The Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network encourages everybody to sign the Migrant Rights Network's new petition. The Migrant Rights Network is also hosting "a national organizing call to share our strategy and campaign on July 5, at 7pm EST." Organizations can support them and sign up to join the call by filling out the form at: https://forms.gle/J6LDZXpMaC9V
Friday, June 24, 2022
Monday, May 9, 2022
The Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network has released the following statement in solidarity with the people of Haiti:
Footnotes appear in the form of:(#)
Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network Statement: We recognize the Deep Roots of Haitian Resistance to Dictatorship and Imperialism and Ask Canada to Change Course in Relation to Haiti
The Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN) was founded in 1981. We work in solidarity with people standing up for self determination, social justice and for the Earth in the Americas.
Haiti is the only nation on earth that was born out of a rebellion against slavery. More than 200 years ago a rebellion of enslaved people and their allies in France's richest plantation colony of Saint Domingue led to the formation of the independent nation of Haiti, named after the Taino name for the island, Ayiti. The new constitution abolished slavery. Haiti’s hard won independence inspired freedom seeking people from far and wide and at the same time sparked a strong backlash from the United States and European empires, whose economies had been built on slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. A similar dynamic exists today, in which the popular liberation movement working for democracy and a more egalitarian society is constantly up against imperial powers that collaborate with a small Haitian elite to maintain an extremely exploitative system.
In the early 2000s, leading up to the bicentenary of Haitian independence, the Fanmi Lavalas government, with Jean-Bertrand Aristide as President, came closer than ever before to fulfilling those egalitarian and democratic dreams. The Fanmi Lavalas party was formed out of the Lavalas movement that had overthrown the “Baby Doc” Duvalier dictatorship in 1986. The Fanmi Lavalas government was one that was elected in a landslide victory in an election in which a high proportion of the eligible electorate participated. Despite foreign efforts to destabilize it,(1) the government was able to double the minimum wage, create employment opportunities that were taken up by thousands of people in economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods, increase educational opportunities, improve the provision of healthcare, make investments in housing, and dramatically decrease the level of politically motivated violence.(2) On February 29th, 2004, (during a paramilitary insurrection that was almost certainly backed by the United States)(3) France, Canada and the United States overthrew the entire government, made up of about 7,000 elected officials from all levels of government. They were replaced by a brutal dictatorship led by Prime Minister Gérard Latortue. The occupation of Haiti by the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti began soon after. The Core Group of nations and organizations have had inordinate influence over Haitian governance since then.
The history of the ongoing liberation struggle, more recent events in Haiti, and connections to racism in Canadian internal and foreign policy were discussed on March 20th, 2021 in Countering the Roots of Anti-Black Racism: From Atlantic Canada to Canada's Complicity in the Crisis in Haiti. This web based event in the Politics of Hope Series, hosted by the Global Social Justice Project of Cape Breton University, was sponsored by the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network, Unama’ki College and Black Lives Matter, Fredericton. The guest speakers: Georges Gabrielle Paul, Jafrikayiti and El Jones included in their speeches a clear picture of how the imperial control Haiti has been subjected to has led to dictatorship and corruption in Haitian governance, violence, inequality and the inability of the state to carry out basic functions of a state or provide basic services to its citizens.
In her speech, Georges Gabrielle Paul, a law school graduate, radio show co-host, activist and the founder and president of the Fondation Julia et Jade, who lives in Jérémie, Grand’Anse, Haiti, described the situation in Haiti in March, 2021 and what had led to it: "For about 10 years Haiti descend into what was precipitated ... as the international community decide to impose a puppet president upon the Haitian people, Joseph Martelly, Joseph Michel Martelly, an ignoramus, a drug dealer. With the advent of Martelly's successor, Jovenel Moïse, who's mandate ended on February 7th, 2020, we have witnessed the complete collapse of our institutions: justice, parliament, the Court of Auditors and now the police. All these institutions are concentrated in the hands of one man, Jovenel Moïse. Mr. Moïse, with the blessing of the international community, has taken our country hostage and he is literally killing us every day.”
Husoni Raymond, representing Black Lives Matter, Fredericton summed up one theme from the talk, referring to "the need for a global solidarity against anti-Black racism” and remarking that “even current days, the way in which colonization operates … businesses and governments still exploit the resources of countries and then look at them and think that they're poor and deserving of little or no financial aid, when in fact these countries are rich in resources but they're still exploited and exported to the ‘developed’ world which makes poor countries unliveable and then when people try to migrate for better lives for their families they're seen as pests."
In her speech, El Jones, a spoken word poet, educator, journalist and community activist living in Nova Scotia commented, “so we very much connect Canada's imperial history in places like Haiti to Canada's imperial history within our borders and so when I talk about Lavalle for example, the immigration detention centre… Though we do not keep numbers in Canada, anecdotally we know that the vast majority of people who are incarcerated in immigration detention are Jamaicans, Somalis, Nigerians and, of course, Haitian people who, as has been reviewed in the previous speech [by Jafrikayiti], are determined to be threats, always determined to be some special form of danger and we have persistently seen violence against Haitian people, not only in the United States, but also in Canada as well."
Jafrikayiti, a radio show host, author, artist, activist and Canadian Civil Servant originally from Haiti, told the story of an encounter he had with the kind of mentality that led to the 2004 coup: "I went to Haiti for the bicentennial, and on Dec 31, 2003, I was in one of the big hotels of Petionville in the lobby facing this man [Luigi Einaudi, who was the Organization of American States (OAS) Assistant Secretary General at the time](4) and Canadian envoy to the OAS, David Lee, who was with him. They looked drunk but that’s no excuse. Luigi Einaudi said ‘The real problem with Haiti is that the international community is so screwed up and divided that they are letting Haitians run Haiti.’ We asked him to repeat it and he did. Of course when we returned to Canada we published all kinds of stuff and the media refused to print the quote on account that there's a word ‘screwed up’ there that's not kosher. I said I cannot fix his words for him. That's what he said." The Haitians running Haiti who Luigi Einaudi was referring to were, of course, the elected members of the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Terry Gibbs, who represented the event host and the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network, opened by saying: "I think all of the organizers and the participants, and I'm sure many in this room, have been brought together sharing a deep belief in the power of education to transform things, the power of sharing knowledge and stories ... and mostly in the power of regular people to change things for the better, and that's always been true throughout history. So, when we have these events we're really hoping to build relationships, not just to talk about issues but to build relationships and solidarity going forward."
The solidarity Terry Gibbs highlighted is important because international meddling in Haitian affairs continues to this day. In fact, after the assassination of defacto President Moïse on on July 7th, 2021, the influence of the Core Group on the governance of Haiti became more direct, with the appointment of the new leader, Ariel Henry, being announced in a thinly veiled communique from the Integrated Bureau of the United Nations in Haiti.(5)
Canada hosted a virtual “international ministerial meeting on Haiti” on January 21st, 2022. In a news release about the meeting Global Affairs Canada said that “Canada and Haiti have long been united by a deep friendship.” This delusional way of looking at Canada’s relationship with Haiti totally ignores the dominating position Canada has put itself in regarding Haiti. Although the statement from the meeting acknowledges that Haitian civil society has a stake in the democratic process, only the illegitimate government was represented at the meeting by Prime Minister Ariel Henry and Jean Victor Généus, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Communities. Ariel Henry was one of the Conseil des Sages chosen in a convoluted US influenced process. The Conseil des Sages in turn chose Gérard Latortue to be Prime Minister in 2004.(6) He could also be implicated in the assassination of President Moïse. In the statement about the meeting, Canada announced $50 million in funding for Haiti, the largest portion of which will go to the Haitian National Police, which has been used by several dictatorial governments to repress popular uprisings. On February 10th and 11th, 2022 the police confronted thousands of garment and other factory workers who were on strike demanding their wages be increased to 1,500 Haitian gourdes ($US15) a day. Bullets shot by police killed a journalist, Maxihen Lazzare, and wounded others including two journalists, Sony Laurore and Yves Moïse, during another day of mobilization of textile workers on February 23rd, 2022.
We would like Canada to recognize that the role this country has been playing in Haiti since at least 2003 has been extremely harmful. Canada owes Haitians a sincere apology and reparations. We need to openly examine all that Canada has done to Haiti. Thousands of people have died in part because of Canada's actions, so all of this would not be nearly sufficient, but it would open a path to a new way of relating to Haiti. We hope this process will be carried out with humility and respect for a people descended from those who overthrew Imperial France's rule over Saint Domingue and who suffered an abominable system of plantation slavery, and who have continued for more than 200 years to resist imperialism, often at the risk of their own lives.
We will end this statement with the words of Georges Gabrielle Paul: "We are fighting for our survival. Like George Floyd we say we cannot breathe because of the knee of this dictatorship upon our necks. We cannot breathe because of the weight of the racism by the international community. Yes, we dare to be free. We challenge White supremacists. We demonstrated to the whole world that we reject the exploitation of human beings on the basis of skin colour. We did so long before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written. We issued this declaration at the cost of our blood. We want the world to know that as much as the Canadian, the French, the Americans, we Haitians are moun...if you want to translate moun it’s human being."
Friday, May 6, 2022
On March 3rd, 2022, The Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network signed on to an organizational sign-on letter initiated by Todos por Guatemala, Canada about the case of the 56 girls who died in a fire on March 8th, 2017 at the Hogar Seguro Virgen de la Asunción in Guatemala. The girls had been locked in a small room for trying to escape from the Hogar Seguro, when the fire started. Please see more about the case here.
On February 23rd, 2022 The Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network signed on to this statement by the Migrant Rights Network calling for "Full Immigration Status for All."
On December 19th, 2021, the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network signed on to this International Solidarity Statement with Communities and Organizations of Chubut, Argentina affected by mine zoning law in response to a request from Mining Watch,Canada after the Chubut provincial legislature voted to "allow open-pit mining after two-decades of broad community opposition."
This is the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network's solidarity statement with Wet'suwt'en It was made available for use in defence of the Yintah and was sent to the following politicians:
John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia and President of the Executive Council Mike Farnworth, BC Minister of Public Safety Nathan Cullen, BC Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations Stikine Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Marc Miller, Minister of Crown Indigenous Relations
ARSN stands in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en Nation and all Earth Defenders
December 3, 2021 - From the East Coast of Turtle Island, the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network - ARSN - denounces the arbitrary, ruthless and violent actions by militarized BC RCMP to carry out an eviction of unarmed Wet’suwet’en land defenders from their traditional territory. We repudiate the acts of intimidation and brutality by state security forces working on behalf of TC Energy and the Coastal Gaslink Project, including the use of snipers and assault teams against land defenders courageously protecting their inherent rights. We denounce provincial and federal governments for their role in exacerbating the violence perpetrated against the Wet’suwet’en Nation, including torture, the burning of homes, destruction of sacred medicines and criminalization. We fully support the sovereignty of the Wet’suwet’en Nation and the decisions of the clans in the territory to defend and protect their inherent rights.
As a network that has spent four decades monitoring and denouncing state-sponsored terror in the Americas, we are outraged by ongoing Canadian state actions to implement by force a colonial agenda of exploitation of land and water to benefit private economic interests. From our experience, we know that this is a driving factor behind genocide across the Americas and we repudiate these actions against Indigenous Nations across Turtle Island as a continuation of this agenda. For generations, Peoples and Nations across the Americas have been compelled to put their bodies on the front lines to defend the water, culture, and way of life, due to the dispossession of land and destruction as a result of colonial government policies to benefit private corporations with the support of national and international financial institutions. We implore that the Supreme Court Ruling Delgamuukw vs. BC be upheld and also exhort the Canadian State to recognize that Indigenous sovereignty over traditional territory extends beyond the confines of colonial court decisions.
As the world faces its most critical moment for the climate, we honour and give thanks to the defenders who are courageously protecting the sacred, our common home, for today and future generations. ARSN stands in solidarity with the Wet’suwe’ten Nation and all Earth defenders.
We urge others to learn more and take action:
Host a solidarity rally or action in your area.
Issue a solidarity statement from your organization or group. Email to: yintahaccess@gmail.com
Pressure the government, banks, and investors, including universities and pension plans, to divest from TC Energy and fossil fuel companies: http://yintahaccess.com/take-action-1
Come to Camp. yintahaccess.com/
Spread the word.
#ShutDownCanada #WetsuwetenStrong #AllOutForWedzinKwa #KILLINIT
More information and developing stories:
Website: Yintahaccess.com IG: @yintah_access Twitter: @Gidimten Facebook: @wetsuwetenstrong Youtube: Gidimten Access Point TikTok: GidimtenCheckpoint
On November 19th, 2021, the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network endorsed this letter from the Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones e Indígena de Honduras (COPINH) about the delay in the sentencing of Roberto David Castillo, who was convicted on July 5 for his role in the murder of Berta Cáceres.
On November 12th, 2021 the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network endorsed this organizational sign-on letter from the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability. The letter calls "on the Government of Canada to adopt legislation requiring Canadian companies to undertake human rights and environmental due diligence throughout their global operations and supply chains." It was posted on the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability website and sent to Prime Minister Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister, Mélanie Joly and Labour Minister, Seamus O`Regan.
On November 11th, 2021, the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network endorsed this International Solidarity Statement with 2021 Mariano Abarca Environmental Defence Award Recipient La Sociedad Civil las Abejas de Acteal, Chiapas, Mexico from Mining Watch Canada.
Thursday, May 5, 2022
In October 2021, the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network initiated this urgent action calling for an immediate end to the excessive violence against Maya Q'eqchi' defenders in peaceful resistance against the illegal Fénix-Pronico nickel mining project in El Estor, Izabal. It was endorsed by several organizations. The letter can be viewed in Spanish here. The following is a version in English.
URGENT ACTION : GUATEMALA: State must immediately stop the excessive violence against defenders of the Maya Q'eqchi' people in peaceful resistance against the illegal nickel project in El Estor.
After twenty days of peaceful resistance against the illegal mining of their ancestral territories and the Guatemalan State's failure to enforce the Constitutional Court's ruling to immediately halt the mining, hundreds of State security agents are using excessive force to evict Maya Q'eqchi' fishermen and indigenous authorities in El Estor, Izabal, Guatemala. In addition, journalists and human rights observers on site are being threatened and harassed to silence what is happening in the area, especially related to the lack of compliance with the Constitutional Court's order to immediately stop operations at the mine site due to the lack of consultation with the communities.
October 24, 2021
We condemn the excessive use of violence by Guatemalan state security forces against Mayan Q'eqchi' fishermen and authorities who are asserting their legitimate rights to peaceful assembly and protest against the illegal mining operations of the Swiss-Russian Solway Group at the Fénix-Pronico nickel mine in El Estor, Izabal.
Defenders and journalists covering the protest have been tear-gassed, beaten and threatened by the excessive police and military contingent, and reports that more security is on the way to the area raise the alarm of more attacks and more illegal evictions. There are verified reports that the Police are entering the neighborhoods in search of social movement leaders and Maya Q'eqchi' community members who filed a successful writ of amparo against the mine's operations.
In June 2020, the Constitutional Court ordered the Guatemalan State to close the operations after ruling that the Ministry of Energy and Mines granted an exploitation license to Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (CGN) - then owned by Canadian Skye Resources - in 2005 without consulting the affected communities. Operations at the mine have continued over the years, first with Hudbay Minerals, also of Canada, and currently through Solway Group, a Swiss-Russian consortium. During the ownership of each company, there have been acts of serious violence and systematic human rights violations against indigenous rights defenders.
● We demand that the Guatemalan State immediately cease the brutality against defenders and journalists.
● We demand immediate compliance with the Constitutional Court's ruling by the State of Guatemala and Solway Group and that operations be halted until a consultation is held, with full participation of the affected communities.
● We demand an end to the use of the State of Siege and other tactics to foment fear and encourage eviction from Q'eqchi ancestral territories.
In June, 2021, the Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network initiated this organizational and individual sign-on letter calling for justice for Berta Cáceres.
calling fo
Canadian Civil Society Calls for Justice for Berta Cáceres in Honduras
Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs
James K. Hill, Ambassador to Honduras
cc:
Juan Orlando Hernández, President of the Republic
Mauricio Oliva, President of the Congress of the Republic
Rolando Argueta, President of the Supreme Court of Justice
Lidia Estela Cardona, Solicitor General of the Republic
Oscar Chinchilla, Attorney General of the Republic
Sofia Cerrato Rodriguez, Ambassador of Honduras in Canada
June 25, 2021
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals write to you to underscore the importance of ensuring full access to truth and justice in relation to the assassination of renowned Indigenous Rights Defender Berta Cáceres, in Honduras. In particular, we urge you to act to ensure due process standards in the trial of David Castillo for his alleged role as co-perpetrator in the murder.
Berta Cáceres, co-founder of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), was murdered in her home five years ago after leading a campaign to stop the illegal implementation of the "Agua Zarca" hydroelectric project on the Gualcarque River, sacred to the Lenca People. This project, owned and operated by the Desarrollos Energéticos (DESA) Company of the Atala Zablah family, was financed with international funds. In 2018, seven people were convicted of her murder as material authors, while the trial of former military intelligence officer David Castillo, general manager of DESA, began in April 2021 and is scheduled to end this month.
Through the evidence presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the private prosecution representing the family of Berta Cáceres, the ongoing murder trial has established that David Castillo was a key player serving as a liaison between the operational hit squad structure, convicted in 2018 and the executive and management/political structure of the DESA company that knew about and consented to the assassination.
The murder of Berta Cáceres on March 2, 2016 has its origins in 2010 when the concession of the Gualcarque River was granted to DESA, a company that committed acts of corruption and coordinated attacks against the Lenca people defending their rights; this has been demonstrated through the parallel "Fraud on the Gualcarque" corruption case, brought forth by the former OAS Support Mission to End Impunity and Corruption in Honduras (MACCIH) and the Special Prosecutor Against Corruption, in which David Castillo is also being prosecuted. Due to the tireless work of Berta's family and COPINH to bring to justice all perpetrators of the crime, and to cancel the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project, they face defamation campaigns, threats and intimidation. As a result, they are beneficiaries of precautionary measures by the IACHR, which must be fully implemented and guaranteed.
Berta Caceres’ tragic assassination was a blow not only to the defender community in the Americas, but to the entire world, as it clearly reflected the context of risk that human rights defenders in Honduras face. Berta Cáceres has become a symbol of hope and courage for all people fighting for justice, dignity and the vindication of their rights in the face of the illegal implementation of extractive projects in their ancestral territories.
Honduras is the most dangerous country in the world for land and environmental defenders. According to the latest Global Witness report, Honduras has the highest per capita murder rate of these defenders in the world. The failure to identify and charge all those responsible for the murder of Berta Cáceres puts other defenders at risk and leaves those responsible for the crime unpunished.
It is for these reasons that we urge the Canadian government, through Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa and the Canadian Embassy in Honduras, to impress upon Canada's Honduran colleagues the importance of the Honduran authorities to take all measures to:
1. Ensure that due process guarantees, and judicial independence are fully respected in the trial of David Castillo, accused of being a co-perpetrator of the murder of Berta Cáceres;
2. Guarantee that an impartial, independent, timely and thorough criminal investigation is carried out to identify and prosecute those who ordered or otherwise had a role in the assassination of Berta Cáceres, including DESA company Board Members, major shareholders from the Atala Zablah family and senior state officials who have been implicated in the crime through state evidence during the present trial in order to guarantee the victims' right to truth and justice[1].[1]
3. Publicly recognize that the defense of COPINH and the rights of the Lenca People, in particular the search for justice in the case of Berta Cáceres, is legitimate and should not be subject to attack and ensure that such recognition is made at the highest level of the Honduran government.
4. Recognize COPINH's role as a victim and private prosecutor in the separate bur related "Fraud on the Gualcarque" case.
5. Ensure that the allegations of attacks on COPINH are investigated in a timely, thorough and impartial manner so that those responsible, both material and intellectual, are brought to justice.
Sincerely,
Amnesty International Canada |
Atlantic Region Solidarity Network |
British Columbia Teachers' Federation |
Canadian Foreign Policy Institute |
Comité pour les droits humains en Amérique latine (CDHAL) |
Fonds humanitaire des Métallos |
Food Empowerment Project |
Green Turtle Counselling and Consulting |
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives |
Mining Injustice Solidarity Network (MISN) |
Mining Justice Action Committee |
National Organization of Retired Postal Workerss |
Plataforma Canada de Guatemaltecxs Exiliadxs |
Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala, Quebec |
Rights Action |
Todos por Guatemala/All for Guatemala Canada |
Individuals |
Andrea Chisholm, ON |
Bev Sellars, BC |
Brisna Caxaj Quebec |
Brisna y Gerry Rowe, Quebec |
Caren Weisbart, ON |
Carole Woodhall, NS |
Catherine Hughes, NS |
Common Frontiers |
Coralie Cameron, Nova Scotia, Canada |
Cory Greenlees, BC |
Diego Mendez, ON |
Dirk Groenenberg, New Brunswick |
Eric Mills, ON |
Harry Smaller, ON |
Jackie McVicar, NS |
Jacqueline Darroch, ON |
Janette Fecteau, Nova Scotia |
Jeremías Tecu |
Joan McFarland, New Brunswick |
Joëlle Gauvin-Racine, ON |
John Liss, Ontario |
Kathryn Anderson, NS |
Kathy Price, ON |
Kristine Johnston, ON |
Laura Avalos, Quebec |
Laura Robinson, New Brunswick |
Lenora Yarkie Alberta |
Lenora Yarkie Alberta |
Linda Scherzinger, NS |
Lisa Rankin NS |
Louis Dupont, Quebec |
Marie-Dominik Langlois, PhD student, University of Ottawa |
Marie-Eve Marleau, Quebec |
Marta Hernandez, ON |
Marvin Cohodas, BC |
Mélisande Séguin, Quebec |
Olivier Spencer, Quebec |
Philippa Strachan Nova Scotia |
R Leitold, NS |
Ruth Leckie, BC |
Tito Medina, ON |
Wayne Mundle, Nova Scotia |
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