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July 16, 2010

France Threatens Legal Action over Haiti Reparations Hoax
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In other Haiti news, the French government says it’s considering legal
action against the perpetrators of an internet hoax that claimed France
would repay the billions of dollars it took from Haiti for an indemnity
dating back to the nineteenth century. France forced Haiti to pay the
so-called "reparations" of 90 million gold francs up until the Second
World War to cover its financial losses from the Haitian uprising
against foreign colonization. In a video falsely attributed to the
French Foreign Ministry, an actor posing as a French government
spokesperson said the money would be given back.

Speaker: "France is repaying the historic debt of 90 million gold francs
Haiti paid to France following the former’s independence at the dawn of
the nineteenth century. For too long, Haiti has been saddled with the
burden of foreign debt, debt that has just added to natural catastrophes
to block this country’s development over the past decades. The disaster
that has befallen the Haitian people is clearly not merely the result of
January’s earthquake. It is in part the result of long-term economic and
social policies."

The group behind the hoax, the Committee for the Repayment of the
Indemnity Money Expropriated from Haiti (CRIME), provided a statement to
Democracy Now! saying, "The announcement was a hoax, but the far bigger
hoax is how little France, as well as the U.S. and Canada, have offered
Haiti in earthquake relief, relative to what Haitians are owed in
reparations."



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