NOIRISME = DEMAGOGY
I wil not repeat what I have allready explain to Jafri, the other noiriste of the Web. But I reproduce for you this open letter from Le Nouvelliste's owner.
Enjoy everybody
From : "Max Blanchet"
Subject : An Open Letter to Amy Goodman
Date : Wed, 4 Feb 2004 09:25:07 -0800
Dear Amy,
I listened with interest to yesterday?s interview of Randall
Robinson. As usual, Randall, with his mellifluous voice and
felicitous turn of phrase, came across very well. He did a
particularly good job of conveying the meaning of the saga of Haiti?s
war of independence and liberation and the fact that Haiti has been
put through the wringer in the last two centuries as a result. The
interview quickly unraveled, however, when Randall tackled today?s
situation in Haiti:
1. He dismissed the opposition outright for being led by that
?Lebanese? Haitian, André Apaid. I am compelled to ask the following:
when does one cease to be a Lebanese Haitian to become a Haitian?
Does Randall realize that on Apaid?s father?s side ? the Lebanese or
Syrian (as we say in Haiti) side that is! the family has been in
Haiti for at least three generations? What of his mother?s side, the
Volcy family that can trace its origins to the very genesis of the
Haitian Republic? Could it be that Randall ? himself obviously a man
of mixed descent -- is objecting to Apaid?s mixed ancestry? In this
Randall is echoing the racist, demagogic campaign launched last year
by the party in power against Haitians of mixed and/or Arab ancestry.
That a man who has spent a lifetime fighting racism could raise such
an issue is simply troubling!
2. The opposition is much bigger than Andy Apaid or for that matter
the foreign forces that undoubtedly are playing their typical,
nefarious role on the Haitian scene. The opposition has everything to
do with the fact that the Lavalas government is imploding under the
pressure of its own contradictions, including the widespread
corruption of the regime, its use of murder to rid itself of critics
(for instance, Jean Dominique and Father Tijean Pierre-Louis, to name
these two) and those who stand in its way, the systematic bashing of
the press (including the murder of Jean Dominique and Brignol Lindor,
two prominent journalists) that has forced dozens of journalists to
go into exile, its incoherent economic policy and the selling out of
the country to foreign interests, its leader?s megalomania and the
attendant cult of personality, his scheming to change the
constitution and perpetuate the rule of his family. The tens of
thousands who have been marching (every other day it seems!) in
spite of the brutal attempts by the government to deny them that
constitutional right -- attest to that reality. Prominent political
leaders and former allies such as Ka Plim, Victor Benoit, Micha
Gaillard, Smarck Michel (former PM and Minister of Commerce under
Lavalas,) Jean-Claude Bajeux (former Minister of Culture under
Lavalas,) Raoul Peck (former Lavalas Minister of Culture and director
of Lumumba), Jean Casimir (former Lavalas ambassador to the US during
the years in exile), Camille Chalmers (head of Aristide?s private
cabinet during the years in exile and director of PAPDA
prominent
clerics and former Lavalas partners such as Father Max Dominique,
Father William Smart and Father Samedi; well-known artists such as
Syto Cave and Lolo Beaubrun, leader of Bookman Eksperyans, have all
denounced the regime?s betrayal of the ideals that helped bring it to
power in the first place. Progressive organizations such as CONAP,
Kay Fanm, EnfoFanm, SACKS, SOFA, Tet Kole Ti Peyizan Ayisyen, MPP,
KOREGA, etc. have denounced the regime with equal vehemence.
3. Does Randall not know any of this? Or could it be that Randall?s
stance is simply a reflection of the lobbying activities of his
wife?s firm, Ross?Robinson, on behalf of the Haitian Government since
January of 1995, for which she has received a retainer of $12,500 (as
of 01/06/2003, it was $16,500) per month? (This information is duly
recorded in filings available at the Dept. of Justice Office that
administers the Foreign Agent Registration Act.) As we say in French
?l?argent n?a pas d?odeur? (money does not smell) but the stench of
such transactions is beginning to overwhelm me, even in faraway
California. But what about you Amy? Why could you not challenge him
on some of these issues? Why such deferential treatment given the
gravity of the situation in Haiti, the need to provide your listeners
with solid information (instead of progressive pabulum) on the
goings-on there and the obvious contradictions in Randall?s position?
After all, you are the super duper sleuth who routinely skewers the
folks that appear on Democracy Now! Did you succumb in this
particular case to an acute attack of political correctnessitis? Come
on Amy, you can do much better than that! Not withstanding the above,
keep up the good work and rest assured I will continue to listen to
your program. We all have our lapses after all!
With regards,
Max Blanchet
02-10-04, 11:58 PM
