Indoor Rally in Brooklyn to Premiere New Video of Haiti Coup

On the 1st anniversary of Haiti's latest coup d'état and for the first time in New York, the Haiti Support Network (HSN) and the Lavalas Family party present a special advance screening of excerpts from Haiti: The Betrayal of Democracy, a soon-to-be-released documentary by journalist/filmmaker Kevin Pina.

The film will be shown on Sunday, February 27 at 5 p.m. at Clara Barton High School, 901 Classon Avenue, in Brooklyn. Mr. Pina, who lives in Haiti, will speak after the projection.

The film will present graphic footage of events leading up to and following the February 29, 2004 kidnapping and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, including the fierce repression which has met mass demonstrations opposing the coup and the ensuing foreign military occupation of Haiti.

Speakers from the HSN will give an update on what has happened in Haiti since a commando unit attacked the national penitentiary last week, after which hundreds of prisoners escaped.

Lawyer Tom Griffin, the author of an explosive new human rights report on Haiti, will also speak about his investigation and make a media presentation.

Ben Dupuy, secretary general of the National Popular Party (PPN), and Mario Dupuy, a member of the Lavalas Family party's Communications Commission, will offer analyses of the situation in Haiti, along with speakers from the ANSWER Coalition and the International Action Center.

Performer Marguerite Laurent will bring poetry and dance to the evening, while Eddy Francois, lead singer of the rasin group Boukan Ginen, will sing with the beloved Haitian choir Voix et Tambours d'Ha*ti (Voices & Drums of Haiti).

"As we rally in Brooklyn, the repression in Haiti is getting worse daily," said Serge Lilavois of the HSN. "Dozens of people are being killed, disappeared or jailed illegally every day. We are going to hold high the flame of resistance through rallies like Sunday's until we can turn back the February 29th coup, just as we defeated the September 30, 1991 coup in Haiti."

Clara Barton High School is a traditional venue for the Haitian community's democracy rallies since the days of the Duvalier dictatorship. It can be reached by the 2 or 3 train to Brooklyn Museum. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or in advance in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and New Jersey. More information is available from the Haiti Support Network at 718-434-8100.