"the pathetic excuse of humanitarian aid"

On January 28th, we had the chance to have a telephone talk with Camilla Chalmers, from the Plateforme Haïtienne de Plaidoyer pour un Développement Alternatif (Haitian Platform in Defence of an Alternative Development, PAPDA), in Port-au-Prince. Here we transcribe the questions and answers we could exchange in spite of the natural difficulties of communication in these circumstances. We believe his opinions represent a contribution to understand what’s really going on in Haiti, they contradict the official version of the media and give us a very precise notion of the type of solidarity that the Haitian people need –and that we should not fail to give.

Related Links:
The forest behind the trees: what’s behind the US occupation of Haiti? | Wikipedia on Haiti | Code Noir | Namoi Klein – My date with Aristide | Haiti's children die in UN crossfire | An Interview with Jean-Bertrand Aristide | Al Jazerra Haiti coverage | What Future for Haiti? - An Interview with Patrick Elie by Reed Lindsey | Taking us to democracy like cattle to a killing house - Patrick Elie | Haiti's Catch-22 - An interview with Patrick Elie | Interview with Aristide's lawyer, Miami-based Ira Kurzban | Will Criminal Gangs Take Control in Haiti's Chaos? | Fear of the poor is hampering Haiti rescue | Haiti's streets 'safer than before earthquake | US troop landings delay Haiti aid | Why the U.S. Owes Haiti Billions | The Rescue Operation's Priorities in Haiti | US accused of 'occupying' Haiti as troops flood in | Haiti - a history of intervention, occupation and resistance | Strong aftershock hits Haiti | Naomi Klien's document | has the world failed Haiti? (video) | US aid relative to other countries | The Incapacitation of Haiti | Against the grain main site | Haiti - a beginners guide (indy link)

Give These People Food and Medicine, not troops

Anyone judging from the huge numbers of troops mobilised to Haiti could reasonably believe that this is a country in the middle of a brutal civil war instead of a nation hit by a deadly earthquake. While the Media has been feeding constantly news of murder, mayhem, and gangsters supposedly in control of Haitian streets, together with calls for a “strong arm” and “security” to make possible the delivery of relief, the reality seems to be quite another. Medical and Food assistance has been largely delayed by a cobweb of inefficiency, bureaucracy and negligence and not for “security” issues. In the meantime, hungry and thirsty Haitians have been largely looking for their beloved ones under the rubble with their bare hands. Very few doctors and relief agencies have dared to go to the streets of Port-au-Prince, where precious assistance –currently stockpiling in the airport- is much needed.

Related Links:
Wikipedia on Haiti | Code Noir | Namoi Klein – My date with Aristide | Haiti's children die in UN crossfire | An Interview with Jean-Bertrand Aristide | Al Jazerra Haiti coverage | What Future for Haiti? - An Interview with Patrick Elie by Reed Lindsey | Taking us to democracy like cattle to a killing house - Patrick Elie | Haiti's Catch-22 - An interview with Patrick Elie | Interview with Aristide's lawyer, Miami-based Ira Kurzban | Will Criminal Gangs Take Control in Haiti's Chaos? | Fear of the poor is hampering Haiti rescue | Haiti's streets 'safer than before earthquake | US troop landings delay Haiti aid | Why the U.S. Owes Haiti Billions | The Rescue Operation's Priorities in Haiti | US accused of 'occupying' Haiti as troops flood in | Haiti - a history of intervention, occupation and resistance | Strong aftershock hits Haiti | Naomi Klien's document | has the world failed Haiti? (video) | US aid relative to other countries | The Incapacitation of Haiti | Against the grain main site | Haiti - a beginners guide (indy link)

Another Gig for Haiti - Thursday 28 Jan @ 8pm [Le Cirk, 32 Dame Street, D2, (€2 entrance)]

LASC meeting on Haiti, Thursday 28 Jan @ 7.00 [Seomra Spraoi, 10 Belvidere Court, Dublin 1]

Haiti: Solidarity Not Occupation (meeting / speakers) Cork Tuesday 02 Feb @ 8pm [Solidarity books, 43 Douglas st].

LASC meeting on Haiti in Galway on Feb 2 @ 7.00 [bridge mills, Galway]

It Takes More than This to Stop Us

Every day the war machines roll through Shannon, as the innocent populations of Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere suffer the brutal consequences of neo-liberal occupation. The Gardai react by mounting public displays of strength against half a dozen innocent protestors, while claiming to have no opinions or authority over the cargos and personnel passing through the airport.

Related Links:
Making War Through Shannon Airport | Shannon Peace Vigil Among the Warplanes | Videos from Shannon Peace Conference | US Military Officers Oversee War Activities at Shannon | Hiroshima remembered at Shannon Peace Vigil

Bush First, Obama Second

After more than three months' deliberation, President Barack Obama has finally decided to commit more than 30,000 US troops to the Afghan war. The ‘Afghan surge’ is to be fast tracked over the next six months with a large bulk of the troops arriving before Christmas. The deployment will cost approximately $1 million dollars per soldier, per year, some $30 billion overall. This price tag is on top of the considerable costs (running into the hundreds of billions of dollars) of keeping over 100,000 US soldiers ‘in-country’, while maintaining other US global military operations as well as the on-going fiasco in Iraq. The combined deployment of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is close to 250,000 service personnel, which is augmented by the greatest number of private military contractors/mercenaries ever seen (some 100,000 in Iraq alone).

Related Links:
Response to obama Statement "Guantanamo will not close by January 2010" | Award of Nobel Peace Prize to President obama | Vid/Photoes/Report-61 Arrested at White House on 8th. Anniversary of Invasion of afghanistan | Refuelling War ongoing at Shannon airport | Making War through Shannon airport | Open letter to new Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney

Image Caption Goes Here

The abject disregard of the Irish political elite for Ireland's neutrality has been demonstrated by the routine transit of US military planes and troops through Shannon Airport for most of this decade. With the re-run of the Lisbon Treaty referendum we are now being asked to accept EU promises that it will not affect or prejudice Ireland's traditional policy of military neutrality. But the ongoing support of the Irish government for US-led NATO exercises around the world clearly shows that we cannot trust our leaders to uphold Irish neutrality, with or without the non-binding decisions that have been tagged onto the Treaty in an attempt to have it accepted by the people of Ireland.

Related Links:
Irish Friends of Palestine Against Lisbon put their case to the public in Dublin's Grafton Street | Green Party U-Turn on a Democratic EU | The Lisbon Treaty and the Triumph of Technocracy | Debut of Irish Friends of Palestine Against Lisbon outside Dublin EU Parliament Offices | 13 Things the Lisbon Treaty Would Do | The Legal guarantees on Lisbon Treaty will not change treaty - a propaganda stunt to mislead voters | Dáil shouldn't have inferior Lisbon Treaty powers to German Parliament, controlling ministers | The Lisbon Treaty, Alan Shatter and the guys in hoods! | Lisbon Treaty News: German Constitutional Court delays Germany’s ratification of the Lisbon Treaty | The Gurantees: Comment by Jens-Peter Bonde | Spoofing the Irish media and public with Lisbon “guarantees” that guarantee nothing | Supposed ‘hard fight’ to secure guarantees on Lisbon Treaty: a clever tactic to mislead says McKenna | Lisbon: Round Two - A bosses charter, with or without 'guarantees' | The Lisbon Assurances - A Closer Look

Shannon Watch's Website - www.shannonwatch.org