Haiti

Haiti's ugly opposition

US, Canadian and French soldiers have moved into Haiti following the departure of the president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who fled into exile on Sunday 29 February. Aristide found shelter in the Central African Republic and later claimed he had been forced to leave. On Sunday night, 29 February, the UN Security Council unanimously authorised a force to stay in Haiti for up to three months to restore security and stability. It is expected to be followed by a UN "stabilisation force", which has no time limit. US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld said he expects the total size of the...

Haiti: civil war and a glimpse of a third power

By Dan Katz The crisis facing the Haitian government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide continued on Sunday 15 February with a mass demonstration in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Thousands of demonstrators - who blame the president for rigging elections in 2000 - demanded Aristide's resignation. Aristide faces both these large-scale mobilisations and the armed groups which have seized a number of areas in the north of Haiti. These armed gangs seem to have been reinforced by some supporters of the old Haitian dictatorship who have entered Haiti from the neighbouring Dominican Republic. Fighters...

Haiti: Aristide and the opposition

Article by Charles Arthur on the political and social crises that are currently paralysing Haiti, from Tribune of 30/01/04. "OPPOSING positions have hardened, and what is really a fight for political power is taking place on the streets with ensuing confrontations and incidents of violence." Jamaican Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson's comment during two days of talks between Caricom leaders and representatives of Haiti's opposition Democratic Platform, held in the Bahamas, January 21-22, puts the current crisis in Haiti in a nutshell. But what the world's media has reported as an overnight...

Haiti: the crisis and the workers

By Mark Osborn At the end of March a sweatshop union organiser from the militant Haitian trade union Batay Ouvriye will go on a speaker tour of Britain organised by No Sweat and the Haiti Support Group. Batay Ouvriye describes itself as "an organisation [of] factory unions and committees, workers' associations and militants, struggling for the construction of an independent, combative and democratic union movement, and to organise wage-workers, self-employed workers and the unemployed for the defense of their rights. "The organisation is an alternative to the traditional bureaucratic, corrupt...

Haiti: Workers abused at uniform-making factory

By Labour Behind the Label "They lock the gates on us and sometimes put security guards out in front with rifles to prevent us from leaving," said Jacqueline, as she described the method her employer uses to force workers to work over 10 hours a day without compensation. "The supervisors would yell and curse at us to finish our quota. My daily quota is sewing 90 dozen zippers on pants for 80 gourds [$2 US]." Jacqueline works for a Cintas subcontractor, Haitian American Apparel. She estimates that she is just one of 1,500 workers who make uniforms for Cintas, and whose daily reality is working...

No Sweat: ROUND-UP

Capitalist globalisation: Haiti Haitian factory life: Police and security guards attack workers Sheffield No Sweat launch Video showing in Leicester No Sweat at the European Social Forum Capitalist globalisation: Haiti Levi's shuts North American plants, re-opens in Haiti On 30 September Levi's jeans announced a $26.7 million quarterly profit - double its earnings from the same quarter a year ago. The company's sales were $1.08 billion, up from $1.02 billion last year. However five days earlier Levi's shut three Canadian plants - two sewing facilities and a finishing centre in Ontario, leading...

No Sweat shorts

Union rights: Haitian Free Trade Zone How to fight sweatshop bosses Nike "fun run" New pamphlet Union rights: Haitian Free Trade Zone The Haiti Support Group is campaigning for union rights for workers in Haiti's Free Trade areas. The Group has made the links between the fight at Tarrant, in Mexico, where Tarrant customers include Tommy Hilfiger and Levi's, and the conditions of workers who make for these same companies in Haiti. More information: www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org Nike "fun run" On Sunday 7th September No Sweat protested at Nike's dreadful labour rights record at their massive PR...

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