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Haitian
American Political Action Committee 26
Regis Road, Boston, MA 02126 (617)
298-0357 February 8,
2004 George W. Bush President White House Washington,
D.C. Dear Mr.
President: On
behalf of the Haitian American Political Action Committee, a New
England-based political organization engaging in civic education and
voter registration, I am sending this letter to express my concerns
about the most recent violent events in Haiti. Armed thugs have
attacked several police stations and
murdered police officers in uniform in the line of duty.
These actions are outrageous and provoke the indignation of
the civilized world. Mr. President,
while Haitian-Americans in the U.S. are mourning the death of the
fallen police officers and other civilians during the latest bloody
events in their homeland, there is disturbing news reports from
several of Haiti’s media outlets aimed at linking your
administration to the wave of violence in Gonaives, the fourth
largest city in Haiti. Based on public
statements made by leaders of the gunmen and their spokespersons in
the U.S., the type of weapons and ammunition, the distribution of
U.S. dollars and U.S. flags in the most impoverished neighborhood of
Rabotto and other towns predominantly controlled by the rebels,
yield strong assumption of U.S. involvement in Haiti’s violent
crisis. Coincidentally,
there are indications that the rebels are also receiving financial
and logistic support from friends and supporters of Jacques Ketant
42, a powerful drug leader who was arrested in Haiti and brought to
justice in the U.S. as a result of President Aristide’s dedication
to cooperate with the U.S. in the fight to stop drug smuggling from
Haiti to Florida. A confidential
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) report revealed that Haiti is "a
major transshipment point for cocaine traffickers" who are
funneling drugs from Columbia and the Dominican Republic into the
United States. The DEA report also revealed that the drug
trafficking, which is bringing one to four tons of cocaine per month
into the U.S. [or 12-48 tons per year], worth $300-$500 million
annually. Haitians fear
that a victory of these Columbian/ Haitian drug dealers, gang
members and political party coalition movement to overthrow the
elected president of Haiti will give birth to a terrorist state
where the drug lords prevail. The victims of this drug flow in Florida resulting our
neglecful policy toward Haiti, will be our sons and daughters. As the
chairperson of an independent
organization that has supported many of the Republican Party’s
ideologies and values and endorsed many Republican candidates in the
past, I am urging your administration to take significant steps to
stop this bloody civil war in Haiti.
As the most
powerful leader of the world community, your failure to help
resolving this problem in your own backyard is an embarrassment to
your fellow Republicans, your friends and supporters and may become
an important issue in the presidential campaign. We have a
responsibility to encourage the Haitian war lords to solve their
differences peacefully by concensus building and through democratic
elections. Thank you for
your anticipated cooperation in this matter. Sincerely, Jacques Dady
Jean Chairperson Haitian-American
Political Action Committee Cc/ Secretary
of State Gen. Colin Powell, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge
(R), Massacusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R), Senator John McCain,
(D), Senator Ted Kennedy (D), Senator John Kerry (D), Senator
Hillary Clinton (D), CNN, Boston Globe, Boston Herald
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