A 'Peace-Keeping' Force Immigration Won't Aid Haitian People Pact
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As we go to press: THE Where we stand in circulation and fund campaigns. See pages 6, 7. A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE VOL. 51/NO. 45 DECEMBER 11, 1987 $1.00 Cuba-U.S. A 'peace-keeping' force immigration won't aid Haitian people pact BY SUSAN LaMONT renewed Calls for military intervention in Haiti have been raised since the November 29 BY MARGARET JAYKO presidential elections in that country were The recent agreement between Havana canceled by Gen. Henri Namphy, head of and Washington to reinstate an immigra Haiti's U.S . -backed military government, tion pact originally signed in 1984 commits in the wake of violence by armed thugs Washington to allowing up to 27,000 Cu aimed at stopping the elections. bans to emigrate legally to the United On November 30 Walter Fauntroy, con States each year. gressional delegate . from Washington, The Justice Department will also renew D.C., called for an international "peace moves to deport nearly 2,600 Cubans back keeping" force to be sent to Haiti, revers to their homeland. This decision sparked ing his earlier position opposing such ac rebellions by Cubans being held in prisons tion. "The only hope for the people [of in Atlanta, Georgia, and Oakdale, Haiti] is international intervention," he Louisiana, which put a spotlight on the un said. Fauntroy has been a leading congres constitutional imprisonment and racist sional spokesperson on Haiti· treatment of thousands of Cuban immi The December I New York Times, in an grants by federal authorities. editorial titled "Who Can Protect the Hai On Dec. 14, 1984, the U.S. and Cuban tians?", urged the U.S. government to governments announced an immigration "consider more direct action by Latin agreement with the provision that Cuba American democracies, perhaps even an would accept the return of 2,746 exiles inter-American force to help keep the who left their homeland during the 1980 peace and oversee the election." Mariel boatlift in exchange for Washing The same day Associate Editor A.M. ton's resumption of Cuban immigration Rosenthal's column in the Times was titled into the United States. "For U.S. Intervention in Haiti." He urged a UN or Organization of American States Militant/Harvey McArthur The current agreement stipulates that peace-keeping force for Haiti. If efforts to Haitian soldiers disrupt July protest in Port-au-Prince Washington would allow up to 20,000 Cu put together military intervention under bans who do not have immediate family members in the United States to come. In broader auspices fail, however, Washing ment since it assumed power following the nounced that it would continue financing addition, it is estimated that immediate ton should send in its own troops, in his massive popular upsurge that drove dic the Haitian regime. view. Such intervention would be an "act tator Jean-Claude Duvalier from Haiti in family members who would emigrate to the United States would number 3,000 a year. of self-interest and of honor," he stated, February 1986. Duvalier and his late Assaults by pro-Duvalier forces And those seeking political asylum would and would have the support of the U.S. father, "Papa Doc," had enjoyed U.S. A wave of violent assaults, arson, and be another 3,500 people. people. govemment support throughout their 30- murder aimed at blocking the elections A Miami Herald editorilll on December year reign of terror over the Haitian people. grew in the weeks leading up to November The Cuban government suspended the 2 titled "Time to Invade Haiti" expressed Outrage over the election violence, how 29, carried out by armed thugs, known as 1984 agreement in May 1985 in response similar views. ever, forced Washington to announce it Tontons Macoutes, who supported ousted to Washington's "cynical and provocative The current military regime in Haiti has was cancelling military and economic aid dictator Duvalier. The ruling military decision" to start propaganda broadcasts enjoyed the blessing of the U.S. govern- to Haiti. The French government an- Continued on Page 13 into Cuba via "Radio Jose Marti," named after Cuba's national hero. The new agreement says that Washing ton will "find a way" to help the Cuban government be able to broadcast its pro Frame-up trial of Ky. miners opens grams into the United States. BY JIM UTILE is hostile," defense attorney Garis Pruit re government claims they were "conspiring" Cuba's immigration policy ASHLAND, Ky. -Four coal miners plied in his opening remarks. to shoot at scab haulers. Since the triumph of the Cuban revolu went on trial in federal court here Potential jurors had to reveal if they had Coal boss Charles Carlton testified that tion in 1959, the policy of the Cuban gov November 24 on charges related to the ever belonged to a union, walked a picket he was on hand the day of the shooting. ernment has been to allow those who want death of scab coal hauler Hayes West dur line, or have family members who belong While he elaborated at length about the to leave Cuba to do so. Cuban President ing the 1984- 1985 mine workers' strike at to a union. "violence" of the strikers, Carlton also Fidel Castro has explained that building A.T. Massey Coal Co. operations in east Witnesses are asked if "they ever saw swore under oath that no company security socialism is a task for free men and free em Kentucky and southern West Virginia. these men on the picket line" as if it were a men had fired a weapon at the strikers or women. Those who don't want to partici The union members on trial are Donnie crime to picket. committed other violent acts against them pate can leave anytime. Thornsbury, president of United Mine The defendants do not contend that they or their families. The problem has consistently been that Workers of America (UMW A) Local didn't picket. In fact, two of them can The truth is, however, that A. T. Massey Washington has been unwilling to take 2496; James Darryl Smith; Arnold Height prove they were picketing at the time the Continued on Page 6 Continued on Page 13 land; and David Thornsbury. They are charged with shooting at a truck used in in terstate commerce, conspiracy, and with a firearm violation. If convicted, they can be sentenced to life in prison. 3,000 South African troops invade Angola Another union member, Paul Smith, BY NORTON SANDLER by Jonas Savimbi, which is heavily bank try. South African heavy artillery, along faces the same charges, but he will be tried with antitank and antiaircraft missiles sup separately. The incident leading to West's Three thousand South African troops, rolled and organized by both Pretoria and supported by armored cars, aircraft, and the U.S. government, has been waging a plied by Washington, were used against the death took place near the Samoyed mine in Angolan soldiers. Canada, Kentucky. heavy artillery, have been fighting Ango dirty war against Angola. And Pretoria has lan army forces since early October. repeatedly sent its troops into Angola in According to Angola's Deputy Foreign All five are being held without bail. Minister Venancio de Moura, South Afri Family members explain that they haven't The apartheid regime claims that its in support of UNITA. Washington and Pretoria are trying to can frogmen blew up a bridge on the always known where the men are confined vasion of Angola has prevented a major de- Lomba River, enabling South African because they have been moved frequently. force the Angolan government to stop sup porting the South West Africa People's Or troops and UNITA forces to encircle An Defense attorneys have _also had difficulty gola's 47th Battalion. Angolan troops gaining access to the miners. ganisation (SW APO). SWAPO forces are On-the-spot report from fighting to liberate Namibia, which borders broke out of the encirclement in early With the help of the courts and the cops, November, after the heaviest fighting in Massey succeeded in defeating the IS African National Congress on southern Angola, from South Africa's colonial occupation. the war. De Moura said 200 Angolans were month UMW A strike. In a sense, that meeting in Tanzania, page 2. killed and 500 wounded. He also said 237 strike and the miner's union itself is now Washington and Pretoria also want to re verse the gains of the Angolan revolution. South African soldiers were killed and that on trial in this Ashland courtroom. the apartheid regime had lost 36 military And they want to force the removal of The frame-up of the defendants is being feat of the counterrevolutionary bands.try vehicles and 39 airplanes in the battle. orchestrated by the U.S. government. In ing to topple Angola's government. Cuba's internationalist volunteers from his opening remarks, U.S. Attorney Angola, who have served as a deterrent to Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Thomas Self painted a picture of Massey The Angolan people have not had a mo South African aggression sim;e 197 5. Santos appealed to other African leaders to under siege from union members who had ment's peace since winning independence Pretoria's current invasion, one of the "undertake the necessary action to strengthen Angola's defense." no reason to picket. from Portugal 12 years ago. The terrorist largest since 1975, began in October as "Any time the union or the United Mine army of the National Union for the Total Angolan soldiers were pursuing UNITA On November 3, as evidence of South Workers is involved, the U.S.