Cuban Doctors Lower Cholera Lethality Rate in Haiti

Havana, Cuba, Mar 30.- Cuban doctors working in Haiti have been able to bring cholera lethality down to 0.37 with no deaths from the disease reported in more than two months.

As a result of preventive measures adopted by the Cuban Medical Brigade, who have assisted more than 76,600 people suffering from cholera in the neighboring country so far, the number of cases has been gradually reduced, Granma newspaper reported, noting that on March 26, only 40 new cases were reported,said Granma.  

According to Gonzalo Estevez, the second in charge of the brigade, said Cuban specialists are leading control actions even in the farthest communities of the country, where they test the water for cholera and talk to locals on how to prevent the disease.

Estevez Torres told Granma said in the event of new outbreaks of cholera the brigade implements local measures to prevent the transmission of the disease.  

The Cuban doctors are distributed in 156 health centers across the nation, 67 of which are part of a joint program with Venezuela.

The work of the Cuban medical brigade in Haiti has been commended by local authorities and leaders of other nations, as well as by international organizations.

In a report by Prensa Latina dated March 18, Haiti’s ex-President Jean Bertrand Aristide was quoted as saying in Spanish: “Who knows how many people could have died without their [Cuban doctor’s] help!” “May their light reach others!” Bertrand Aristide made the statement upon returning to Haiti from after been on exile in South Africa for several years.(ACN)

Surging crowd welcomes 'little priest's' return home

Jean-Bertrand Aristide spent nearly seven years in exile.

Photographed by:
KENA BETANCUR REUTERS, The Gazette
Former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned home to Haiti on Friday after nearly seven years in exile in South Africa, promising to serve his country "with love" but making no direct reference to a crucial presidential election just 48 hours away.Aristide landed about 9 a.m. in a private jet, accompanied by his family and an entourage that included actor Danny Glover and other international supporters.
Minutes later, Aristide delivered a speech - at times in French, Spanish and English - in which he criticized the exclusion of his Fanmi Lavalas political party from the election.
"Today, the Haitian people mark the end of exile and coup d'état," he said. "We must move peacefully from social exclusion to social inclusion."
Pandemonium ensued as soon as Aristide's caravan tried to leave the airport. Haitian riot police waved back the surging crowd to clear a pathway. Thousands of Haitians, many of them young men, beat drums and marched through the streets, chanting his name and shouting that he had returned. The crowd appeared to be following Aristide toward his villa.
Aristide's arrival just before Sunday's vote could be a factor in a political contest already roiled by fraud, violence and disorder. Though he will not be on the ballot, some here believe he could sway the contest by showing support for one of the candidates - each of whom has opposed him in the past.
It was Aristide's third dramatic return to Haiti in the past two decades, during which "the little priest" has been a dominant presence in the country's affairs - whether from office or exile.
The former shantytown preacher won a landslide victory to become Haiti's first democratically elected leader in 1991, only to be deposed in a coup seven months later. He was restored in 1994 with help from President Bill Clinton and thousands of U.S. Marines.
Aristide lost a re-election bid in 1996 to former ally René Préval, Haiti's current president, then returned to office from 2001 to 2004, until he was ousted in a rebellion led by former elements of the Haitian army, which Aristide had disbanded. Under pressure from the United States, he fled into exile in Africa, later claiming he was "kidnapped" by American officials.
Both candidates have said Aristide has a right to return to Haiti. But supporters of former first lady Mirlande Manigat seem to be courting Aristide, hanging banners likening his return to the homecoming of "father."
Her opponent, Michel Martelly, a popular singer, could be hurt more by Aristide's arrival, because his popularity has surged lately among Haiti's poorest, whom he has courted with a slick, energetic campaign.
By NICK MIROFF, The Gazette

Aristide arrived in Haiti

Aristide arrives in Haiti, ending seven years of exile

Agence France-Presse

Posted at 03/18/2011 10:16 PM | Updated as of 03/18/2011 10:37 Pm

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (UPDATE) - Former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide arrived back in Haiti on Friday, ending seven years in exile in South Africa and raising fears his return could disrupt crucial weekend elections.
A private plane carrying Aristide, Haiti's first democratically-elected leader, landed at 9:05 am (1405 GMT) in the capital Port-au-Prince, according to an AFP journalist at the airport.
The return of Aristide, still hugely popular in Haiti's swollen slums, comes ahead of a presidential run-off vote on Sunday that could offer some stability to a country reeling from a devastating 2010 earthquake and political turmoil.
The shantytown priest rose to power opposing the Duvalier clan's dictatorial rule and became Haiti's first democratically-elected president in 1991.
After directly challenging the entrenched ruling class, he was ousted by a military coup seven months later but reinstalled in 1994 with the help of 20,000 US Marines ordered in by US president Bill Clinton.
Aristide won a second term in 2001 only to lose favor with the international community as his reforms stalled. He was forced out again by the 2004 rebellion, which is widely thought to have had tacit US approval.
US officials have warned that the three-time leader's return could add to the uncertainty gripping the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, and US President Barack Obama said the timing may be "destabilizing."

Haiti braces for deposed president Aristide’s return as election nears

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Exiled Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide will arrive here Friday from South Africa, according to his attorney, returning less than 48 hours before a runoff vote in a presidential election that has already been marred by fraud and chaos.It was unclear what impact the deposed president’s return would have on Sunday’s vote, seen as a critical step toward jump-starting the country’s rebuilding process after the January 2010 earthquake that killed 200,000 people. But U.S. officials have been so worried about Aristide’s disruptive potential that President Obama spoke with South African President Jacob Zuma this week to express his concerns, according to the White House.Aristide boarded a plane in Johannesburg with his wife, Mildred, the Associated Press reported, and the American actor and political activist Danny Glover. “The great day has arrived!” he said in Zulu, a language he studied in South Africa, the AP reported.
Haiti’s attempt to elect a successor to outgoing President Rene Preval, a former Aristide ally, has been a process as shaky as this city’s cracked buildings. The first round of voting in November was plagued by cheating and widespread voter disenfranchisement, leading to a political crisis that international observers had to sort out through delicate negotiations.
That fragility has foreign observers and many Haitians wary of Aristide’s return so close to Election Day. The priest-turned-politician was the country’s first democratically elected leader in 1991 and remains a revered figure among Haiti’s poorest.
Aristide’s critics, though, say he became increasingly corrupt and despotic before a 2004 rebellion that ended when U.S. officials flew him to exile — an event he later denounced as “a kidnapping.”
Aristide has said he will stay out of politics and wants to return to teaching. But few believe him — not his supporters and certainly not his adversaries.
Aristide’s arrival is expected to stir the country far more than that of former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who returned to Haiti in January after 30 years of exile in France. Duvalier now faces charges of corruption and embezzlement, but his presence here has mostly been met with a shrug by Haitians, many of whom are too young to remember his rule.
Both of Haiti’s presidential runoff candidates are former Aristide opponents, but if Aristide signals support for one of them, he could tilt the contest. The vote Sunday sets popular singer Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly, 50, against Mirlande Manigat, 70, a university professor and former first lady.
At a raucous campaign rally Wednesday night in front of a gas station in this city’s Petionville neighborhood, Martelly said in an interview that Aristide had a right to return home, but that he thought the former president was “trying to create a distraction” for his own political benefit.
“He’s just coming back to create instability,” Martelly said.

By Nick Miroff, Thursday, March 17, 9:34 PM

Danny Glover arrives in South Africa to escort Aristide home to Haiti

 —JOHANNESBURG Actor Danny Glover arrived in South Africa on Thursday to escort former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide home, the politician's lawyer said.

Miami lawyer Ira Kurzban flew to Johannesburg Wednesday to accompany Aristide back to Haiti amid unexplained delays attributed to U.S. opposition.

The star of the "Lethal Weapon" action movies arrived Thursday morning, Kurzban said.

The United States has called for Aristide to put off his departure until Sunday's disputed presidential run-off in his homeland, saying his return would distract voters.

Aristide, who emerged as a leading voice for Haiti's poor in a popular revolt that forced an end to the Duvalier family's 29-year dictatorship, remains Haiti's most popular politician though he has been in exile seven years.

He has said he will not be involved in politics in Haiti and wants to lead his foundation's efforts to improve education in the impoverished Caribbean nation devastated by last year's catastrophic earthquake. Aides say he fears the winner of the presidential elections might reverse the long-awaited decision to allow his return. Both are right-wing candidates long opposed to Aristide.

Glover, who is board chair for the human rights and social advocacy organization TransAfrica Forum, is among several U.S. celebrities who have been pushing for Aristide's speedy return, including politicians Jesse Jackson, U.S. envoy to Haiti Paul Farmer and entertainer Harry Belafonte.

"I am going to South Africa to show our solidarity with the people of Haiti by standing at the side of the leader they elected twice with overwhelming support," Glover wrote on the TransAfrica Forum website.

"People of good conscience cannot be idle while a former dictator (Duvalier) is able to return unhindered while a democratic leader who peacefully handed over power to another elected president is restricted from returning to his country by external forces," Glover said.

Kurzban blamed Aristide's delayed trip on arranging an aircraft. Air charter companies in South Africa said a private jet would cost more than half a million dollars.

South African officials said they are consulting with "interested parties" on the logistics of moving Aristide, his wife and two daughters.

Glover and nine others recently wrote to South African President Jacob Zuma urging him to "assist the Aristides in making their transition as soon as possible" since "all the last remaining obstacles to the Aristides' return have been removed."

By Ed Brown (CP)

Copyright © 2011 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Why does US fear Aristide' s return in Haiti ?

   SUCCESSIVE administrations in Washington have demonstrated an obsession with the presence in Haiti of Jean Bertrand Aristide — whether or not he is functioning as president of that Caribbean nation that languishes in a state of permanent crisis.

Latest example is the unsolicited advice publicly given by the Hillary Clinton-led US State Department that the former popular Roman Catholic priest of the poor, turned politician, should not return to his homeland before this coming Sunday's scheduled second round presidential run-off.

This is quite baffling. What gives the government of President Barack Obama the right — legal or moral — to publicly and presumably privately as well, request him to delay his planned imminent return to his homeland from exile in South Africa?      

Twice elected to the presidency and twice ousted from power in mid-term, with the US Central Intelligence Agency as an accomplice with corrupt Haitian political and military leaders, Aristide was restored to power in 1994, with the use of military force by President Bill Clinton, who has continued to distinguish himself as a stout "friend'' of the people of Haiti.

By 2004, amid orchestrated domestic political turmoil, the Washington administration of President George W Bush was to play a leading role, along with France, in ousting President Aristide from power, against the protestations from the governments of the Caribbean community of which Haiti is a member state.

Aristide was flown into exile on a US military aircraft and following a brief period of political asylum in Jamaica, South Africa became the place of choice for his almost seven years in exile.

When the unprecedented earthquake-triggered devastation of Haiti occurred in January last year, Aristide was lamenting his absence from Haiti and has shown an interest to be back among "my fellow Haitians".

Following the surprise return to the country of ex-dictator Jean Claude Duvalier, Aristide applied for a new Haitian passport and signalled plans to return soon. However, once the passport was delivered he started to experience unexplained complications in official arrangements, including security, to return home.

He felt obliged that he had no interest in becoming involved in the  ongoing political squabbles over the controversial outcome of last November's parliamentary elections which led to violent demonstrations and a necessary second round presidential run-off in the face of documented examples of electoral rigging

Early last month, then US State Department spokesman, Philip Crowley, was to go public with a claim that Aristide's return to Haiti before the second round presidential run-off "would be an unfortunate distraction and the two participating candidates (Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly) should be the focus at this time…"

That contention provoked an immediate protest demonstration from Haitians, including militant activists of Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas  party, who cried "no Aristide, no second round (election)…"

As if bent on pursuing a course of action to deter Aristide — a former legitimate Haitian president forced out of office by the US and allies like France — from returning home before this Sunday's run-off presidential pol — a new State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, has emerged to sound a warning with an even more disturbing overtone.

For Toner, Aristide's return before Sunday's decisive vote, "can only be seen as a conscious choice to impact Haiti's elections", and that Washington was also seeking the cooperation of the South African government to persuade the former president from returning before the March 20 poll.

Why this fear of Aristide's presence at this time?

For seven years Aristide has been in exile. During that period no credible information was provided by either governments in Port-au-Prince or administrations in Washington (Republican or Democrat), that he has a political agenda to disturb the peace (sic) in Haiti, affect the conduct of the presidential run-off and create more problems for that poor nation of endless miseries.

The governments of Caricom should speak, unequivocally, in one voice, on the fundamental right of the former president of Haiti to return to his homeland, whenever he so determines, and that this should not be left to the whims and fancies of a foreign government, in this case one, ironically, headed by President Barack Obama.

It is quite understandable for the Joint Organisation of American States (OAS) and Caricom Mission  in Haiti to have made their public appeal on Monday for a peaceful atmosphere to prevail for Sunday's final presidential run-off, and to have again denounced the political violence that had marred the first-round campaign of last November's parliamentary and presidential poll.

Nevertheless, it is quite strange that Caricom has refrained from commenting on the repeated public calls for Aristide to stay away from Haiti until after Sunday's second round run-off between the 70-year-old former first lady Manigat and 50-year-old pop singer Martelly.

For that matter, why the silence of outgoing Haitian President Rene Preval himself?

Having agreed to Aristide being given the new passport he required, and the former dictator Jean Claude Duvalier, is in Haiti and soon to face court trials for crimes committed, why not a statement of clarification on Aristide's right to return to his homeland, whenever he chooses?

By
Rickey Singh
Story Created:
           Mar 16, 2011 at 12:42 AM ECT 
Story Updated:
Mar 16, 2011 at 12:42 AM ECT

Haiti: Candidates dismiss fears over Aristide

Wednesday, 16 March 2011
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Haiti's two presidential candidates have dismissed concerns that the apparently imminent return of the exiled former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, would disrupt the election, despite a warning from the US State Department that he could be a destabilising presence.
Michel Martelly, a pop singer known as "Sweet Micky", told reporters that he did not think Mr Aristide would influence the vote, although he would prefer that the former president wait "two or three days" and postpone his arrival until after the election.
"He is welcome to come back like Jean-Claude Duvalier did," said Mr Martelly, referring to the former dictator who made a surprise reappearance in Haiti in January. "I hope his return doesn't create instability for the elections."
Mirlande Manigat, a university administrator and former first lady, expressed no misgivings about the return of Mr Aristide, who has repeatedly said during his exile in South Africa that he wants to return home as a private citizen and work as an educator. Ms Manigat seemed even to encourage him.
"President Aristide is welcome to come back and help me with education," she said.
Both candidates have been Aristide opponents in the past. Now, both stress his right to return as a Haitian citizen under the constitution.

Aristide is coming back , before the election , when ?

MIAMI, March 13 (UPI) -- Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is returning to Haiti, his American lawyer says.
Miami attorney Ira Kurzban told CNN Saturday, "He is headed back to Haiti. We don't know when yet, but it will be before the elections.
"He has no interest in meddling or being involved in the election. He has no interest in being involved in politics," Kurzban added.
The presidential runoff is scheduled for March 20.
Aristide, the Caribbean country's first democratically elected president in 190 years, was overthrown in 2004 and has been living in exile in South Africa.
Haiti gave him a new passport in February, but Kurzban said he fears not being able to go home after the election if a new administration revokes his visa.
"He wants to go home. He's been in exile for seven years," the lawyer said. "He wants to get his medical school up and operating given the conditions in Haiti. That's his interest."
Aristide, a former Roman Catholic priest, has charged the United States and other powers were behind his downfall. He repeated his longstanding wish to return after former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier unexpectedly showed up in Haiti in January.
                                       From UPI.COM