David Josué condemns UN forces’ occupation of Haiti and  brutal treatment of Haitians by Brazilian-led UN forces.  Mexico City, 2nd Continental Workers' Conference, 5  April 2008

I want to thank the organizers of this important Segundo Encuentro for providing an opportunity to address this body and to put the issue of Brazilian conduct in Haiti on the table for discussion.   My comments are directed at President de Silva and I ask the delegates here from Brazil to please relay my concerns to the government in Brasilia. 

President Lula da Silva:  Something untoward is going on with your soldiers in Haiti.  Brazilian soldiers are conducting terrifying raids on residents of poor and defenceless communities throughout Haiti, leaving in their wake a trail of blood, tears, and death. 

The buck stops with you, President da Silva.  You are their commander in chief. 

What your soldiers are doing to the innocent people of Haiti is worse than what the armed forces of Haiti were accused of doing.   

No one will attempt to mitigate the utmost importance of living in a state of law.  No one objects to getting a proper warrant before the proper court seeks an arrest of the accused and brings him or her to justice.  But a collective warrant that declares an entire community criminal is, in itself, criminal. 

President Lula da Silva, what would you say to Fredi Romelus for his terrible loss?  His one-year old son, Nelson Romelus.  What was his crime?  Why was he executed by your soldiers?  His four year-old brother Stanley, who died of a high-powered gunshot wound to the head, what was his crime?  Their mother, Sonia Romelus, who died while clutching her baby, Nelson, what was her crime?  Lelene Mertina, 24-years old, was six months pregnant when a bullet ripped through her abdomen, instantly killing her unborn foetus.  What was she guilty of to deserve this? 

President da Silva, according to a UN after-action report, your soldiers spent seven hours shooting at an unarmed population.  They expended over 22,000 rounds of ammunition, knowing they were striking unintended targets.  This cannot possibly be the best that the Brazilian people have to offer.  How can this happen when you are the President of Brazil? 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that there comes a time when silence is betrayal.  Will you and your Administration remain silent on these atrocities?

Passed as a resolution at the Second Continental Workers' Conference, 5 April 2008, then it was brought for debate at Brazil’s Parliament where the letter was read to President Lula de Silva.