Aristide Translated Audio Link  (note 2 minute intro) Listen D'load

 

Aristide Details Last Moments In Haiti, Calls For Stop To Bloodshed In First Address To Haitian People From Exile Commentary, Republic of Haiti President Jean-Bertrand Aristide Flashpoints Exclusive, Mar 05, 2004 Translated by Pierre and Marie Labossiere

NOTE: President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who left a tumultuous Haiti under shadowy circumstances Feb. 29, has delivered an impassioned address “To the Haitian People and the World” by cell phone to a Haitian journalist in the United States working with a radio station in Berkeley, CA.  Aristide spoke from the Central African Republic where he has been under a virtual house arrest in the days since he was delivered from Port-au-Prince on a U.S. plane. The address was recorded by a Haitian radio producer known to Aristide for some 20 years , exclusively on Pacifica Radio’s Flashpoints News Magazine based at KPFA . Six Haitians and Americans who know Aristide listened Friday to excerpts from the message, delivered in Creole, and confirmed the voice is that of the president. Dennis Bernstein supplied this translation also to Pacific News Service.

“In overthrowing me, they have uprooted the trunk of liberty. It will grow back because its roots are many and deep.” In the shadow of Toussaint L'Ouverture, the genius of the race. I declare in overthrowing me they have uprooted the trunk of the tree of peace, but it will grow back because the roots are L'Ouverturian. Dear compatriots, it is with these first words that I am saluting our brothers and sisters from Africa, while I am standing on the soil of the Republic of Central Africa. Allow me to salute you by repeating that same declaration that is, “In overthrowing me, they have uprooted the trunk of the tree of peace, but it will grow back because the roots are L'Ouverturian.” In fact, during the night of the 28th of February 2004, there was a coup d’etat. One could equally say that it was a geo-political kidnapping. I can clearly say that it was terrorism disguised as diplomacy. To conclude, this coup d’etat and this kidnapping are like two quarters and 50 cents side by side. I have always denounced the coming of this coup d’etat, but until the 27th of February, the day before, I didn't see that the crime was going to be accompanied by kidnapping as well. The 28th of February, at night, suddenly, American military personnel who were already all over Port-au-Prince descended on my house in Tabarre to tell me first that all the American security agents who have contracts with the [Haitian] government only have two options. Either they leave immediately to go to the United States, or they fight to die. Secondly, the remaining 25 of the American security agents [hired by the Haitian government] who were to come in on the 29th of February as reinforcements were under interdiction to come to Haiti. Thirdly, the foreigners and Haitian terrorists alike, who are loaded with heavy weapons, were already in position to open fire on Port-au-Prince. And right then, the Americans precisely stated that they will kill thousands of people and it will be a bloodbath; the attack is ready to start, and when the first bullet is fired nothing will stop them and nothing will make them wait until they take over, therefore the mission is to take me dead or alive. At that time I told the Americans that my first preoccupation is to save the lives of those thousands of people tonight. As far as my own life is concerned, whether I am alive or whether I am dead, that is not what’s important. My first priority is to save the lives of these thousands of people tonight. As much as I was trying to use diplomacy, the more the pressure was being intensified for the Americans to start the attack. In spite of that, I took the risk of slowing down the death machine to verify the degree of danger, in relation to the degree of bluff, or the degree of intimidation. It was more serious than a bluff. The National Palace was surrounded by white men armed to their teeth. The Tabarre area -- the residence -- was surrounded by foreigners armed to their teeth. The airport of Port-au-Prince was already under the control of these men. After a last evaluation I made during a meeting with the person in charge of Haitian security in Port-au-Prince, and the person in charge of American security, the truth was clear. There is going to be a bloodbath because we were already under an illegal foreign occupation ready to drop bodies on the ground, to spill blood, and then kidnap me dead or alive. That meeting took place at 3 a.m. Faced with this tragedy, I decided to ask, "What guarantee do I have that there will not be a bloodbath if I decided to leave?" In reality, all this diplomatic gymnastics did not mean anything because these military men responsible for the kidnapping operation had already taken the disposition for the success of their mission. What was said was done. This diplomacy, plus the forced signing of the letter of resignation, was not able to cover the face of the kidnapping. From my house to the airport, everywhere there were American military men armed with heavy weapons of death. The military plane that came to get me landed while the convoy of vehicles that came to get me was near the tarmac at the airport. There were 55 seats on the plane, however, I need to point out that among those who were on the plane, there was a baby who was one and a half years old. He was the baby of one of my American security agents who has a Haitian wife. With that baby, the first stop we made was Antigua. It was not possible for the American father of that baby to get out of that plane, let alone the other people who were on the plane. When we were airborne, nobody knew where we were going. When we landed again, nobody knew where we were. We spent four hours without knowing where we were. When we got back in the air again, nobody knew where we were going. The poor baby who was on that plane; at any time anything bad could have happened. Even his father, who is an American citizen, had no authority to stop this from happening It was not until 20 minutes before we landed in the Republic of Central Africa that I was given the official word that this is where we would be landing. We landed there. That’s a French Air Force base but fortunately there were 5 ministers from the government that came to welcome us, and they welcomed us on behalf of the President who was not in the Capital, Bangui, because that country has 623,000 sq. kilometers, so it’s big; and the President is touring inside the country. Even though the country doesn’t have that many people in it, only 3.2 million people, we were offered a beautiful welcome by the government. We could clearly see the face of this kidnapping. We know there are people back home who are suffering, who are being killed, who are in hiding. We also know that back home there are people who understand the game, who see the game, but will not give up because if they give up, instead of finding peace, we will find death. Therefore, I ask that everyone who loves life to come together to protect the lives of others. Everyone who doesn’t want to see bloodshed to come together so that it is life that flourishes instead of blood that has been spilled, or bodies falling. I know it’s possible that all Haitians who live in the tenth department [Haitians living abroad] understand what tragedy lies hidden under the cover of this coup d’etat, under the cover of this kidnapping. I know and they know if we stand in solidarity we will stop the spread of death and we will help life flourish. The same thing that happened to a President who was democratically elected can happen at any time, in any other country too. So therefore, that’s why solidarity is indispensable to protect a democracy that works together with life. The constitution is the source of [Haiti’s] life. It’s the guarantee of life. Let’s stand together under the constitution in solidarity so that it is life that unfolds, and that it is peace that flourishes and not death as we are seeing it. Courage, courage, courage! From where I am with the First Lady, we have not forgotten what Toussaint L'Ouverture has said, and that’s why we saluted all of Africa with the words of Toussaint L’Ouverture, and we are saluting all Haitians everywhere with the conviction that the roots of the tree of peace, with the spirit of Toussaint L'Ouverture inside, are alive. They can cut the tree as they have done with the machete of the coup d’etat, but they cannot cut the roots of peace. It will sprout again because it has the spirit of Toussaint L'Ouverture inside. Jean-Bertrand Aristide President of Republic of Haiti As translated by Pierre and Marie LaBossiere

   

"We haven't seen any resignation letter, we haven't seen or heard audio or video from Aristide since he supposedly "resigned" and ... that's exactly what happened 2 years ago in the first hours of the Venezuela coup. The press said the president had resigned, when he had been kidnapped. "  Ref: Aristide Didn't Resign

"AP, Reuters, the New York Times, and CNN, the worst offenders in the English-language media among many others, have had to radically adjust their coverage of the events ... because online journalists worked overtime in recent days to break the information blockade and get the true facts to the international public."     Ref: Three Days That Shook Media   on  The 2002 Attempted Coup in Venezuela (DemocracyNow)

"Had he been sitting in the Oval Office last weekend as rebel forces were threatening to enter Port-au-Prince, Senator John Kerry says he would have sent an international force to protect Haiti's widely disliked elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide." NY Times David Sanger, David Halbfinger.
Faces of the Fallen: US Fatalities WashingtonPost.com timeline of US acknowledged Iraq casualties by military branch and date. Acknowledging those who have given their lives in service.

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Friday, March 5, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints, an exclusive broadcast of President Aristide’s first address to the Haitian people and the people of the world, recorded covertly this morning by cell phone; A roundtable of Haitians and activists respond to the President’s words and talk about the future of Haiti; Angry Haitians speak out from yesterday’s protest on the coup against Aristide; Dr. Mustafa Barghouti on Israeli terror in the West Bank, and the Block Report with JR.
 

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Thursday, March 4, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: We continue our reporting from the US-sponsored killing fields of Haiti; also the Ambassador to the United States from the Central African Republic admits collaborating with the US to silence Aristide as he remains under armed guard; also excerpts from yesterday's congressional hearings on the US coup against Haiti and the kidnapping of the elected president, and we focus on the situation in Venezuela where the US government's destabilization attempts have failed to date, but continue unabated; and a protest this morning against Bush policy in Haiti, the Middle East, and domestically, as the selected President stumps California for re-selection

Wed March 10th: Haiti Action Committee Event In Oakland On Tuesday, March 10, at 7:00 pm, Pierre Labossiere, Voleine Amilcar and Tim Suttle will give first hand accounts and analysis of their recent visit to Haiti as delegates who participated in Haitiís Bicentennial celebration. Keynote speaker Pierre Labossiere will discuss the roots of the growing crisis, the connections between the "Rebels", Haitian opposition leaders, and how the U.S. failed in supporting democracy in Haiti.

Haiti Action Committee Event Wednesday - March 10 - 7:00 PM Mills College - Oakland http://www.haitiaction.net/Events/3_10_4.html

Speakers: Pierre Labossiere, longtime Haitian Activist and one of the founders of Haiti Action Committee Voleine Amilcar, Mills college student, native of Haiti and member of the Haiti Action Committee Tim Suttle, member of Haiti action Committee recently returned from Haiti.

Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2004 Time: 7:00 pm Location: Mills College in the student Union, 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Cost: Free (Wheelchair accessible) Sponsored by: Haiti Action Committee, and Mills College French and Francophone Studies, Ethnic Studies departments.

01:10  Report from Port-Au-Prince: Kevin Pina describes a demonstration by over 1,000 Aristide supporters today demanding his return. Kevin and Dennis also trace the drug connection of the rebel leaders to the CIA-created Haiti National Intelligence Service during the last coup in the early 1990s under the first Bush Administration, which was heavily involved in drug trafficking and eventually forced the US DEA out of Haiti. Read about the CIA model at Serendipity and and the April 1994 report (PDF) of Human Rights Watch / Americas (page 43) detailing CIA complicity and false intelligence on Aristide (remember this was G. H. W. Bush's crowd)

09:30  Strange Bedfellows: International ANSWER Coalition activist Sarah Sloan reveals the collaboration between the Central African Republic and the United States to silence President Aristide.


14:50  More from Port-Au-Prince with Kevin Pina: Kevin and Dennis discuss the media bias in Haiti and the blackout of Aristide's message to the Haitian people; the Prime Minister scared into submission, accedes to the succession of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre Boniface; the valuable work of Cuban medical professionals training thousands of Haitians during the three years of economic embargo in the late 1990s. Article from Haiti-Progres asks Why Have the Cuban Doctors Left?

26:00  Reaction in Venezuela: Al Giordano of Narco News is interviewed by Dennis, discussing the destabilization campaign still under way in Venezuela. Further information on the Narcosphere Weblog, and also at Venezulanalysis.com

32:00 Wednesday's Congressional Hearings - Western Hemisphere: Congresspersons Charles Rangel, Maxine Waters and others question Roger Noriega about the US role in Aristide's removal.


Secretary Roger Noriega said that Aristide was told he had to resign in order to get on the US-chartered airplane, or face the armed rebels unprotected

50:30  Protest Rally in Santa Clara: Flashpoints Roving Producer Miguel Molina interviews protesters outside a Bush fundraiser in Silicon Valley Thursday morning, including Richard Becker of the San Francisco Action Center, cosponsored by South Bay Mobilization and International A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition—S.F. Bay Area.

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Wednesday, March 3, 2004 Listen D'load     Listen2 D'load2
Today A Special Two Hour Edition of Flashpoints: Haiti's U.S. supported killers continue to exact their bloody revenge against leaders of Lavalas. We'll have our special reports from our correspondent Kevin Pina,  on the ground in Port-au-Prince about these latest killings and about the treatment of the Prime Minister.  We'll hear about a tax on community organizations and we'll counteract the massive disinformation campaign being carried out against President Aristide by U.S. architects of the coup. Thanks to Hard Knock Radio for allowing us this two hour work. For historical perspective leading up to the current crises  in Haiti listen to the excellent coverage on Guns and Butter today. Covering why Haiti is important not only the U.S. and France, but to the global world view.

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Tuesday, March 2, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: The US turns the keys to Haiti's killing fields back over to the killers; We'll have a report from Flashpoints Special Correspondent Kevin Pina in Port-Au-Prince on revenge attacks against Aristide supporters and on the Prime Minister, Yvon Neptune; We'll also speak to Haitian activists across the country, and with Hazel Ross-Robinson, a close personal friend of the Aristides; and from New York City, the Knight Report

01:10  The Knight Report: As Guy Philippe claims control of the police and the military in Haiti, President Aristide, from exile, says that he was the victim of the oldest police trick in the book -  bad cop, evil cop. Gunfights and lootings continue while the US Marines stand by claiming their mandate does not include peace-keeping in streets controlled by the insurgents and 2,000 criminals released from the National Penitentiary in the "liberation" of the Capital. Aristide loyalists are being assassinated in the poor neighborhoods by death-squad and former FRAPH as Aristide remains under armed guard of French troops in the Central African Republic

...but the implied threat of progressive governments being destabilized under a new CIA template of privately funded armed opposition, along with international embargoes, followed by challenges to the electoral process, fomented violence, and forced presidential resignations or takeovers has had an effect in South Africa... in Zimbabwe... and in Venezuela  - Robert Knight

We were misled about their plan to force out Aristide. I don't think any member of Congress can now trust what this Administration tells us. - Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek, CBC

05:55   Return To Murder: Flashpoints Special Correspondent Kevin Pina and Brian Concannon of the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux report from Port-Au-Prince. Kevin provides a summary of his interview with Prime Minister Yvon Neptune and describes the situation on the streets and in the poor neighborhoods where the insurgents drive through at will firing automatic weapons, terrorizing civilians and assassinating Aristide supporters. Brian provides the criminal backgrounds of the new police and military leaders and the restoration of convicted former murderers and coup participants, and the utter tragedy of 10 years of hard-won progress nurturing Democracy and the Rule of Law obliterated overnight with the release of criminals from the National Penitentiary. Both Brian and Kevin discuss the source of the new US-made M-16s and M-60s used by the insurgents which were almost certainly part of Pentagon-supplied shipments of 20,000 weapons to the Dominican Republic, and question the need for such an enormous number of weapons for a well-armed small force totalling 35,000 in all.  More on Bay Area Indymedia and the Haiti Action Network

33:15  Musical Break

34:40  Activist Roundtable: Dennis leads a discussion of the crisis in Haiti with Jean Kurzan, host of Family Lavalas radio show on Radio Soleil in NY, Alina Sixto, Grassroots Haitian activist and member of the pro-Aristide Lavalas party, and Nicole Lee, Human Rights attorney and Managing Director of Global Justice and steering committee member for the Let Haiti Live project. In this segment - an open letter to President Bush, the record of humanitarian projects under Aristide's Presidency, and a call to action against the policies which have led to the removal of the democratically-elected President of Haiti this chaos and lawlessness. Demand that President Aristide be allowed to address the UN; March from 11AM to 6PM on Saturday March 6 on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn to Grand Army Plaza; Mobilization to protest the Bush Administration's intervention of Haiti's democracy, 11AM Lafayette Park, Washington DC

55:20  Barbara Lubin of the Middle East Children's Alliance announces an upcoming lecture by Dr. Mustafa Barghouti at the King Middle School on Rose St. in Berkeley at 7PM on Sunday March 7, 2004.

Palestinian physician and leading human rights activist DR. MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI Direct from the West Bank! Introduced by Prof. Khalil Barhoum With activist/poet Maria Poblet Dr. Barghouti is President of the Palestinian Medical Relief Committees and Director of the Health Policy Institute in Ramallah Sunday, March 7, 7pm King Middle School 1781 Rose Street, Berkeley Free Parking, near North Berkeley BART Tickets $20 use donate now button or send SASE to: MECA,901 Parker Street, Berkeley CA 94710, or through the following bookstores: (East Bay) Black Oak, Pegasus/Solano, Pegasus/Shattuck, Diesel & Walden Pond; (San Francisco) Modern Times. Benefit for the Middle East Children's Alliance. For info, call 510-548-0542 Arab Cultural & Community Center, Jewish Voice for Peace, Joining Hands, International Solidarity Movement, A.N.S.W.E.R., American Friends Service Committee, Jews for a Free Palestine.

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Monday, March 1, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: Today on a special national edition of Flashpoints, the Anatomy of a Coup and the Kidnapping of a Democratically-Elected President by the US Marines. We’ll feature an on-the-ground report from our Flashpoints special correspondent Kevin Pina under fire; we’ll hear about an attack on a radio station set up by Aristide and destroyed today by anti-Aristide thugs as US Marines stood by; we’ll speak with Ira Kurzban, General Counsel to the Haitian government and the Aristides; we’ll also speak with a close personal friend of the Aristides, Hazel Ross-Robinson, former senior foreign policy analyst for Ron Dellums; Knight Report.

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Friday, February 27, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: Today on a special national edition of Flashpoints, we spend the hour on the expanding crisis in Haiti. We’ll feature a live report from our special correspondent Kevin Pina, live in Port-au-Prince, we’ll speak with Representative Barbara Lee of California, co-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, we’ll speak with Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and the host of Family Lavalas on Radio Soleil in Brooklyn, along with several Haitian activists.

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Thursday, February 26, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: An update on the US-supported violence in Haiti; Israeli forces continue their ethnic slaughter by the apartheid wall as they take millions from Palestinian bank accounts; Dolores Huerta and immigrant activists take on Pacific Lumber; we focus on women behind bars; The Knight Report.

00:55  The Knight Report: Insurgents surround Port-Au-Prince in Haiti, in the potential end-game of the half-island nation's 33rd coup.

Sunday February 29 3:15PM Haiti Documentary "POTE MAK SONJE: The Raboteau Trial" (Those Who Bear the Scars Remember) Delancey Street Screening Room 600 Embarcadero (at Brannan), 1st Floor San Francisco, CA

05:35  Update on Haiti - Capital Under Seige: Special Correspondent Kevin Pina on the telephone from Haiti describes the situation in Port-Au-Prince and today's developments. Dennis also speaks with Quixote Center director and Haiti Reborn Project founder Eugenia Charles-Mathurin in Washington DC, who expresses the Haitian people's struggle for democracy and survival while the international community stalls and even encourages the approaching humanitarian crisis.

"The US created the opposition [to unseat] the Fanmi Lavalas political party which represents the will of the Haitian people" Eugenia Charles-Mathurin

20:15  Report From the SF Federal Building: Dick Becker of the International Action Center and the International A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition reports from the protest Thursday afternoon outside the US Fedral Building in San Francisco where about 100 pro-democracy supporters called for an end to US destabilization and the campaign for regime change.

23:00  Palestine Report: Huwaida Arraf, a founder of the International Solidarity Movement, is interviewed by Nora Barrows-Friedman on the telephone from the occupied territories, after her release from an Israeli jail earlier today. Huwaida describes the events leading up to her arrest at a demonstration against the construction of the Israeli "Separation Wall"

32:20  UFW and Lumber Workers: UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta on the phone from San Jose outside Redwood Empire Sawmills corporate headquarters, speaks with Solange Echeverria after a protest group tried unsuccessfully to meet with management to express concerns of lumber workers from the Cloverdale Redwood Empire sawmill.

42:33  Cloverdale Protest: Roving Producer Miguel Molina reports on the civil action outside of the Redwood Empire sawmill in Cloverdale. Learn more at UFW (707-528-3039 or email). Express your support for workers by contacting Redwood Empire at 408-271-7900, Fax: 408-271-7911 or email the General Manager, Sean Burch)

50:40  Women In Prison: Studio guest Judy Greenspan with the California Prison Focus speaking with Dennis about the plight of terminally ill women in the expanding prison system, political prisoners, battered women, and others serving life sentences. Also joining the discussion is Activist-Poet Susan Rosenberg who will also be speaking at Sparks Fly on Saturday March 28, 7:30PM at the Mission Cultural Center, 2868 Mission at 25th Street in San Francisco (for more information, call 415-643-9124)

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Wednesday, February 25, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: US-supported death squads continue their march towards Port-au-Prince while the poorest people in the city prepare to resist the overthrow of democracy at all costs. Is the US trying to make Venezuela the next Haiti?  British intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun walks away from charges. The Knight Report.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: Haiti's US-supported coup leaders continue their rampage against democracy and the people's will; we'll continue our reports from Haiti and also get background from Washington on the Bush connection to the Haitian killing fields. Also, 25% of the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem are slashed away from their land by the apartheid wall even as talks contesting its legitimacy continue in the Hague; and from Greensboro NC, the Knight Report.

01:00  The Knight Report: Haiti's President Aristide calls for international defense to halt a coup in the making as the Bush Administration looks the other way; and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is in Baghdad this week looking to annex Uzbekistan for the American Empire in Iraq, where "He saw; he conquered; he came." And  recently obtained classified documents reveal that on February 16, 2002, George Bush signed a secret Security Council directive establishing the goals and objectives for going to war with Iraq, and a month later General Tommy Franks conducted a major Iraq war exercise code-named Prominent Hammer - a year before the public knew anything about the planned invasion.

05:45  Haiti Crisis Worsens: Special Correspondent Kevin Pina gives another phone report from Port-Au-Prince where he spoke today with President Aristide; On the phone from Washington DC, Larry Birns, Executive Director of the Council on Hemishperic Affairs joins Dennis and Haiti Action Committee founder Pierre LaBossiere with updated information about the crisis and Washington's role in the turmoil. Today so-called opposition leaders rejected the international proposal for a peaceful resolution to the crisis; roads into the Capital are blocked; Rebels enter Port-De-Paix, but are expelled from Cap-Hatien. Washington continues its stall tactics, Powell awaits a political resolution before sending peace-keepers, and refuses even to allow the Haitian police force to purchase tear-gas and riot-control supplies. The French are prepared to help, but are looking for a signal from Washington. Media continue to blame Aristide for minor flaws in the legislative election in May, 2000 (before Aristide was even elected in November, 2000 by a huge majority) A half-million impoverished Haitians have taken to the streets in Port-Au-Prince in support of their popularly-elected President and their Constitution (see The Security Bugaboo section in COHAs Press Release. Pierre LaBossiere provides horrifying background on the convicted mass-murderers now terrorizing the country, including the Roboteau massacre of April 22,1994. Join the DEMONSTRATION 3PM-5PM outside the San Francisco Federal Building at Golden Gate and Polk.


45:30  Neigborhoods, Families Divided by Apartheid Wall: Siham Rasheed with the Palestinian Counseling Center in East Jerusalem is interviewed by Nora Barrows-Friedman. Palestinians are holding demonstrations to appeal to the international community for an end to the paralyzing restrictions and extreme hardships caused by the wall. Palestinians have lost their land, and source of income, and all water resources - in direct violation of Geneva Conventions and numerous UN Resolutions.

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Monday, February 23, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: Former death squad members continue their rampage through Haiti. We feature a special report from the streets of Port-au-Prince on the 2-year destabilization campaign, and deep background on these US-supported coup leaders. Also, Palestinian lawyers testify at the  Hague against the apartheid wall; we’ll speak to a lawyer for the PLO. Will Bush’s chief campaign contributor Ken Lay get indicted for his part in Enron? From New York City, the Knight Report.

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Friday, February 20, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: An on-the-ground report from occupied Baghdad, Nora speaks with Mike Ferner of Voices in the Wilderness, a Vietnam-era veteran witnessing the violence in Iraq; Solange brings a report on Safeway grocery strikers organizing a massive rally.  Arundhati Roy speaks from the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India.

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Thursday, February 19, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: An on-the-ground update on the violence and civil unrest in Haiti; we speak to a Venezuelan activist about the destabilization process already in the works for Venezuela; and a broadcast of the radical documentary, Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War.

00:43  Direct From Haiti: Flashpoints Special Correspondent Kevin Pina is interviewed by Nora Barrows-Friedman. In Port-Au-Prince there are no blockades and no sign of armed Aristide supporters. Armed former military and paramilitary leaders have entered Haiti from the Dominican Republic, seized northern towns and continue to terrorize the country with US-made weapons. Aristide again called for an end to violence and extended an invitation to opposition groups to begin negotiations. The AP and mainstream media continue to spread misinformation and accuse Aristide of violence and misconduct. Haitians brace for civil war and pledge support for the democratically elected Aristide government. Read "Hidden From the Headlines", an excellent summary of the situation in Haiti. More at DemocracyNow! Listen (RealAudio) and Haiti Action Network. Also read the OAS resolution of Support for Public Order and Democracy in Haiti (PDF format) supporting Aristide's government and the CARICOM initiative.

07:22  Venezuela Destabilization: Venezuelan Solidarity Committee member Eva Gollinger speaking with Associate Producer Solange Echeverria provides an update of the Chavez Recall referendum vote-count which has uncovered fraudulent petition signatures. Efforts to certify the signature count have been slowed by the discovery of thousands of petitions with the same handwriting, signatures of deceased and underaged persons, and unverifiable partial thumbprints. Overseen by a court-appointed committee and international observers from the Carter Center and OAS, the signature count is expected to be announced on February 28th. If sufficient signatures are certified (2.4 million), a recall election would follow within 90 days. Chavez continues to enjoy majority popular support, but documents obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act show that the US State Department gave $1M to opposition groups through the misnamed  National Endowment for Democracy.  Representing a significant jump in funding, the documents raise questions about the State Department's intentions toward the Chavez government. More information at venuzuelanalysis.com

29:10  UNCOVERED: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War - Excerpts from the hard-hitting documentary co-produced by MoveOn.org detail the misuse of intelligence to exaggerate the case for invading Iraq.

"The Bush Administration officials either routinely said or tried to give the impression that if Iraq had not fully accounted for all or some of a certain item related to chemical or biological weapons, then it must be there, and that's not at all what the inspectors said or found..."

Read the reviews. This amazing documentary is available as a premium for supporting the KPFA Fund Drive

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Wednesday, February 18, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: We speak to author activist Mario Murillo about the ongoing violence in Colombia under the auspices of the US war on drugs; plus a conversation with poet-on-assignment Aurora Levins Morales and we’ll feature excerpts from the reveting documentary Plan Colombia Cashing-In on the Drug War Failure. From New York City the Knight Report.

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Tuesday, February 17, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: The General Council for the government of Haiti in the United States speaks out against US support of right-wing opposition in Haiti; Robert Fisk discusses the ongoing violence in Iraq; and Larry Everest talks about Empire and the US Global Agenda

00:45  Undermining Democracy: Ira Kurzban, Council for the Govenment of Haiti, is interviewed by Nora Barrows-Friedman, as he reveals the methodical destabilization process perfected by the US over the last 15 years, and hints at the motivation behind eliminating popular democracies in the Western Hemisphere. In the absence of an army to control the populace, economic sanctions are imposed to sabotage efforts to help the poor, leaving popular leaders unable to fulfill promises of aid. Aristide, like Chavez in Venezuela, was elected by the poor and in serving their interests represents a threat to the elite, and to the exploitive free-trade agenda of more powerful economies.

18:05  The Beating Goes On: Award-winning British Journalist Robert Fisk with the London Independent on the phone from Ireland talks with Nora Barrows-Friedman about continuing violence in Iraq, the increasing death tolls for US soldiers and Iraqi citizens, and the anger behind attacks on police and US forces.  On the recent police station bombing in Fallujah, Robert Fisk observes "two things that are perfectly clear - the first is that the Resistance ...  have got a good deal more ... daring [and] certainly coordinated ... The other, and potentially much more serious issue for President Bush is the fact that the Americans themselves now acknowledge that this attack on the police station was not carried out by 'foreign fighters', but by Iraqis themselves." Also discussed are recent articles "The Fantasy of Democracy in an Arab State" and the story of brutality by British soldiers at Camp Bucca

38:20 Oil, Power and Empire: Excerpts from a recent talk by Larry Everest and Daniel Ellsberg  in Berkeley covering the central strategic role of the Iraq invasion in the US plan to ensure adequate security of energy for the coming decades.

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Monday, February 16, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: We continue our coverage of the expanding US-supported destabilization campaign in Haiti, we’ll get a live report from Port-au-Prince with the latest details. Kevin Cooper speaks to us from his cell on death row one week after his last minute stay of execution. Excerpts from the hard hitting documentary Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9-11 (Transcript in .pdf)

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Friday, February 13, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: We continue our coverage of the expanding US-supported destabilization campaign in Haiti, we’ll get a live report from Port-au-Prince with the latest details, and we’ll speak to Representative Barbara Lee of California,  who has been following the situation there very closely. A documentary by John Pilger, Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies of the War on Terror.

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Thursday, February 12, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: Is the US actively participating in the destabilization of the duly-elected government of Haiti, which could lead to a bloodbath? And Distorted Morality, a brand new AK Press DVD featuring Noam Chomsky on the endless US war on Terror

00:55 The Truth About Haiti: Congresswoman Maxine Waters, interviewed live on the phone by Dennis, describes what she saw on her second 2004 trip to Haiti, from which she returned on Tuesday.

"It is my belief that Andre Apaid [opposition leader of the US-funded Group of 184] is attempting to instigate a bloodbath in Haiti and then blame the [Aristide] Government for the resulting disaster in the belief that the United States will aid the so-called protesters." - Congresswoman Waters

The AP and most US media have ignored Aristide's press conferences where he pleads with opposition leaders to end the violence and start negotiations (agreeable to all but Apaid), and instead accuse Aristide of human rights violations and corruption, which the Congresswoman call "absolutely a lie!" In fact when pressed for details the critics are unable to support the accusations.

The media distortions are believed to be part of a US-sponsored program of destabilization aimed at Haiti, Venezuela and Cuba.  Congresswoman Waters said "...I'm charging my own Government with undermining President Aristide in the same way they undermined Chavez in Venezuela, and the same way they are undermining Castro in Cuba.  I believe that this gang that is in the White House have decided that they want to get rid of all these leaders in this hemisphere who do not do their [the Administration's] bidding..."

We must all urge our leaders to support the democratically-elected Haiti government, call for an end to the violence, and demand that Andre Arpaid stop disruption and begin to resolve the situation. Dennis also speaks with Flashpoints Special Correspondent Kevin Pina, and international human rights lawyer Brian Concannon with the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux in Port Au Prince. Many believe the motives of the opposition have grown from Aristide's demobilization of the Haitian army, long the tool of repression employed by the Haitian elite and whose former officers remain the backbone of the opposition parties. More background at HaitiAction.net or the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, and more of Congresswoman Waters' remarks, or recent history in this 1999 report from thirdworldtraveler.org

34:50  Distorted Morality: A lecture segment from the DVD. Noam Chomsky, scholar, founder of the modern science of linguistics, philosopher, political and social analyst, author, and media critic, is shown in two fascinating, post 9/11 lectures, in which he presents the idea that the idea of a war on terror is a logical impossibility. The first lecture was given at Harvard University JFK School of Government. The second was held at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Chomsky has been a professor for over forty years. Distorted Morality is a crucial document for anyone struggling for a stronger grasp of the post 9/11 world.

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Wednesday, February 11, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: An on-the-ground report from Haiti, where violence continues to escalate; Israeli occupiers kill fifteen and wound more than fifty in a get-tough attack in Gaza without provocation; Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War, a brand-new documentary co-produced by MoveOn.org takes you behind the Bush Administration’s Big Lies; The Knight Report

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Tuesday, February 10, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: Life in the Balance - The death row procedings against Kevin Cooper: An excerpt from a new documentary being produced by the Flashpoints Team; Also interviews with Reverend Jesse Jackson and Kevin Cooper's defense attorney on the stay of execution and his new day in court; also a new push to impeach the unelected occupant of the Oval Office.

00:50  Deathwatch - outside San Quentin State Prison on Monday night while awaiting word of Kevin Cooper's fate and the temporary stay issued bt the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier in the day (Producers Nora Barrows-Friedman and Solange Echeverria). Read some of Kevins writings. Get more background at nodeathpenalty.org

05:45  The Rev Jesse Jackson, interviewed by Dennis, describes how he spent the torturous hours of preparation for death with Kevin Cooper before the stay of execution was affirmed.

17:15  Defense attorney Greg Evans discusses with Dennis the details behind the Appeals Court's extraordinary action. Prosecutors failed to meet their responsibilities and the Court believed the outcome would have been different had they done so.

"This case centers on Cooper's claim that he is innocent. No person should be executed if there is doubt about his or her guilt and an easily available test will determine guilt or innocence" - 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unsigned majority opinion.

29:25  A Cappella Musical Break

31:00  Warrior-King: The Case for Impeaching George W Bush: Dennis interviews John C. Bonifaz, a MacArthur Fellow and founder of the National Voting Rights Institute in Boston, and author of the new book Warrior-King - The Case for Impeaching George W Bush from Nation Press.  John Bonifaz lays out the precise points of law and an undeniable case of presidential misconduct and abuse of power and the failure of Congress to fulfill its duties. Here's an excerpt:

"A King may lie and, using that lie, a king, on his own, has the power to send his kingdom into war. A president may also lie, but a president alone cannot use that lie to start a war.... By allowing the president to make the determination of whether or not to launch an invasion of Iraq.... Congress unlawfully allowed the president to use whatever evidence--or whatever lies--he chose as the basis for sending the nation into war."

John C. Bonifaz - Warrior-King: The Case for Impeaching George W Bush

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Monday, February 9, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals grants a stay of execution for Kevin Cooper, but will the Supreme Court sustain the stay, or vacate it? Cooper is due to be murdered by the state of California at 12:01 tonight. We’ll feature late-breaking interviews with Cooper’s lead attorney, as well as with Jesse Jackson and witnesses whose information could lead to exoneration of Kevin Cooper. Five of the jurors who convicted Cooper, urge his execution be postponed. The Knight Report, from New York.

"If he is truly guilty, these simple tests will resolve the matter. If he is truly innocent, those same tests will tell us that," Browning wrote. "When the stakes are so high, when the evidence against Cooper is so weak, and when the newly discovered evidence of the state's malfeasance and misfeasance is so compelling, there is no reason to hurry and every reason to find out the truth."

James R. Browning, Senior Circuit Judge on Ninth Circuit Court - urging a stay for Kevin Cooper.

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Friday, February 6, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: The federal government continues its attack on the American Indian Movement and Leonard Peltier. We’ll have a special report from Rapids City, South Dakota, where two former AIM activists face murder charges. Also, the Block Report, with a hard-hitting, emotional discussion on the Kevin Cooper case with former Black Panther and anti-death penalty activists.

Bob Marley would have been 59 years old today. Listen to interviews, tributes and the music of Jamaica's Mr. Music on Hard Knock Radio archive 4:05 pm today.

You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can't fool all the people all the time.
So now we see the light (What you gonna do?),
We gonna stand up for our rights!(Yeah, yeah, yeah!)
Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley

"What did they [Bush, et al] do during those 12 years, ... and last four years? They're trying to unravel the progressive legislation of the past century to overcome the achievements of popular struggles, hard ones, to gain some benefits for people, what we call minimal welfare state... To transfer power into the hands of unaccountable private tyrannies in one-way or another." Noam Chomsky at UN Society of Writers and Artists.  Transcript at DemocracyNow.

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Thursday, February 5, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: A former UPI reporter who covered the original Kevin Cooper trial steps forward with evidence that could exonerate Kevin Cooper, who faces execution by the state at San Quentin on Monday night; also, Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War: a brand-new, hard-hitting documentary on the Big Lies about Iraq

00:55 Kevin Cooper: Kristina Rebelo, former UPI reporter interviewed by Flashpoints Special Correspondent Leslie Kean after her second sworn deposition revealing startling new evidence surrounding the multiple murder case. Kristina Rebolo says that a former San Bernardino Sheriffs Deputy, Albert Anthony Ruiz, told her flatly that "Kevin Cooper did not kill that family". Mr. Ruiz asserted that the wrong family was tragically executed in a drug-related retaliation, and that he was directed to plant evidence used to convist Kevin Cooper. Listen to the amazing account of Kristina Rebelo following a news conference today in Los Angeles.

11:20 Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War - Robert Greenwald's powerful new documentary about how the truth became the first casualty in Iraq, is a remarkably thorough demolition of the Bush administration's concocted case against Iraq. CIA and Pentagon officials speak out against the Administration's PR campaign of distortion, misinformation and inuendo to scare up support for the illegal invasion. Also read the reviews at OffOffOff.com and the official website at truthuncovered.com

*This remarkable DVD is available for a $100 pledge to KPFA - call 1-800-439-5732 or pledge online now

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Wednesday, February 4, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: Whistle Blower Fired by Kellogg Brown and Root Discusses Unsanitary Conditions Inside the Soldiers Cafeterias in Iraq (Read Heather's reports); In-Studio Interview and Concert with Noted Political Singer and Song Writer, David Rovics; From New York City the Knight Report

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Tuesday, February 3, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: An in-depth interview with award-winning investigative reporter Robert Fisk. We'll talk about the phoney Weapons of Mass Destruction claims, have an update on the situation in Iraq and a look at Lebanon and occupied Palestine. Plus, an interview with a teacher from Contra Costa County leading the struggle against school closures. And from New York, The Knight Report with Robert Knight.

01:00 The Knight Report: The death toll rises in Kurdistan; United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan meets with George W Bush on Iraq; and the FCC investigates a network that it gave a monopoly pass to; France debates its proposed ban on head scarves, turbans and other ethnic-religious symbols in schools; and the discovery of the toxin ricin closes three buildings in Washington DC.

05:15 Blame the BBC: In an interview with Robert Fisk, award-winning journalist with The Independent of London, Dennis covers the current disaster in Iraq and the efforts by those responsible for the illegal invasion to divert attention looking for fictitious sources of faulty intelligence to avoid correcting the mistakes and stopping the killing. Amid the suicide bombings, roadside attacks, security appears to be failing; northern Kurds are calling for independence; southern Shia muslims are calling for representation in free elections; and reconstruction is rife with corruption. Robert also describes the US-directed Lebanese money-laundering incident which  illuminates the shady handling of reconstruction.

46:05 School Bond Money-Shuffle in CCC: Cesar Cruz, a teacher at E M Downer Elementary, interviewed by Associate Producer, Solange Echeverria, describes the attempts to reallocate some of the $350M bond monies approved by voters for renovations by closing needy schools in Richmond and San Pablo serving low and middle-income families, and reallocate the funds to more affluent areas. The neighborhoods served by Downer have mobilized and after school on Wednesday February 4, 2004 third graders, parents and teachers will march 2 miles from Downer Elementary School (1777 Sanford Ave at 18th St in San Pablo (510) 234-3851) to the school board meeting (5:00PM at Lavonya DeJean Middle School, 3400 Macdonald Ave, Richmond) to demand the promised $28M site renovations currently on hold and that students not be reassigned ("redistricting") to other schools. March with the students and Pacifica Radio! Call (510) 388-3587 for more information, or visit the West Contra Costa Unified School District web site.

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Monday, February 2, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: We continue our reporting on the planned execution of Kevin Cooper, with an exclusive interview with Kevin from Death Row; A broadcast of today’s press conference with Cooper’s lawyers; and we’ll talk about the latest suicide bombings in Iraq. Also the Knight Report.

Ref: See last Thursday's segment on Kevin Cooper

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Friday, January 30, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: An in-depth look at the Hutton commission cover-up with BBC reporter and best-selling author Greg Palast, also, the case of civil rights activist and attorney Lynne Stewart, now facing forty five years on trumped-up terrorism charges.

01:00 Dennis interviews Civil Rights Activist Lynne Stewart.  Lynne Stewart has been under attack by the Federal Government since the attack on 9/11. Stewart faces charges of terrorism for her role as a legal counsel  for the imprisoned blind sick Egyptian cleric Omar Abdel Rahman. Stewart is facing 45 years in prison for these trumped up terrorism charges. Last year Stewart thought she was out of the woods, when two similar charges were dismissed, but the Feds aren't willing to let go she was recently reindicted. Does her case mean that anyone can be arrested at any time for any reason?  No, Stewart says "It means, you won't have a lawyer to call. Your lawyer may not be working for you; your lawyer may be working for those who prosecute you."  LynneStewart.org schedule of Bay Area speaking and fund raising events for this week.

18:00 Music Break: I'm George W. From Texas

20:00 Dennis interviews BBC reporter and journalist Greg Palast. They discuss how the Hutton Report that supposedly exonerates Blair and Bush actually just 'shoots the messenger', in this case the BBC.  David Kelly's report as the number one UNSCOM inspector is equally damaging to both Blair and Bush, both guilty of lying. While BBC report Andrew Gilligan may not have taped his sources, many other BBC reporters including Palast did record Kelly's comments for the record.

42:00 Music Break: Double Bush Blues - What A Case of Deja Vu

43:00 Greg Palast Investigative Journalist on The Stealing of the 2000 Election. Why we as a people won't 'Get Over It'. Greg digs in depth on how the 2000 election was stolen. Slimy details  on the supposed 57,000 felons excluded from voting in Florida. 'Unfortunate' for democracy that 92% were actually legally clear to vote. How 500+ from that list had records of convictions, in the future! 2004 elections will make the corrupt manipulations of 2000 look like a cake walk of course as the neo-coop and their cronies figure new ways to corrupt what used to be our democratic republic.

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Thursday, January 29, 2004 Listen D'load
Today on Flashpoints: We hear from Nora Castaneda, the woman at the head of the Venezuelan Women's Development Bank, and Governor Schwarzenegger denies a clemency hearing to Kevin Cooper, scheduled to be executed on February 10th. We'll broadcast excerpts from today's press conference on Kevin Cooper's case with Rubin Hurricane Carter.

00:50  Womens Economic Power: Nora Casteneda, President of Venezuela's Women's Development Bank is interviewed by Solange Echeverria.  Venezuela has implemented a revolutionary approach to educate women and encourage entrepreneurial economic programs, establish credit, and harness economy for the service of people. We also hear about the global women's strike. More information at Crossroads Women's Center: (415) 626-4114 or online at www.globalwomenstrike.net

14:04  Musical Break: A clip from the group President's Breakfast

15:04  Clemency Denied! A Press Conference in Sacramento following Governor Schwarzenegger's denial of a clemency hearing for Kevin Cooper, scheduled to be executed on February 10, 2004 whose conviction appears to rest on numerous irregularities and alleged prosecutorial misconduct. Leslie Kean provides background before we hear actor Mike Farrell, former Clinton Special Council, Lanny Davis, and Rubin Hurricane Carter who himself was almost executed before he was finally cleared. Also a new commentary from Mumia Abu-Jamal, and discussion with Bay Area death penalty activists.

Upcoming Events:
Kevin Cooper Live from Death Row
Saturday January 31, 2004 3:00PM to 5:00PM at the First Congregational Church on Dana between Durant and Channing in Berkeley. Phone (510) 895-0332 or visit SaveKevinCooper.org for more information

Statewide Day of Action Against the Execution of Kevin Cooper
Tuesday, February 3, 2004 at California State Building, 505 Van Ness Ave.
Press Conference 4:30PM; Rally at 5PM; Speakers TBA
Phone (415) 243-0143 or visit DeathPenalty.org for more information

 

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Wednesday, January 28, 2004: Flashpoints will be back tomorrow.
FCC Hearings on Localism in San Antonio Texas played today.