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Indybay Feature

SFGate has fomer State Dept Diplomat covering Haiti

by Jeb Sprague
SFGate has fomer State Dept Diplomat covering Haiti
formerstate.jpg
This is in regards to the SFGate article, titled "Haiti more violent as election nears” former U.S. diplomat (worked for the U.S. Department of State) Edward M. Gomez. The article was published January 19th, 2006. You can view it at http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=15archive/&entry_id=2613

I want to say I thought this was one of the most dishonest articles I have seen lately written on Haiti.

It totally ignores the fact that the Group 184 and so many of these other "NGOs" and "CSOs" are receiving tens of millions of dollars in "democracy promotion" funding from USAID, CIDA, NED, UNOPS, etc..... It totally ignores the role of the US, Canada, and the group 184 in overthrowing the democratically elected government (not just aristide, but thousands of elected officials along with him) in Feb. 2004.

It also makes no mention of the thousands of Haitians in Cite Soleil and other poor areas who have been murdered by the Haitian National Police (with former FRAPH and death squad members back in it) and the UN Jordanian/Brazilian contingents. Quoting Le Monde's statement that the "kids" in Cite Soleil are fighting because they are on "crack" seems ridiculous, when he makes no attempt at exploring the context behind the violence.


Mr. Gomez, (much like Carrol T. Williams of the Los Angeles Times and Kathie Klarreich of TIME) provides no context behind the violence in Cite Soleil. When the people in Cite Soleil have attempted to march peacefully down the street in demonstration against the Coup and occupation, the Haitian National Police have shot them in the back. Have Mr. Gomez, Ms. Klarreich, or Ms. Williams ever interviewed poor people in Cite Soleil or viewed the footage of the massacres???

Reed Lindsay reported recently on Democracy Now that in the Cite Soleil nearly all the injured people are claiming that the UN shot them. Is "crack" the best context he can find for the violence in Haiti? Film and Photographic evidence proves the ongoing massacres and attacks on the poor and supporters of democracy in Haiti.

Hundreds of photos and a large amount of footage now document the evidence of these massacres and attacks. I hope you will take the time to look at Tom Griffins Human Rights report at http://www.law.miami.edu/cshr/CSHR_Report_02082005_v2.pdf

Will the SFGate allow a response to Mr. Gomez' extremely biased piece to appear in the SFGate?

Much of the "democracy promotion" funding has been routed through Mr. Gomez' former employer, the U.S. State Department. I think this bears a conflict of interest in his piece for your article, especially upon examining his omissions. Much like the recent Canadian reporter Regine Alexandre who was writing for AP and a stringer for the New York Times, while being employed by the State Department grantee the NED (national endowment for democracy), this reporter has a clear conflict of interest.

I hope the SF Gate will allow a response to this more fiction-than-fact piece.
Hopefully more will be revealed as to the nature of the SFGate and TIME ignoring of the massive funding relationship of CSOs and NGOs in Haiti by the U.S. State Department and the ongoing wave of massacres.


Jeb Sprague
Graduate Student



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Comments (Hide Comments)
by mag
There has been a concerted effort in the established media in the US and abroad to criminalize the vast majority of Haitian people fighting for their human and civil rights. While the established media is busy manufacturing consent, the leaders of Fanmi Lavalas are either dead or rotting in jail under vague "criminal charges" and the UN "peacekeepers" or better yet UN highly trained killers/assassins are indiscriminately killing the poor.

By portraying the vast majority of Haitian people as "bandits/chimeres/drug addicts" they intend to further desentized the average person to their plight. After all, we Haitians are nothing but poor black HIV infected people living in less than 2 dollars a day.

by yeah
a minor victory..
see his blog today he posted information on griffins report and other info.
by mag
People masquerading themselves as "leftist" in other to better destroy Haiti
by mag
They will give you small victory... something to celebrate.

Better yet, they'll appear as if they are being "fair and balanced" so that next time they are embarked/engaged in their smear campaign to destroy Haiti, they'll have managed to bring not only the average person on their sides but also the more skeptic ones
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