U.N. Uses Private Military and Security Contractors

By Kim-Jenna Jurriaans, IPS | UPDATE from Haiti Chery. The United Nations is increasingly hiring Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) for its missions across the world, raising concerns over the use of firms known for participation in human rights abuses, as well as an overall lack of accountability structures governing these contractors within the U.N. system. UPDATE 1: DynCorp boasts of having trained 400 “Haitian police” and is awarded a $48.6 million contract to insert 100 contractors and 10 advisors into the “UN police force” in Haiti.

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Venezuela to Become Mercosur Member July 31, Paraguay Suspended

By Staff, MercoPress. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay made official on Friday the temporary suspension of Paraguay from Mercosur, because of the ‘summary’ removal of President Fernando Lugo and at the same time announced that Venezuela will be incorporated into the group on July 31 at a meeting in Rio do Janeiro.

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Tragic Week in Paraguay | Semana trágica en Paraguay

By Javiera Manuela Rulli and Reto Sonderegger, Parar El Mundo | Translated by Lilian Joensen for Grupo de Reflexión Rural | Friends of the Earth | Haiti Chery. An explanation of the chain of events that have shaken Paraguay, from the Curuguaty deaths on June 15 to the June 22 overthrow of Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo. (English | Spanish)

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ALBA Resolves to Expel USAID From Member Countries | Resolución del Consejo Político de la ALBA para el inmediato retiro de las USAID de los países miembros de la Alianza

ALBA PRESS RELEASE, Granma | Translation by Rachael Boothroyd for Venezuelanalysis. Resolution from the Political Council of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) for the immediate withdrawal of USAID from member countries of the alliance. (English | Spanish)

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ALBA Rejects Move to Impeach Paraguayan President Fernando LugoALBA rechaza maniobra para destituir al Presidente Lugo en Paraguay

By Staff, Cuba Debate | Translated by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. The countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) expressed this Thursday June 21, in an official communique, its rejection of the political maneuvering by the Paraguayan right to seek dismissal of the country’s President, Fernando Lugo. (English | Spanish)

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Latin-American Soldiers, ‘Peacekeepers’ to Train in Urban Warfare at New US Base in Chile

By Joaquín Rivery Tur, Granma | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. A new U.S. base was hurriedly built in Fort Aguayo, Chile, in 60 days. The facility will train United Nations ‘peacekeepers,’ and Latin-American soldiers and police, in urban warfare. Chilean civil society has denounced the supposed military college as a center to train future repressors and torturers.

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Blues for Bad Girls, Part 1: Don’t Start Me to Talking, Stop Watching Your Enemies

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. So many superb blues for bad girls! This was a tough choice. In the end, I picked Etta James’s marvelous rendition of Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Don’t Start Me to Talking,” and one of Koko Taylor’s many excellent versions of her own song “Stop Watching Your Enemies” because they are an excellent commentary on the week’s news about France’s possible role in Rwanda’s genocide and UNASUR’s decision on a slow military withdrawal from Haiti.

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Withdraw UNASUR’s UN Troops from Haiti!

By Staff (sgl/emw/mgt/jrr) Prensa Latina | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. At a meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Member countries discussed a timetable for South America’s withdrawal from MINUSTAH. But the plan so far looks more like one for a gradual replacement of Latin American troops with Asian and African troops.

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Corruption by ‘Peacekeeping’: The Lure of Foreign Exchange

By Staff, AsiaOne | Editorial comment by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Bangladeshi UN “peacekeepers” have sent home nearly $1.24 billion during the past three years. In 2010 Bangladesh sent its first female MINUSTAH contingent, a group of 110, to Haiti.

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Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia to Boycott VI Summit of the Americas to Protest Cuba’s Exclusion

By Staff, MercoPress. Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia, all members of ALBA, will boycott the 6th Summit of the Americas on April 14/15, 2012 in Cartagena, Colombia, to protest the exclusion of Cuba from this and all 5 preceding summits.

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Common Caribbean Strategies Needed Against Climate Change | Besoin de stratégies communes des Caraïbes contre le changement climatique

Interview of Cuban climate expert Ramón Pichs by Patricia Grogg. Pichs warns that the environmental vulnerability of Caribbean countries is aggravated by the fragility of their economies. ALBA initiatives are underway to improve the response to climate change phenomena and take measures to protect areas such as agriculture and coastlines. These and national efforts will be complemented by inputs from organizations like Caricom and CELAC. (English | French)

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International Community Pushes for Permanent Electoral Council, New Haitian Elections

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Representatives of Haiti and the international community participated in a one-hour meeting in the National Palace on Thursday, March 1 on the urgent need to establish a Permanent Electoral Council and schedule new elections, as prescribed by the Haitian Constitution. In another meeting between the representatives of Haiti and Venezuela on March 2-3, Venezuela announced $369 million of projects including a gift of financial and technical support for a National Identification system.

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Key Decisions and Directions From ALBA XI: ‘A Grand Summit!’

By Dady Chery, Haiti Chery | By Yaima Puig Meneses, Granma. Participants ratified Haiti’s participation as a permanent special invitee and agreed to hold the next summit of the ALBA Foreign Ministers in Jacmel, Haiti.

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‘Manifesto for Human Rights of Haitian Immigrants in Brazil’ Drafted by Latin Americans | Des universités et organisations du Brésil et de l’Amérique latine exigent la défense des droits humains des migrants haïtiens | MANIFESTO EM DEFESA DOS DIREITOS HUMANOS DE IMIGRANTES HAITIANOS

Jesuit Refugee Service for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC SJR), AlterPresse | Translated by Dady Chery, Haiti | Centro de Direitos Humanos e Cidadania do Imigrante. Signatories to a manifesto for the human rights of Haitian immigrants recommend that the Brazilian government work with Latin-American governmental and non-governmental organizations to host the new Haitian immigrants in South America. (English | French | Portuguese)

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