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While the world¹s eyes fix on former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune -- imprisoned and on a hunger strike to protest 10 months incarceration with no charges against him -- hundreds of other political prisoners crowd more anonymously into Haiti¹s squalid prisons.

Annette Auguste, popularly known as Sò Anne, is among them. Auguste, 63, a folk singer, fierce fighter for democracy and supporter of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was arrested May 10, 2004 by U.S. Marines.
One year ago, U.S. Marines, sent to Haiti after a U.S.-backed coup exiled Aristide, used plastic explosives to enter Sò Anne's house in Port-au-Prince. They arrested Sò Anne without a warrant in the middle of the night, two direct violations of the Haitian Constitution. During the arrest they killed her two dogs and cuffed and hooded all members of her family, including four children under the age of 15.
The Marines initially claimed she was stockpiling weapons in her home -- they found none -- and said she was collaborating with local Muslims in a plan to attack U.S. interests in Haiti. Then the authorities claimed she had participated in witchcraft.
One year later, Sò Anne sits in jail awaiting formal charges. Forty-six organizations across the U.S. and Canada are calling for her release. The Haiti Action Committee has put out a call to mothers and grandmothers worldwide to help free Sò Anne.

Since Aristide was exiled, prisons have been filled to overflowing his supporters. Human rights groups estimate that in the National Penitentiary alone there are 1054 prisoners; most of them are loyal to Aristide, or believed loyal to him. Only nine of them have been tried and convicted of crimes.

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5/5: Update from Brian Concannon

Political prisoner Yvon Neptune, Haiti's last constitutional Prime Minister, lies on the verge of death from a hunger strike, initiated because the de facto Haitian coup government has jailed him for 10 months without formal charges, in violation of Haiti's constitution. The National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR), a widely discredited, USAID funded anti-Aristide group, has accused Neptune of participation in a massacre in the city of St. Marc in February 2004, but the illegal coup government has never offered any proof the massacre actually took place, and U.N. independent expert on human rights Louis Joinet recently dismissed accounts of the massacre.

Neptune has vowed to continue his hunger strike until he is either charged or released. The illegal "interim" regime of Gerard Latortue could easily meet this demand, but refuses. They should therefore concede they have no real case against Neptune and release him from prison. If Neptune is flown into exile, he wants the world to know, it was a kidnapping.

The Insitute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti is asking that people pressure the Interim Government of Haiti to drop the charges against Neptune.

Read More | Democracy Now Report | Green Left Weekly | Haiti Progres | Letter From Neptune On Hunger Strike | Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

This week the Oregon-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti called attention to The United Nations Security Council mission to Haiti slated for April 13-16, 2005.
The IJDH noted, "the Council's agenda is already full with meetings with: 1) officials of the unconstitutional Interim Government; 2) groups that called for the overthrow of the elected government a year ago; and 3) officials of foreign governments that supported the overthrow, or officials of programs financed by these governments."
"All of these groups have a vested interest in the current illegal regime, and cannot effectively represent the vast majority of Haitians who opposed the February 2004 coup d'etat, and are suffering its consequences ."

The IJDH called on activists to exert pressure "to make sure that the Security Council meets directly with poor women, grassroots groups and victims of human rights violations."
Meanwhile, soldiers with the UN mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) continue to work closely with Haitian police conducting brutal raids on the poorest neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.

A recent report from Harvard Law Student Advocates for Human Rights which does not question the legitimacy of the UN presence in Haiti nevertheless concludes, "MINUSTAH has provided cover for abuses committed by the HNP during operations in poor, historically tense Port-au-Prince neighborhoods. Rather than advising and instructing the police in best practices, and monitoring their missteps, MINUSTAH has been the midwife of their abuses. In essence, MINUSTAH has provided to the HNP the very implements of repression. The report also attacked the unwillingness to protect civilians from political violence, saying, "the failure to do so when civilians beg for UN assistance is simply incomprehensible."

IJDH | UN Security Council to meet in Haiti | Shredding Haiti's Constitution: UN Betrayal in Port au Prince | Aristide: "You Call for my Return, I Hear Your Voices"

Father Gérard Jean-Juste and his church, Sainte Claire's Catholic Church, which is located in a poor neighborhood of Delmas, Haiti, have been under increasing attack this week. Fr. Jean-Juste is a prominent activist for peace and justice in Haiti, and spent seven weeks as a political prisoner in October and November 2004. Despite his high profile and the history of politically-motivated attacks against him, the United Nations Stabilization Mission to Haiti (MINUSTAH) declined to respond to his call for help after Friday's attack.

Late at night on Thursday, March 24, Fr. Jean-Juste reportedly surprised an intruder by the back door of the Ste. Claire rectory. The man fled, but later that night neighbors caught a man whom they believe was the intruder, and handed him over to the police. On Friday evening, March 25, men dressed in black in one or more pickup trucks arrived outside Ste. Claire's and started shooting wildly, reportedly with automatic weapons. (Photos and Report) The gunshots and Jean-Juste's response were recorded by independent journalist Kevin Pina and played on Pacifica's Flashpoints radio program that day. He denounced the fact that he was attacked on the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador.

People contacted MINUSTAH on Fr. Jean-Juste's behalf, and were told by top officials that MINUSTAH would send people right away. As of late morning on Saturday, MINUSTAH police had not arrived, although Fr. Jean-Juste reported that a MINUSTAH helicopter did fly over his church in the morning. Meanwhile, Haiti Progres reports that two MINUSTAH troops were killed last week- the first two since the ouster of democratically-elected president Jean Bertrand Aristide. Supporters of Fr. Jean-Juste are asking for people to contact MINUSTAH to ask them to investigate the attacks on him and the church. Read more

Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti | Flashpoints, which airs at 5pm PST on KPFA | Haiti Progres | MINUSTAH

It has been a crime for Haitians to express their solidarity with President Aristide since the February 29, 2004 coup, thousands have been summarily executed in punishment. Those who aren't killed are often put in jail just for expressing their support for Lavalas [Aristide¹s party], even for wearing Aristide t-shirts in peaceful demonstrations. Their continued imprisonment underscores what many see as the US government's disregard for Haiti's people and its constitution, and is evidence of the complete dissolution of freedoms of speech, association and press in Haiti. This situation has kept Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, Minister of Interior Jocelerme Privert, and Lavalas activist Annette Auguste, jailed in miserable conditions along with hundreds of grassroots activists, labor organizers, and residents of poor neighborhoods. The plight of the prisoners, which has been dramatized by Prime Minister Neptune and Minister Privert's recent hunger strike, is urgent. Both Neptune and Privert are now in a UN hospital due to complications from their fasting.

On Monday, March 28th at 4:30PM in San Francisco's UN Plaza, the Haiti Action Committee held a rally at the start of an all-night vigil to call for the restoration of the legitimate government of Haiti, and to protest the continued incarceration of at least a thousand Haitian political prisoners. (Photos | Video) There will be a closing rally on Tuesday, March 29th at 4pm at UN Plaza.

In Haiti, on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 Father Gerard Jean-Juste will lead a peaceful march in commemoration of the 18th anniversary of Haiti¹s constitution. Fr. Jean-Juste, who was arrested without charge and released due to international pressure, has been unrelenting in his solidarity for the political prisoners still in Haitian jails. "With this anniversary of the constitution," Fr. Jean-Juste said, "we call on every Haitian and every person in every nation to help us support our constitution..." Read more

March 9th, 2005: Over 10,000 Lavalas activists demonstrated on Tuesday, March 8 in the populist district of Bel-Air in Haiti¹s capital city, Port-au-Prince. Those assembled marched in solidarity with women whose children or spouses have been killed in recent repression perpetrated in populist sections of the capital. This demonstration was held to mark International Women's Day and, largely due to international outrage over past collusion between UN forces and the Haitian police, received a high level of protection from soldiers of the United Nation Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Dissidents also protested political persecution, and called for the return of constitutional government and the release of all political prisoners.

At a sit-in elsewhere in the city, the coordinator of the Association of Women Victims of the Cooperatives, Margareth Fortuné, denounced the behavior of the "interim" authorities, whom she said limit themselves to making beautiful promises which they never keep. Mme. Fortuné also criticized women who are part of the current government, who she argued are today distancing themselves from the demands of women who are part of the poor majority of Haitians.

Meanwhile, Ronald St-Jean, coordinator of the GDP (Group for the Defense of the Rights of the Political Prisoners) spoke Tuesday of his concern for the physical well-being of Yvon Neptune and Jocelerme Privert, restating his view that the two Lavalas dignitaries and numerous other members of the party are in prison solely for their political opinions. He appealed to the interim government to immediately free the political prisoners as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for on November 22, 2004. Neptune is now in his 17th day of a hunger strike to protest the illegal and unjustified nature of his incarceration, which began nearly one year ago.

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On February 28th, there was a large nonviolent March for Democracy called for the Haitian neighborhood of Bel-Air. Among those who attended were Pere Gerard Jean-Juste and others from St. Clare's Parish. Thousands of people were walking and dancing to the beat of drums, loudly chanting, "Bring Back Titi (Aristide)!!!!" in Creole, French and English; It all seemed like a peaceful unorganized mardi gras parade. The giant moving party continued down Des Cesar Street. The street was packed from side to side with people carrying signs, umbrellas, and handmade cardboard posters all calling for the return of democracy and Aristide. Neighborhood people joined in or clapped and danced from their front steps.

Suddenly, at the corner of Monsiegneur Guillot Street and Des Cesar, there was a loud boom from very close by. People started screaming and running. Another boom, then another. People were down in the street. A big white official looking truck hurtled down the street as the booms continued. Others saw police in black uniforms, helmets, ski masks, and large guns shooting into the crowd. Out on the street a man was down and unconscious. Fr. Jean-Juste knelt over him and prayed. Down the street others were carrying injured people on their backs. Early reports document several people shot, at least one killed.

Read More | Chaos and Bloodshed Grip Haiti One Year After the Coup | A Look Back at the U.S. Role in the Overthrow of Aristide | HaitiAction.net