Adapted from remarks given by Austin Cole, Interim Co-Coordinator of Black Alliance for Peace’s Haiti and the Americas Team, as part of “America v. CELAC: Whither the Monroe Doctrine at 200?” hosted by the International Manifesto Group. As the crisis of imperialism in Haiti continues and US-led ‘Western’ nations debate how best to sell an escalated military invasion, it is imperative that we continue to say No to Military Intervention in Haiti. Yes to Haitian Self-Determination. But this is the bare minimum, we must also understand and center the critical role that Haiti plays in the Western Hemisphere – particularly . . .
United Nations
165 Years of Illegal US Occupation in La Navase
This article was originally published in Ayibo Post . In 1857, two Americans, Peter Duncan and Edward Cooper, landed on the coast of La Navase, an island of 5 km square, located 40 km from the town of Jérémie. It is an island that belongs to Haiti, according to the Haitian Constitution of 1801. The Americans have declared it the property of the United States of America, under the Guano Islands Act, passed a year earlier by the U.S. Congress. This law declared that any uninhabited island containing guano, a highly effective fertilizer obtained from the excrement or waste of . . .
On the Renewal of the UN Occupation of Haiti
The United Nations occupation of Haiti under MINUSTAH and BINUH brought instability, violence, and even cholera to that nation. Signatories of an open letter to Mexico’s president Lopez Obrador remind him that his support for regional self-determination means little if he spearheads renewal of the BINUH mandate. Dear President López Obrador, We, the undersigned, condemn in the strongest possible terms Mexico’s spearheading of the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office (BINUH) in Haiti. The Haitian people view BINUH’s presence as a foreign occupation that, since 2004, has suppressed Haiti’s independence and sovereignty. We agree. We want . . .
Many Africans Reject Washington’s Position on Ukraine Crisis
Since the post-World War II period national liberation movements and independent countries in Africa have developed solid diplomatic and economic relations with the former Soviet Union and today’s Russian Federation. It is this history which underlines the refusal of numerous African governments and mass organizations to side with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in its efforts to encircle Russia in order to leave it as a diminished state dependent upon the dominant imperialist nations globally. . . .
Conversations on the Sudan Coup
Muzan Alneel: ‘I believe it is also becoming clearer to the agents of international powers in Sudan that their “contacts” in the political club are no longer able to control the masses, or even reflect or predict their actual position. We can see them in Khartoum now, reaching out to create new “contacts” in spaces previously too radical for them to acknowledge, whether officially by meeting invitations or the usual tricks of closed meetings, support and “workshops.”’ . . .
Ukraine: What Does it Have to Do with Black Folks?
This piece originally appeared in Black Agenda Report. “…it is imperative that everyone, in particular Black and working-class people, understand that not having an awareness of the interconnections of the “grind” (the struggle to survive in the U.S.) and U.S. white supremacist, imperialist policies, and not being prepared to commit to altering those power relations, ensures that the conditions will persist that translates into suffering and even death for the colonized, the working classes, the oppressed, and all of global humanity” The worldview of liberals usually ends at the borders of the U.S. settler-state until they are mobilized by the . . .
People(s)-Centered Human Rights & Malcolm X
Originally published on Pambazuka. There was something quite different with Malcolm’s approach to human rights that distinguished him from mainstream civil rights activists. By grounding himself in the radical human rights approach, Malcolm articulated a position on human rights struggle that did not contain itself to just advocacy. He understood that appealing to the same powers that were responsible for the structures of oppression was a dead end. Fifty-six years ago on February 21st, the world lost the great anti-colonial fighter, Malcolm X. Around the world, millions pause on this anniversary and take note of the life and contribution of . . .
Poverty & Capitalism: Who Is the “Poor”?
In every country of the world, there are people living in poverty. Even in the world’s richest countries the poorest people often live in poor housing and struggle to afford basic goods and services like heating, transport, and healthy food for themselves and their families. Based on a broad definition, poverty can be considered a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living. Poverty means that the income level from employment is so low that basic human needs can’t be met. Those who are in monetary poverty . . .