WASHINGTON -- February 28 -- Advocates of democracy and human rights across the U.S. and Canada are organizing protest marches, pickets, and civil disobedience actions Monday that will focus on Haiti, where democratically-elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide was ousted in a coup on February 29 last year. Organizers hope to raise awareness of the ongoing human rights crisis in Haiti following the January release of a report by the Center for the Study of Human Rights documenting the Haitian National Police's extra-judicial killings in the slums around major cities and the imprisonment of hundreds of people in overcrowded cells for indefinite periods. Protests will include a civil disobedience action by Bishop Thomas Gumbleton and Haiti activists in Washington, D.C., marches in San Francisco and Minneapolis, and demonstrations in Boston, Ottawa, and Vancouver, Canada. The protests will cap off a week of international events and advocacy around Haiti called "Haiti Solidarity Week."

Protest locations, times, and contacts:

Washington, D.C.: 11:30 a.m., 16th and H Streets, NW
Contact: Eugenia Charles-Mathurin, Fondasyon Mapou, 301-537-8162
Eugenia Charles-Mathurin: "It's been one year since the coup, nothing has changed. The situation has worsened, indicating that the U.S., France, and Canada have truly made a big mistake in violating the Haitian constitution and the people's vote. Given the climate of insecurity, it is imperative that democracy must be restored. That must include the physical return of President Aristide to organize elections and facilitate the country to move forward."

San Francisco: 4:30 p.m., UN Plaza, Hyde Street
Contact: Leslie Fleming, Haiti Action Committee, 510-558-0371, or Ben
Terrall, 415-861-4116
Ben Terrall: "That the illegal occupation of Haiti has gone on for a year is stunning given the Bush administration's claim of being committed to democracy. Once again bloody realpolitique has trumped the basic rights of the Haitian people."

Boston: 7 p.m., Harvard Square
Contact: Javi Salazar, 617-432-5265
The February 28th vigil will be drawing attention to the fact that temporary protective status (TPS) is desperately needed for Haitian immigrants in the U.S. While TPS is needed for Haitian immigrants who are already here, we also want to highlight the deteriorating human rights situation in Haiti -- the serious lack of security that has led to the critical need for TPS.

Minneapolis: 4:30 p.m., Federal Plaza, 300 S. 4th Street
Contact: April Knutson, Haiti Justice Committee of Minnesota,
612-823-5989, or Bruce D. Nestor, Haiti Justice Committee, 612-659-9019
April Knutson: "We want the press the "START SEEING HAITI!"; to document the murderous events taking place under the de facto occupation of the United States and Canada."

Ottawa: 1 p.m., Parliament Hill
Contact: Kevin Skerrett, Ottawa Haiti Solidarity Committee, 613-864-1590
Kevin Skerrett: "Canadians have been misinformed about our Government's policy and actions in Haiti, and the misinformation continues. Not only is it increasingly clear that President Aristide was overthrown in a coup d'etat, but the horrific results of this action are now being felt by the most vulnerable parts of the population."

Vancouver: 1 p.m., United States Consulate, 1075 West Pender Street
Contact: Anthony Fenton, Haiti Solidarity B.C., 604-506-3309
Anthony Fenton: "One month after Haiti's democracy was overthrown, the Bush Administration asked the Canadian government to 'take the lead' in Haiti because the empire was over-stretched in Iraq and Afghanistan. More and more Canadians are attentive to this and are rightly denouncing the criminal role of their government in Haiti, where they are brazenly propping up an illegal and genocidal regime."

See the Haiti Solidarity Week calendar of events online:
http://www.quixote.org/hr/campaigns/hsw-2005/body/hsw%20events.php

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