U.S. Gvt. Channels Millions Through National Endowment for Democracy to Fund Anti-Lavalas Groups in Haiti

Amy Goodman, Democracy Now:

We take a look at Haiti, which is preparing for upcoming national elections. Independent Canadian journalist, Anthony Fenton, joins us to discuss the National Endowment for Democracy - the US government-funded group - that is pouring millions of dollars into trying to influence Haiti's political future. [includes rush transcript] Nearly two years after the overthrow of President Jean Bertrand Aristide, Haiti will be holding national elections next month. Former President Rene Preval, a Aristide ally, is leading in the polls. Meanwhile, a judge has dropped the most serious charges against jailed priest Gerard Jean Juste. Jean Juste was imprisoned in July over the murder of journalist Jacques Roche - killed while Jean Juste was in Miami. After Jean Juste's arrest, Haitian officials prevented Lavalas - the political movement aligned with Aristide - from registering him as their presidential candidate, on the grounds he was imprisoned. Although he has been cleared in Roche's murder, authorities say Jean Juste will remain in prison over weapons charges. Amnesty International calls him a prisoner of conscience. Calls for his release have intensified with the recent announcement he's been diagnosed with leukemia.

Meanwhile, violence continues to affect Haiti's poorest areas. Last week, two Jordanian troops with the UN mission were killed in a gun-battle in the poor neighborhood of Cite Soleil. Local residents later reported UN troops had shot at a hospital in the area. UN troops have stepped up armed raids on Cite Soleil amid pressure from business leaders and foreign officials.

We want to continue our Haiti coverage leading up to the election by looking at the activities of a government-funded organization that is pouring millions of dollars into trying to influence the country's political future. The National Endowment for Democracy is one of a handful of state-funded groups that have played a pivotal role in the internal politics of several Latin American and Caribbean countries in the service of the US government.

The NED operates with an annual budget of $80 million dollars from U.S. Congress and the State Department. In Venezuela, it's given money to several political opponents of President Hugo Chavez. With elections underway in Haiti, it's reportedly doing the same to groups linked to the country's tiny elite and former military.

Last week Democracy Now! interviewed Anthony Fenton about NED's activities in Haiti and across the Caribbean and Latin America. Fenton is an independent journalist and co-author of the book "Canada in Haiti: Waging War On The Poor Majority." He has interviewed several top governmental and non-governmental officials dealing with Haiti as well as leading members of Haiti's business community. Last month, he helped expose an NED-funded journalist who was filing stories for the Associated Press from Haiti. The Associated Press subsequently terminated its relationship with the journalist.

* Anthony Fenton, independent Canadian journalist and co-author of the book "Canada in Haiti: Waging War On The Poor Majority." He will be posting leaked NED documents on Haiti at www.inthenameofdemocracy.org -- a new group dedicated to monitoring government-funded "democracy-enhancement" projects.

Related coverage: Did the Bush Administration Allow a Network of Right-Wing Republicans to Foment a Violent Coup in Haiti?

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