The Canada Haiti
Action Network (CHAN) says the
November 28 election is another example of that interference.
"We agree with
the human rights groups, like the Institute for Justice
and Democracy in Haiti, Bureau des avocats internationaux in Port au Prince and
the LAMP For Haiti foundation, who said that the ongoing
humanitarian crisis, the exclusion of Fanmi Lavalas and other parties from the
election, and the absence of an adequate electoral administration precluded the
holding of a fair and democratic election," said Roger
Annis, a spokesperson for CHAN.
"Despite the
warnings, Canada, the U.S. and Europe charged ahead and bankrolled the election
with more than $25 million," he said. "Many Canadians are aghast at what they
wrought."
Kevin Edmonds of
Hamilton served as a volunteer observer of the election for one week with the
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. He and Mr. Annis co-authored a
December 1
Toronto Star op-ed article headlined, "Don't blame Haitians for
election fiasco."
"Yes, we saw
terrible things on election day," said Edmonds. " But when you disenfranchise so many
people from their political process, you can't blame them for the ugly mess that
results."
Jean St-Vil, a
Haitian-born spokesperson in Ottawa for CHAN, said, "Haiti's 2010 election is like a multiple
choice exam where a cynical class master, in this case the foreign overseer,
motivates his class to chose wisely, while knowing full well he has ruled out
the one correct answer: none of the above."
CBC
is reporting that Haiti will soon face a `tsunami' of
cholera spread. "Why," asks Mr. Annis, "has it taken six weeks since the cholera
outbreak for the Canadian Red
Cross, Canada's quasi-governmental
responder, to establish a new field hospital for treatment and
prevention?"
"Humanitarian
needs are not being met on a vast scale in Haiti and few politicians in Ottawa seem concerned."
The group says
much of the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Haiti can be traced to the aid embargo against
the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected in 2000 and its overthrow in
February 2004 with backing from the U.S., Canada and France.
Since the
earthquake, Canada has
committed at least $58 million to equipping Haiti's police
and prisons.
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