[Cherizier:] “Let’s become conscious, to unite, to see that this country cannot continue the way it is going, and let’s reconcile, let’s forget what’s happened in the past, let’s figure out how we can get together to fight those thieves, those who are the real problem for the country… Let’s unite to give Haiti a second independence and struggle to lift the nation out of where it is, so that people who look like us stop dying and being victims. That should cause our conscience to revolt. Let’s turn our guns on the true enemy. Let’s put ourselves with people who have the same ideology, who see Haiti and not their pockets. Let’s get together with them and see what we can do to liberate this country.”
[Guy Philippe:] “As Faustin Soulouque [Haiti’s ruler from 1847-1859] said when they threatened to bomb him: ‘To force, I will respond with force’. Today we have an even greater force; it is our will as human beings, it is our will as a people to make the foreigners understand that we are tired of being their slaves. To tell all the thieves in Port-au-Prince, that we are tired of seeing all the ministers, general directors, prime ministers get rich, in two weeks they become millionaires while the our people are floundering in poverty. They are also responsible for a lot of the young men and women taking up arms and killing…”
By tradition, the Haitian head of state makes a speech in Gonaïves on Jan. 1, but Haiti only has a de facto head of government, Dr. Ariel Henry, who deemed it too dangerous to travel to that city, especially when recently repatriated former soldier, policeman, Senator-elect, and “rebel” leader Guy Philippe was speaking there, launching a nationwide revolutionary uprising against Henry.
We’re now in the “calling it a revolution” stage. Can we do a “send money to Haiti” campaign again, but this time to help the anti-imperialist troops?
Is there any socialist sentiment growing there among the rebels or could these be opportunistic forces?
Cherizier at least has repeatedly blamed the national bourgeoisie and foreign power intervention as the source of inequality, poverty and violence in Haiti. His movement also reclaims Che Guevara, but that’s a Latin-American basic. I’ve seen some vague mentions of a broader economic plan of land redistribution, but my weak French and non-existant Creole prevented from getting too deep on it. The linked outlet also seems to have some socialist leanings.
No idea about Guy Phillipe though, at a first glance his movement seems like some sort opportunist “peace” movement for elections.
Even if not properly socialist, it would still be a positive victory against racist colonial imperialism, kinda like Chavez in Venezuela.
I’m not too optimistic about anything good coming out of whatever UN intervention is brewing, I don’t know if these guys would even have a remote chance of doing anything with foreign intervention looming. I’m also not the most optimistic in people quoting Toussaint or Che or whoever it’s not like it’s a particularly high barrier to espouse revolutionary/populist rhetoric, for every Castro who is claiming to be a dignity revolution, but is really trying to do socialism there are 10 despots who are claiming the world and then just end up doing jack shit, I guess we’ll see, it’s not like it could be much worse than the current crop of leadership.
I personally would love to see some campaigning for France to send all that money they stole back, not that it would go into good hands in the current government, but they should still have to pay that cool 20 to 30 billion back with like a million percent interest. Although if Haiti had anti western leadership they would stand a much greater chance of taking that to the ICJ* themselves, they deserve the fucking money back and then some.
Also Russia not vetoing the UN invasion resolution when they wouldn’t have even lost that much face doing it is a bad sign for the international connections of these people.
