International

Recently, a long restricted November 1994 file from the office of Bill Clinton at White House reveals that the National Security Agency (NSA) had secretly intercepted former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's phone calls. The NSA is a U.S. intelligence agency responsible for global monitoring, collection, decoding, translation and analysis of information and facts for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes. Ira J. Kurzban, a Miami based American civil rights and immigration lawyer, has commented that such an act of interception is in contravention of the U.N. Charter and international law; it offends the principle of peaceful cooperation among states. He is of opinion that the government did never change its conduct since the 1994 incidence.

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Haitian Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Fritz Cineas' residence was burglarized on February 5, 2014. An EDESUR utility van pulled up to the embassy with five uniformed men inside, evidently EDESUR employees, or so the embassy security guard thought. The men told the guard they were there to make a repair to the electrical system. Taking the men at their word, the guard let the van through a heavy metal gate and was attacked with a blunt force object. Once inside the building the men found a Haitian domestic, whom they tied up and gagged, then going to the second floor where they stole two safes.

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The holding of long delayed election in Haiti has remained a major concern to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the members of the Core Group, representing the Ambassadors of Brazil, the United States of America, Spain, France and the European Union. The mission of the Core Group is to enhance the values, strategies, goals, priorities, and policies for the welfare of the Haitian people. The country has passed the last final programmed date for its legislative, municipal and local elections on Oct. 26, 2014, which is already three years behind its schedule. The inability to hold this election would lead to the dissolution of Parliament on January 12, 2015 and produce a political crisis.

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Haitian President Michel Martelly spoke at a recent General Assembly about the beefing up of the United Nations and the enlargement of the Security Council. Held over a few days in the latter part of last month, the assembly was the 69th Annual General Debate and featured the discussion of such relevant topics as the aforementioned as well as diseases, and the addition of the new permanent members.

The Haitian President spoke on September 26, 2014, the third day of the event. In his address, he said the Organization had to strengthen its effectiveness and seek aid in the form of resources in order to fulfill its mandate.He stated that the organization's credibility, as well as its legitimacy, depended on its ability to dispatch aid quickly to those in need, a characteristics that has been severely questioned following the slow response to the current Ebola threat in West Africa.

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Who is likely to forget this hard-learned lesson centered around the word 'parsley' and what it meant to be Haitian across the border in the Dominican Republic then, and what it still means now? Years ago, the parsley massacre occurred, epitomizing genocide for the island that houses both Haiti and the Dominican republic.

The year was 1938 and the then President of the larger country, President Trujillo, ordered the killing of over 20, 000 people during five days in October that year. Their crime was for being Haitian, and their fates hinged on whether or not they could pronounce the Spanish word for parsley, with the rolling "R" that is synonymous with the Spanish language. Of course, the French influence gave them away for Haitian, as they condemned themselves with the more guttural pronunciation of the word, and they were subsequently killed.

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At a conference in the Municipal Center of Yaguate, San Cristóbal, Mr. Vinicio Castillo, the Deputy of the National Progressive Force (Fuerza Nacional Progresista or FNP) has announced his plan to hold conferences to inform the Dominican population the harms of massive Haitian illegal immigration to his country. Mr. Castillo is a prominent Dominican lawyer and controversial figure in Dominican politics; he is well known for his anti-Haitian stand. At the conference, he has said that the Dominican Republic is under constant threat of invasion by illegal Haitian immigrants through the almost non-existent border control. He has added that the news of non-deportation and the plan of his country to regularize earlier immigrants have encouraged many Haitians to cross the border.

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The Government of Haiti has expressed its serious concern over the activities of a Sunni jihadist extremist group who has claimed its religious authority and aims to bring the Muslims all over the world under own control. The group has proclaimed a self-designated Islamic State State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 'Levant' is a region that includes Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Cyprus, Lebanon and part of southern Turkey. The Haitian government has condemned the attack and atrocities of the group to the innocent civilians, particularly to the Christian communities and has demonstrated own solidarity with the sufferers and readiness to cooperate to improve their security concerns at regional and international levels.

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Haiti Pivotal in Resumption of U.S. - Cuba Relations. Haitian President Martelly was instrumental in helping normalize relations between Cuba and the U.S. that precipitated U.S. citizen Allan Gross's release from a Cuban prison. Martelly aided in facilitating negotiations between the U.S and Cuba, according to a statement issued by the President's Office of Communications.

In talks with Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, Martelly was able to persuade Nelson of Haiti's good relations with both the U.S. and Cuba that could help to ease long-standing tensions between them. When Martelly visited Cuba in 2013, he brought attention to the Grosse issue with Cuban officials, who agreed to discuss the matter with the Obama administration. Martelly got back to Nelson with the news, who then contacted the White House.

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It's a story as old as goodwill aid itself. One very famous occurrence was when, in the early 1970s, US military pulled out of Vietnam, leaving behind tens of thousands of Vietnamese women pregnant. Today's includes UN peacekeepers and the women left pregnant or with children in Haiti.

While the United Nations has a policy to facilitate claims of paternity and claims for child support, the process is often long and arduous. The seven mothers taken to Port-au-Prince for paternity tests in February are still waiting for the results.

According to the UN, while they do play a part, it is incumbent on the peacekeeper's country of residence to decide on an outcome. The UN may ask that DNA samples be given, but the establishment of paternity is then met by what the country's court decides.

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Alex Jospitre, the Haitian Consul General in Suriname, was part of the "Unity among Believers" event. This major event saw the coming together of 4 Haitian churches and over ten pastors and other religious authorities in what was a ceremony for the integration of Haitians living in Suriname. Strengthening the ties for the Haitian community in Suriname is a cause that Consul Jospitre is passionate about. In his address, he commended the religious leaders, among others, for their steps in bringing forth this desired outcome through their acceptance of the cause.

Suriname is a northeastern Atlantic country, off the coast of South America. Its history is much the same of its Caribbean neighbors, so much so, it is considered a Caribbean country and is also a part of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). As the smallest South American sovereign state, Suriname has a population of just over half a million.

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