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