Aristide's return to Haiti and the elections of March 20, 2011

Flashpoints Senior Correspondent Kevin Pina speaks with Nicole Phillips of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) about the March 20, 2011 presidential elections. He also interviews Haitian journalist Wadner Pierre about Aristide's return and the impact it had on the elections and politics in Haiti.

A Collection of Speeches by Jean-Bertrand Aristide - VIDEO

Aristide Speech - United Nations September 29, 1992 

Considered one of the best speeches delivered by Aristide to the United Nations on September 29, 1992.

Aristide Speech - March 14, 1992

A speech given by President Jean-Bertand Aristide at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Berkeley, CA on March 14, 1992.

Aristide Speech - September 27, 1991 

Few Haitians, scholars and historians have had the opportunity to hear and study the full speech of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on September 27, 1991. The speech was mired in controversy after Raymond Joseph, current Haitian ambassador to Washington D.C. but then Publisher of the right-wing newspaper Haiti Observateur, released a slanted translation. The translation was circulated by Ellen Cosgrove, the political officer of the U.S. Embassy in 1991, to the international press as proof that Aristide supported "pe lebrun" or necklacing with burning tires doused with gasoline. Other translators and scholars have criticized Joseph and the U.S. for that slant countering that Aristide's reference to "tool" and "smell" were colorful Kreyol metaphors describing Haiti's constitution. They say this only becomes clear when heard in the context of the entire speech.

Aristide & Liberation Theology - part 1

Aristide & Liberation Theology - part 2 

Aristide & Liberation Theology - part 3

Fraudulent elections in Haiti, Aristide returning...all this ahead on Flashpoints

Examining the context of the return of ousted Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's return to his homeland after seven years of exile in the Republic of South Africa.

Flashpoints on Pacifica's Senior Correspondent Kevin Pina interviews journalist Ansel Herz on the ground in Port au Prince. Pina also speaks with Ira Kurzban, attorney to ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide about his impending return to Haiti.

Also WATCH Kevin Pina's latest video  

Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits"

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Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits

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Aristide Speech to UN - Sept. 1992

Considered one of the best speeches delivered by Aristide to the United Nations on September 29, 1992, it served to reinforce his reputation as an orator and international statesman. Primarily in French with English translation, the speech is also peppered with Kreyol specifically intended for the large contingent of the Haitian community that attended this session of the United Nation's General Assembly.

Download full text of speech

If Obama can do it then why can't Haiti's Preval?

The heroic and courageous people of Cite Soleil once again took the lead by holding a press conference on Sunday, February 7, 2010 in front of the monument of the Haitian constitution. While denouncing the corruption surrounding the distribution of aid following the massive earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12, their central message was to ask that former president Jean-Berrtand Aristide be allowed to return to participate in reconstruction. They asked a very simple but poignant question, if Obama could reach across party lines to invite Clinton and Bush to work for Haiti during this crisis, then why can't Preval do the same by inviting Aristide to return?

An Open Letter to Our Brother, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Originally published on Rainbow Push: March 04, 2011

An Open Letter to Our Brother, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide

To Our Brother, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide:

We wish to extend to you our full support for your return to your beloved homeland, Haiti.

As people of faith, we know that the road to democracy and justice is not an easy one. These years of enforced exile have been painful – not only for you and your family, but for the people of Haiti. We join the call from all over the world for this exile to end.

The poor of Haiti, those you have represented with such tenacity and dignity over all these years, continue to demand your presence. We hear their voices and we join their call.

In the strongest terms, we urge the United States government to cease its opposition to your return. There can be no democratic development while a democratically elected leader is banished. And there can be no true reconstruction without the participation of the majority of Haiti’s people.

In the aftermath of the terrible earthquake of 2010, your return will provide hope and lift spirits. Please know that when you get to Haiti, we will be there with you.

You are in our hearts and in our prayers.

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Archdiocese of Detroit
Rev. Phil Lawson, Interfaith Program Director, East Bay Housing Organizations
Rev. C.T. Vivian, Civil Rights Activist, Atlanta, GA
Rev. Sir John Alleyne, Church of England, UK
Dr. Amer Araim, Dar-ul-Islam Mosque, Concord CA
Father Roy Bourgeois, Founder, SOA Watch
Kathy Boylan, Catholic Worker, Washington, D.C.
Rev. Dr. Lorenzo Carlisle, Pastor, Faith Healing Prayer Deliverance Christian Center, Oakland, California
Rabbi David J. Cooper & Rabbi Burt Jacobson
Kehilla Community Synagogue*, Oakland California
Sister Maureen Duignan, OSF, Executive Director, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
Father Renaud Francois, Montreal, Canada
Sister Stella Goodpasture, OP, Justice Promoter, Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose
Dr. Jacqueline Grant, Womanist and Director of Systematic Theology, Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, GA
Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler, Senior Pastor, Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, Washington, D.C. and National President, Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice of the United Church of Christ
Father Lawrence Lucas, Our Lady of Lourdes, R.C. Church, Harlem, NY
Rev. Dr. Carolyn McCrary, Womanist and Director of Pastoral Care, Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, GA
Rev. Paul Nicolson, Chair, Zacchaeus 2000, UK
Dr. Itihari Ture, Director of Center for African Biblical Studies, DeKalb County, GA
Mama Zogbe, Chief Priestess, Mami Wata Healers Society of North America
Mamissii Makena Zannu, Priestess, Mami Wata Healers Society
Reverend Doctor Nozomi Ikuta, Interfaith Prisoners of Conscience Project
*for identification purposes only

HAITI NOW: Lecture and film presentation by Kevin Pina

Journalist and film maker Kevin Pina will present his latest documentary Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits at Mills College in Oakland, CA on Wednesday, March 9.  Directions to Mills College can be found here:

Mills College 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland, CA 94613

Pina is an American journalist and filmmaker. He is known for his reporting that focused on human rights abuses in Haiti following the ouster of Jean-Bertrand Aristide on February 29, 2004 and the installation of the interim government of Gerard Latortue and Boniface Alexandre in March 2004. Pina reported on events in Haiti from 2003-2006 as a Special Correspondent for the radio program, Flashpoints, heard on KPFA - the flagship station of Pacifica Radio based in Berkeley, California. Pina is also the Founding Editor of the Haiti Information Project (HIP), a non-profit news agency based in Port-au-Prince and Northern California, and an Associate Editor for the Black Commentator, an online magazine.

For further information contact 510-338-4105