Congresswoman Barbara Lee Questions Bush Administration Officials at International Relations Subcommittee Hearing

Lee Calls for Independent Commission to Investigate Bush Administration’s Haiti Policy

Washington, DC – At a heated Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere hearing today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) questioned a panel of Bush Administration officials about the Administration’s role in the coup d’etat carried out last week against the democratically-elected Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A member of the International Relations Committee, Lee called for the hearing last week, and with the events over the weekend, the hearing took on an immediacy and urgency.

In particular, Lee grilled Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega, who is widely considered the mastermind behind the Bush Administration Haiti policy. Lee challenged Noriega about the State Department’s failure to respond to her suggestions in a February 12 letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell, which would have staved off a coup.

Lee also asked Noriega why Aristide would willingly leave Haiti on Sunday morning without a definite place of asylum provided. During the next day, Aristide would be flown around the world until, finally, the Central African Republic (CAR) provided temporary asylum. At present, Aristide is reportedly under guard in the CAR.

Lee also accused the Bush Administration of supporting and sanctioning the overthrow of the Aristide Government by blaming Aristide for the opposition’s refusal to negotiate. Secretary of State Colin Powell last week called the opposition rebels “murderers and thugs,” but later backpedaled to the point that the Administration issued a statement, last Saturday, that said that “the long-simmering crisis is largely of Mr. Aristide's making.”

Lee summed up her disgust with the Bush Administration’s actions by accusing Noriega and the Bush Administration of “aiding and abetting” the overthrow of the Aristide Government. “Regime change takes a variety of forms, and this looks like a blatant form of regime change to me,” Lee told Noriega.

http://www.house.gov/lee/releases/04Mar03b.htm