ham lui Policy 01 Fore. d ' ,
R patrl nen Ignore Hu'man
Plight 01 H Itia�.R lu
Nt York Times. Ju e 1-1, 1992
, About 90 Haitians were' reported to have died. at
sea on Sunday when- their small boat capsized and
sank about 20 miles to the north of the capital
[Port-Au-Prince, Haiti]. .... "
New York Times, July 22, 1992
- "in the period immediately following the
coup, massacre and widespread killings were the
order of the day. Since then, techniques have
become more refined more refined but similarly
brutal. Selected assassinations, disappearances,
severe beatings and political arrests continue."
_. " ommon people are arrested merely for hav­
ing photographs of President Aristide in their homes
or f r the possession' of pro- Aristide li,terature.�'
ptember 30, 1991: President Jean·
Bertrand Aristide is ousted by a military
coup after seven months as Haiti's first
democratically elected leader.
he State Departrnenr 's claims that
Haitians returned to their homeland do
not have "a well-founded fear of persecu­
tion" is simply contrary to the findings' of the
human right� experts who have assessed the
situation.
frican Americans and others from across
the country will come together on
September 9, 1992 to demonstrate our
utragc at the unconscionable policy that President
Bush has directed toward Haitians. Over 38,000
have bec� forcibly returned to the land of political
persecution, torture and killings.
America 'Watch National Coalition for Haitian
Refugees and Physicians for Human Rights, in
Retttr1l to the Darkest Days: Hlfman RiBhts in Haiti
Since the Coup, December 31, 1991, report that: .
DeS£IUP r 3, 1991 : ... Federal judge issues
preliminar y injunction against forced
.' repatriation. '.' .... :':.:;::: :.'.
January al. 1�92: j�.s. Supreme Court
dissolves injunctions, Within hours, the
U.S. Coast Guard resumes repatriating
Haitian.
I f this were not cruel enough, on May 24, 1992,
President Bush blocked all Haitians from exercising
their legal right to seek asylum in the United States
by instructing the Coast Guard to pick up Haitians
at ca and return them immediately to Haiti,
February 27, 1992: The U.S. House of
Representative votes t<? delay repatriation
of all Haitians in the U.S. for six months.
Critics charge that fewHaitians would ben­
efit, . Since most .had already been sent· back
. . :�i:t;�· >:<; .!. . ;t'·:/.·.:: / ..... : i •...... '
. :::::M"'y:24? 1992":. th{}�u�b A��i�i�t��tion
'-:;annoUnces' that it wHffeturn Haitian asylum
seeke�s without a hearing on their claims for
refugee status. :::>.
Iuly, 1992: Of the more than 38,000
Haitian who have sought refuge in the
U.S., morethan 24,000 have been forcibly
returned. The 11,000 Haitians who have
been "screened in" for initial processing of
.:: -. :: Jb�lr claims .face .gr��t·.·risk of expulsion in
:.:::;: ;:th¥ -, �om1l1g m91��h�;.J�rilis$ JJ�S .. policy is
'i;\��!�' ;" :.; j :;1;;:;;>;:'·': '.\: .•.... , .....
- "Entire neighborhoods, particularly in the
poor and populous shantytowns of Port-Au- .
Prince and across the countryside that voted for
Aristide almost· unanimously, have been targeted
-for particularly brutal and concentrated attacks.".
- "the army has hunted down a broad range
of people perceived as threatening its aspirations
to power, Some of these were marked as Aristide .
upportcr � Other were deemed to resist military
rule, But such open opposition was hardly neces­
ary to become the army's victim. Many of those
targeted were nothing .rnore than members of
popular organizations."
* See also Haiti: The Humqn RWzts Tragedy,·
Human RiDhts Violqtions Since the CoHl, Amnesty
International, January 1992. .
The 11,000 Haitians who made it through the
initial reening al 0 fac great ri k, bccau.se even
they will face expulsion in the coming months.
.We need to make sure that every Haitian who
eeks political asylum has �n opportunity to leave
their country and receive a free and fair hearing.
WHAT YOU:
CAN DO NOW'
TransAfrica and the NAA·CP ar� u'lling. Congress
to act before final adjournment in October.
WE UPPORT:
*
Temporary Protected Status for Haitians
presently in the U.S. This is the same protec­
tion offered in the past to Cubans,
Vietnamese, Hungarians and Chinese stu­
dents. H.R. 5267, introduced by Rep. John
Conyers (D-M,I), would accomplish this.
An end to the forced return of Haitian
refugees without benefit of hearings on their
claims to political asylum. H.R. 5360,
introduced by Rep. Stephen Solarz (D- NY)
and ·.2826, introduced by en. Edward
Kennedy (D-MA) deserve bro. i support,
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RESPONSE FORM-Please Print
N�E: ��-------- �------------�--�---
ADDRESS: � � ___
TELEPHONE: ( __ ) -=-- _
*
1) Are you committed to changing U.S. foreign policy towards Haiti by participating in the civil diso
dience campaign on September 9, 1992, in Washington, D.C.? Yes __ No __ . .
2) Are you willing to be arrested in front of the White House in protest of U.S. policy towards Haitians?
�s No .
* .
Strengthen sanctions against the illegal mil­
itary regime, including restrictions on visas
to the U.S. and freezing assets owned by
Haiti's elite who backed the coup.
3) Please make a contribution to the Haiti Campaign .. Please enclose a check in the.amount of
__ $100 __ $50 __ 20 __ Other (Make checks payable to NAACP Haiti Campaign)
Tear off and mail form to: Haiti Carnpai n NM P National Office, 4805 Mt. Hope Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215.