The latest on Haiti from Canadian Television

March 9, 2007

The latest on Haiti from Canadian Television

To see the latest version of facts by Canadian mainstream TV on recent operations in Cite Soleil, go to the link below. It's in French, but my summary and criticism below is in English.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/actualite/v2/tj22h/#

It's a report called "Au coeur du mal" (Into the heart of Evil) by a big dude with Radio-Canada: Jean-Michel Le Prince. Let's ignore the title of the report. His report just reached probably over a million Quebecois and a couple hundred thousand Francophones outside of Quebec. In the report, he's embedded with the MINUSTAH troops and follows the recent mass arrests and gang hunt in Cite Soleil. I was there for the end of the operation. Check out the report and blog in your comments. Here's mine:

-The military technicalities and P of V dominate the analysis.
- There is no elaboration on the identity of Amaral nor exploration of the reason for his support in the community.
-The image of Cite Soleil as a hellhole of armed gangs is repeated with no questions asked.
-It is assumed that MINUSTAH is in Haiti to help rid Cité Soleil of armed gangs.
-There is zero mention of Canada's role in the coup d'état.
-It is apparently uninteresting that a three-day quarantine is needed for a neighborhood where not a shot is fired.
-No mention of the lack of warrents for the multiple arrests.
Amaral's home is never shown. We were shown it, situated next to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
-It is claimed that Cite Soleil is the site of the the "kidnappers that terrorize Port-au-Prince since 2004". Is this true or has it just been repeated so often that no one knows anymore?
- Mr. Le Prince explains that MINUSTAH finished the big sweep of Belekou with the HNP. In no images do we see a HNP member. Locals said to me they never saw any HNP officers in Cite Soleil.
- No questions asked about why MINUSTAH sets up operations in schools.
- No questions asked about why locals are uninterested in giving out information about Amaral.
- He states, uncritically: "17 people were arrested. No shots were fired, but no Amaral." No interest in who was arrested or under what conditions.
- There is no interest in or pursuit of what victims or their families may have to say.
- No criticism of the hypocritical offer of food and water to locals by MINUSTAH for a few hours after mass incursions.
- Only one man is interviewed about his attitude toward MINUSTHAH. It is very positive.
- The dancing and doctors and dental care is the way the reportage finishes. All is well that ends well.
- The word "nettoyage" and "nettoyer" is repeated with a positive tone. It is admitted that 100 people have been arrested. No questions about who they were.