On July 29th, the Commander of the Canadian
Forces contingent in Haiti, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Davis, acknowledged
to a well-attended media teleconference call that at least 1,000 people
had been killed in Port-au-Prince since February 29 th . He also
acknowledged that occupying forces took part in a massacre of between
40 to 60 Lavalas civilians in the neighbourhood of Belair on March
12th.Neither of these events merited mention in subsequent news
reports. On the contrary, the Toronto Star headline read "Haiti mission
called success: shops open, children smiling." This is consistent with
other illusions presented to the Canadian public to characterize the
performance of Canadian Forces in Haiti. On July 29, new Minister of
Defence Bill Graham said, ominously, "Our mission in Haiti was
instrumental in bringing peace and stability to this troubled country."
Many people including eyewitnesses told the Quixote Center Emergency
Observation delegation to Haiti, March 23 to April 2nd, that as many as
70 people were slain on March 12 during the events that were described
to the delegation as the "Belair Massacre." [more]
Charles Boylan Interviews Haitian activist Jean Saint-Vil, July 16, 2004 [more]
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