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HAITI AND MEDIA “COVERAGE” by Peter Biesterfeld

 Listening to CBC Morning Live's and the National's  reporting on Haiti and the assassination of Moise's assassination. It made me nauseous. I had to scribble an e-mail to a former j-school classmate, now a CBC reporter, Evan Dyer. I copied head of CBC news and the ombudsman. If you find it useful feel free to share it and amplify accordingly:


Hello Evan,

I am writing to express my deep concern about CBC's reporting on Haiti in general and yours specifically re Moise's assassination.
Your reporting is entirely void of context and historical background that would bring some understanding for Canadians.
If CBC News programs were the only source Canadians resorted to on Haiti, the public broadcaster certainly would be remiss by severely damaging the public's right to know.

From the archives, historically Canada has been implicated in Duvalierist corruption: "The planning meeting for the coup d'etat and putting Haiti under trusteeship was organized by Canadian Minister for La Francophonie Denis Paradis. The Ottawa Initiative on Haiti [January 31-February 1, 2003] succeeded in overthrowing the legitimate president as well as 7,000 elected officials from the region's most impoverished country. The elected officials were replaced by bandits such as 'Senator' Rony Célestin." Haitian activist Jean "Jafrikayiti" Saint-Vil source: https://rabble.ca/news/2021/02/canadas-contribution-political-corruption-haiti

"Since Aristide’s government was overthrown in February 2004, Haiti Progrès and Haiti Liberté newspapers have described Canada as an “occupying force,” “coup supporter” or “imperialist” at least a hundred times. Haiti’s left-wing weeklies have detailed Ottawa’s role in planning the coup; destabilizing the elected government; building a repressive Haitian police force; justifying politically motivated arrests and killings; militarizing post-earthquake disaster relief; pushing the exclusion of Haiti’s most popular party, Fanmi Lavalas, from participating in elections." Source: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-real-story-about-canadas-role-in-haiti

Please read: Canadians Apologize to Haiti, 10 years after the coup http://www.apologytohaiti.ca/

Frustration doesn't cover CBC's omission of the facts on the ground and the tepid journalism that doesn't take Canadian officials to task and asks the tough questions needed to hold Canadian governments accountable, Liberal or Conservative. This is reprehensible and this evisceration of the public's right to know undermines the functioning of a healthy democracy. Shame.

'...anyone who follows Haitian politics knows protesters regularly target Ottawa. On October 27, 2019, Molotov cocktails were thrown at the embassy in Port-au-Prince. A tire was also set alight in front of Canada’s diplomatic representation in Haiti. Voice of America reported that protesters “attempted to burn down the Canadian Embassy.” (https://yvesengler.com/category/canada-in-haiti/ ) This reality has never been reported by CBC. Shame.

'The Trudeau government continues to be committed to dictatorship in Haiti. They continue to provide vital policing and other assistance to Jovenel Moïse’s regime as its violence becomes ever more difficult to deny.' (https://yvesengler.com/category/haiti/) Ottawa’s backing for a force to protect Moïse's dictatorship and a highly unequal society goes entirely unreported by CBC. Shame.

Here's hoping that you Evan and your CBC colleagues drop the press release journalism by reporting government claims about its Haiti policies as facts and instead do the deep dive journalism required to hold Canadian governments accountable. That is the public service needed on behalf of Canadians so they can make decisions based on facts.

I was in Haiti in 2010 after the earthquake shooting a doc, we were embedded with an NGO. We got to see the corruption on the ground first hand, how the aid was distributed and how it was not. A Globe and Mail report at the time claimed that Haiti, after decades of NGO 'aid', the country was poorer than it was in 1945. Please do the reading, do the research, report the facts.

I'm looking forward to your response. And I'm hoping that CBC reporting on Haiti will in future be based on research and facts.

Thank you for your time.
Peter Biesterfeld

In the spirit of Mr. Biesterfld’s admonition to amplify we at CP&R offer the following postscript,

Haiti has not had a chance at developing itself as a viable polity since 1825, when the French, with the tacit support of the USA, used warships to extort an agreement to pay 150 million franks in indemnity for having the temerity to revolt against brutal French colonial oppression in 1803 and end slavery. The destructive interference has only worsened over the years, and to our shame, Canada has joined in the pillaging and, of course now the hypocritical hand wringing. Yves Engler offers this kind of critique. (https://yvesengler.com/2021/07/09/the-assassination-of-jovenel-moise/?fbclid=IwAR3vNByUVLyimyYTDRe4GneaY_rxEXcafm22TiILkri-Yc3VUjLuHfegaN8)

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