Haitians, peace activists denounce plan for another US-backed intervention

As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Thursday in Ottawa to discuss a possible multilateral invasion of Haiti in the name of restoring “stability,” Haitian and anti-war voices denounced the prospect of yet another U.S.-backed intervention—which they say will bring the opposite of stability to the crisis-ridden nation.

The Biden administration is seeking a nation to lead a rapid-deployment international military force, an intervention backed by the United Nations Security Council and requested by de facto Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry to quell the gang violence that has spiked since last year’s presidential assassination, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, and a hurricane that devastated much of the deeply impoverished nation.

While some Haitians—especially elites—and the U.S. corporate media push for armed intervention, other Haitians and peace activists have taken to the streets and to social media to condemn any new invasion.

“The U.S. wants another country to invade Haiti on its behalf to put down protests against the U.S.-installed government. They’re also ready to make it happen with or without U.N. approval,” tweeted the women-led peace group CodePink on Thursday. “The entire world must demand #HandsOffHaiti right now.”

In a recent interview with Democracy Now!, Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said that Haitians “are saying no to an invasion, no to armed invasion from the international community, because every time there is the so-called ‘help’ invasion, that people go to Haiti, it results in chaos.”

Madame Boukman, a prominent Haitian political commentator, recently tweeted that “U.S.-style ‘humanitarian’ intervention is like a massive blow to the spine.”

“It has completely paralyzed Haiti’s development,” she added. “Haitians call for a localized, Haitian solution based on the principles of self-determination.”

Each time the United States has invaded or backed intervention in Haiti—the only nation born from a successful slave revolt—it has cited the restoration of order and stability as its pretext.

The U.S., which had coveted Haitian territory since the 19th century, used civil unrest sparked by a gruesome presidential assassination to justify a 1915 invasion and subsequent 19-year occupation.

In related Haiti news, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and 15 colleagues—including progressives Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—this week urged the Biden administration to “immediately extend and re-designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti,” a move that would allow Haitians currently in the United States to remain in the country until conditions improve in their homeland.

Haiti’s current TPS status is set to expire in February 2023. The Biden administration has deported tens of thousands of Haitian asylum-seekers—many of whom report human rights abuses by U.S. immigration authorities—despite the grave humanitarian situation in the country.

Originally published at Commondreams.org.