PEORIA -- Documentary filmmaker Kevin Pina will speak and present his film "Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits" at 7 p.m. on Oct. 10 in Bradley Hall Room 139 at Bradley University.
Click on the link above to see a preview of this provocative film on YouTube.
It tells of the events surrounding the ouster of Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Feb. 29, 2004.
The former prime minister of Haiti, Yvon Neptune, in an interview, confirms that Aristide was forced out of the country against his will. "No one will ever convince me he left of his own volition," he states.
The film's title is from a quote by Brazilian General Heleno Ribera, the top military commander of UN forces in Haiti for two years.
In the film, Ribera argues with demonstrators marching for Aristide's return and the release of Lavalas political prisoners.
He demands they respect the Haitian police as voices shout back that they have slaughtered demonstrators as the UN stood by and watched. "Ribera loses his cool and screams back they are thieves who are taxing UN security forces with frivolous demonstrations," according to information on the film.
The scene ends in a riot with UN forces using tear gas and firing into the air to break up the otherwise peaceful demonstration.
The UN's Ribera ialso "ordered a raid on the seaside shanty of Cite Soleil on July 6, 2004 and the documentary shows in detail how the UN stands accused of a massacre of unarmed civilians as a result."
"Haiti: We must kill the BANDITS" is said to be the only detailed chronicle of the human rights violations that were committed against Aristide's followers and members of his Lavalas movement following his ouster.
Pina was arrested in Haiti and is said to have risked his life to make his documentaries. Click here for a short interview with Pina, also on YouTube.
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