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The following is from HAITI INFO. For more information contact them
at hic@igc.apc.org



                 *   *   *   HAITI INFO   *   *   *

            News direct from the people and organizations
             of Haiti's democratic and popular movement

                    4 May 1996, Vol. 4, #13

 RADIO VKM INAUGURATED

LES CAYES, May 1 - Over three hundred friends and supporters spent
today celebrating the opening of Radyo Vwa Klodi Mizo (Voice of
Claudie Museau Radio), the memory of Jean-Claude Museau (a teacher
and a founder of MUPAC who was beaten to the point of death by
soldiers and released to die in January, 1992) and celebrating the
democratic and popular struggle in general. In addition, over and
over, participants denounced the policies of the government, the
lack of justice and widespread impunity, and U.S. domination of
Haitian affairs.

Arriving on foot, on bicycles and in cars from as far away as
Gonaives, men, women and children, and Museau's father, gathered
at the La Cayenne restaurant and listened to members of a
teacher's union, non-governmental organizations, poets, musicians
and local leaders, and then visited the new station, located over
a small restaurant. RVKM's 20-watt transmitter covers the city and
nearby region with a small rooftop antenna. RVKM hopes to someday
get a bigger transmitter and install an antenna on a mountain.
RVKM is a project of by Mouvman Inite Pep Okay (MUPAC) and Mouvman
Peyizan Sid. [See Haiti Info v.4 #7 and last issue]

"A Different Kind of Communication"

For three hours, the assembly listened, sang and danced before
walking along the shore to the studio. After a moment of silence,
a local teacher explained that the radio is a "community radio
that will work for and in the sense of the people of Les Cayes"
and that it is also "a popular radio, a radio of the people... it
is the hope and pride of a valiant people." RVKM's slogan is: "A
different kind of communication for a different kind of society."

After explaining the radio's history, a MUPAC member listed its
objectives, which include to create space for popular expression,
enable everyone to experience popular culture, encourage popular
talent, facilitate cultural exchange and interchange and
solidarity with other popular struggles, provide space for the
women's movement and to "fight  reactionary ideas" with
information and education. Other speakers included those from the
non-governmental organizations that helped RVKM start up.

Anti-imperialist, anti-neoliberal

MUPAC and other groups chose May 1, commemorated as "Day of Work
and of Agriculturalists" in Haiti, because they wanted to stress
the radio's link to the worker's struggle. A member of a nearby
Tet Kole Ti Peyizan Ayisyen chapter had an angry statement from
"the people who work the land" to "the people who always bluff."
Reading, with difficulty, he said: "We are shocked to hear
President Preval and all his acolytes preaching the salvation of
privatization... We know there is no country where privatization
brought the people a solution!... We ask all organizations... to
meet, to rise up across the country, and we say, 'Down with the
pets, the restaveks (child-slaves) of the Americans! Down with
privatization! Long live the people's struggle!'"

A highlight of the ceremony were the poems and songs.  Tet Kole
singers sang "Haiti is not for sale" and "The Criminals must be
judged." IJA, a group of young "engages" (commited to the popular
movement) musicians, sang "Yankee Hypocrisy" about the U.N., the
O.A.S. and U.S. State Department, and an homage to Museau.

RADA (Rassemblement d'Artistes) presented poems and songs, one
celebrating Museau, another calling for people to continue the
struggle. Guitarist and singer Betoni, sang a "Mr. President"
which warns: "If you are on the people's side in their demands, if
you respect your promises, we'll yell 'Long live!'" but "If you
trick us, we will not fail to yell 'Down with the President!'" The
song covers land reform, privatization and other issues.  Fanm
Vanyan of Les Cayes ended the ceremony with a rousing "We will not
give up the battle," where everyone sang and danced along before
processing to downtown.
________________________________________________________
Bruce Girard
AMARC - Pulsar
Email: bgirard@pulsar.org.ec
http://www.web.apc.org/amarc/pulsar.html
Tel: +(593-2) 525-521    Fax/Tel: +(593-2) 542-818
Avenida America 3584, Casilla 17-01-1171, Quito, Ecuador