Haitians defy ban on protests, turning out en-masse to support Aristide when he was summoned to appear in Martelly's secret court this week for questioning.

This is one to watch. Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide would easily win another election to return as president in 2016 if democracy were permitted by the United States. US Marines kidnapped him when he was serving as leader of the Lavalas Party and president in 2004. It was the second time they overthrew his government, the first in 1991 a year after he was elected president with 67 percent of the vote. He was re-elected in 1994 and served as president until 1996. He was elected a third time in 2001 only to be overthrown again in 2004 by a US-backed coup, kidnapped by US Marines and flown out of Haiti to South Africa in a US military aircraft - against massive protests by the Haitian people,

2011 Presidential Election

In 2011 the US permitted Aristide to return home to Haiti in the face of massive protests before the 2011 presidential election when he was prevented from running as a candidate. In the first round of the election, Michel "Sweet Mickey" Martelly received only 21.84 percent in the first round of voting but he "won" the fraudulent election in a second runoff with a greater percentage. His campaign was conducted by Osta & Sola, a Spanish public relations firm and funded by the U.S., Canada and Europe to the tune of $29 million. Osta & Sola also managed the stolen 2006 presidential election in Mexico when Felipe Calderón won by a half percentage point after boxes of ballots were dumped in areas of Lopez Obrador electoral base and the government denied a recount. Voter registration for Haiti's 2011 election was partial for the first round of voting on Nov. 28, 2010 and no additional registration was permitted for the second round vote on Mar. 20. But the NYT called Martelly's win a "landslide," calling him, "a rebellious son bent on shaking up the establishment."

Martelly, Night Club Singer, Stripper, President

"Sweet Mickey" Martelly in a performance prior to becoming president of Haiti.

The only "establishment" that Martelly shook up were the democratic institutions of Haiti. Martelly was clearly Washington's choice for the 2011 presidential election, not that of the Haitian people, evidenced by the many and ongoing protests since 2011. Before becoming president, Martelly moved back and forth between Miami and Haiti. He was a night club singer-stripper and “favorite of the thugs who worked on behalf of the hated Duvalier family dictatorship before its 1986 collapse.” The Duvalier dictatorship was directly involved in the overthrow of Aristide. During that period, Martelly publicly proclaimed his friendship for Lt. Col. Michel François, a US-trained officer, then chief of Haiti's hated secret police with whom Martelly participated in the death squads organized by François to hunt down and murder leaders and members of Aristide’s Lavalas party. Our own brief experience with the Martelly regime took place when Axis of Logic purchased and organized a shipment of 9,000 litres of potable water, sent from Venezuela to Haiti in January, 2012, Martelly's consul to Venezuela attempted to divert the shipment and pocket the funds during our meeting with UNISUR in Caracas.

MINUSTAHA, the UN control device

Although Aristide has kept a low profile since his return home, the great majority of Haitian people continue to support him to this day and there is little doubt they would elect him in the next presidential campaign slated for 2016. Meanwhile US forces via the infamous MINUSTAHA (UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti) are busy building a police state, increasing a national police force from 10,000 to 15,000 to control the people's popular movement and the outcome of the 2016 election. MINUSTAH's UN "peace-keeping force" in Haiti became infamous for sexual assaults on children and introducing cholera to Haiti following the devastating earthquake in 2010.

Haitians provide safe passage for Aristide's appearance in court

The latest effort to prevent the people from electing Aristide may be the Martelly regime's calling Aristide to answer questions in a secret meeting in Port-au-Prince on the killing of Jean Dominique, a Haitian journalist in 2000. This was Aristide's first public appearance since the 2011 election and thousands of Aristide's supporters defied a government ban against protests, turning out to support Aristide, denouncing the corrupt Martelly regime. It was the largest demonstration against the Martelly regime this year. The Haitian people fear this summons for Aristide to "answer questions" in Martelly's secret court inquiry may be groundwork to prevent him from running in the 2016 election. Haitian citizen, Jean Cene stated, "We hope this isn't political, that the government isn't using the Jean Dominique case so Lavalas can't qualify for the elections.'' Defiant, heroic Haitians sang pro-Aristide songs, carried photos of him in the street and pledged to escort him safely from his home to the court and back. Some carried posters that read, "The more you persecute him, the more we love him."

We think It's a safe bet that there is more to the Martelly regime's summons of Aristide to testify in a secret court appearance than only a criminal investigation of the killing of a journalist in the year 2000. Having overthrown 2 popular Aristide-led governments in the past, prevention of a third in 2016 is surely a priority in the US State Department.

Biography, Essays and Poetry by Les Blough