71 Deputies Resolve to Remove the Authority of 4 Government Heads

Photo from defendHaiti.ht

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (defend.ht) - With an affirmative vote from 71 members of the Lower House, a resolution on Friday calls for the immediate resignation of Ministers of Justice and Interior, Joshua Pierre-Louis and Thierry Mayard Paul, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Michel Brunache and the Attorney General in Port-au-Prince, Félix Léger, who are considered directly responsible for the illegal arrest of Deputy Arnel Bélizaire (Delmas & Tabarre/Veye-Yo).

Haitian Lawmaker Released from Prison

 by Wadner Pierre

 41-year-old Haitian Lawmaker, Arnel Belizaire arrested at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport Port-Au-Prince on Nov. 27, 2011 upon his return from participating  at an even in France where he presented other members of the Haitian Chamber of Deputies. Belizaire accused of escaping prison. 

Belizaire's colleagues accused President Michel J. Martelly of being behind of this arrest. They said that the Chief of State is trying to use his executive power to silence his opponents or those who have severely criticized him.

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti: Students Praise Education and Voice It for All

By Wadner Pierre

Part I

Left Dorgilles Wichmie, Melissa Jeonnat, and right Nathalie Jonnat and Jean Michelda.

Reverend Gerard Jean-Juste. Rev. Jean-Juste died two years ago from Leukemia because he was jailed for his political views and was not allowed by the 2004-2006 U.S deposed Gerard Latortue to travel to US to receive early treatment. Jean-Juste's legacy endures amongst the young and old in Haiti. He was [is] like an adoptive father for some people and a mentor to others.

Over eleven years ago, Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste and Margaret Trost, founder of the What If? Foundation, partnered in an effort to bring food and education to children in the Petite Place Cazeau neighborhood of Port-au-Prince.  Through funds provided by the What If? Foundation, thousands of young people have been supported over the years through the community-based food and education programs that Fr. Jean-Juste created.  Today, over two hundred children receive school scholarships, with some going to vocational school, and one thousand meals are served every Monday through Friday. Children are the priority. In the past three years the What If? Foundation has also funded an After-School Program to help students with their homework and provide an opportunity to learn income-producing skills. It has also sponsored a Summer Camp for the past nine years in the area. Five hundred students have attended. Trost said, “All this is only possible because of our wonderful Haitian partners who run the programs with such dedication, courage, and faith.”

Editorial:Nobel Prize Winners from Latin America Demand Withdrawl of all UN Troops in Haiti

UN Brazilian troops patrol the streets of Port-Au-Prince.Photo by 

Wadner Pierre

 By Wadner Pierre

As calls mount in Haiti to demand that UN troops to leave the country, other prominent Latin Americans have raised their voices in sign of solidarity with Haitian people. Nobel Peace Prize laureates Argentinean Adolfo Perez Esquivel and Irish Betty Williams, Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, and Brazilian theologians Leonardo Boff and Frei Betto are among hundreds of organizations and personalities around the world who signed this letter below. The letter is addressed to government of all countries who have troops in the UN mission in Haiti/MINUSTAH, UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council, and the General Secretary of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza.