* * * HAITI INFO * * * News direct from the people and organizations of Haiti's democratic and popular movement 7 September 1996, Vol. 4, #21 *** HAITI INFO now has photos in every issue *** Contents: DESTABILIZATION & TERRORISM RABOTEAU GROUP: FIGHTING BUT FRUSTRATED HAITIAN JUSTICE: PROTECTING THE GRANDON ANGRY CITIZENS BLOCK MAIN HIGHWAY PARENTS DEMAND JUSTICE Close-up: CLINTON & DOLE: IN WHOSE INTEREST? Stories: DESTABILIZATION & TERRORISM PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept. 6 - Continued insecurity and destabilization, ex-soldiers' threats against the government and terrorist acts have compounded with growing frustration at the government's ignoring of the population's demands, leading to protests from popular organizations, political parties and others. [See also page 2.] But the climate of instability, which has sown fear throughout the country, also raises questions regarding the origins of the attacks and who they benefit. Ex-Soldiers Threaten Concern over insecurity escalated last week when a group of ex- soldiers announced that if their demands for back salaries, their pensions, and the liberation of recently arrested ex-soldiers were not met by Sept. 3, they would keep school from opening next month and would spread "fire and blood." (Ex-soldiers marched on June 19 with similar threats but the government did not react.) The new menace came in a context of continued shootings and where two homemade bombs have been found, necessitating the intervention of a U.N. bomb squad; where another policeman was murdered: U.S.- Haitian citizen and former Miami cop Yves Phanor, an instructor at the police academy; where a bomb threat at the Ministry of Finance panicked employees, and after attacks on the police station and U.N. troop headquarters in Petit-Goave, the hometown of Mobilisation pour le Developpement National (MDN) leader Hubert Deronceray, wanted by police in connection with the attacks on the Parliament and Port-au-Prince police headquarters. [See last issue.] Police and U.N. troops have conducted several searches in the southern town, arresting over a dozen people, many of them ex- soldiers and/or MDN members, but that has not stopped the attacks in this stronghold where banners saying "Long live the army!" have hung recently. Yesterday, assailants killed a youth on a passing truck, shot at the police station and threatened to eliminate anyone found in the streets after 7 p.m. Government Finally Reacts To try to calm the population, Preval visited Petit-Goave and promised security, and on Aug. 30, speaking at a political party congress, he attacked "macoutism... the macoute system and not individuals in particular," leaving an opening to former Duvalierists and putschists to make amends. Also, in addition to announcing it was undertaking undescribed "security measures," including the re-mobilization of the Service d'Intelligence National (SIN), on the eve of the deadline, Prime Minister Rosny Smarth announced the government is "firmly decided to combat terrorism," and said "rapid inquiries" into the recent murders have been ordered, "invited" the soldiers not to use violence, and also promised that "with the international community, a project is being studied to take into account their situation." On Sept. 4, the soldiers cancelled the ultimatum, but said they are still demanding the "liberation without condition" of ex- soldiers and now are waiting for the government to make good on its promises. Tutors React with Envoys and Troops One result of flare-up of insecurity and terrorist acts was the U.S. decision to dispatch an unprecedented number of officials. The first to visit was General John Sheehan, head of Atlantic command, on Aug. 26, who warned: "Haiti cannot go back to the time of the Macoutes." As usual, U.S. officials are quick to condemn right-wing terror, despite U.S. government connections to death squads. The Haitian people have heard similar rejections before. The next visitor was the new State Department Special Coordinator on Haitian Affairs Ambassador Joe Sullivan who promised continued support to Haitian authorities as well as US$10 million for police equipment. The Assistant Attorney General Seth Waxman came to discuss the U.S. justice reform program, which U.S. officials said so far has enacted beneficial "medium-term" reforms but now needs to look at the "long-term," and on Aug. 30, Assistant Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and National Security Advisor Anthony Lake came for 24 hours. U.S. Representative to the U.N. Madeline Albright is expected this weekend. The U.S. is also talking of sending in more troops, although no accord with the Haitian government on the additional troop presence has been made public. Population Losing Patience Many sectors have reacted to the rising insecurity. The airwaves and newspapers are full of rejections of the soldiers' threats. The Lavalas party Pouvoir de Rassemblement des Organisations Populaires (PROP) protested, calling for "mobilization" as well as unity in the Lavalas camp. Other parties, like KONAKOM and FNCD, have criticized the soldiers' threats, but also the government's inaction, and have called on it to answer justly the soldiers' demands. Popular organizations have also been making their opinions and demands heard. On Aug. 28, to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Father Jean-Marie Vincent and protest impunity, insecurity and high prices, members of popular organizations distributed leaflets criticizing the government and burned tires all over the capital. On Aug. 27 in Limbe, people erected barricades and threw rocks at supposed macoute-sympathizers. [See also page 2.] On Sept. 2, popular groups demonstrated in Cap-Haitien against insecurity and the recent threats, and yesterday in St. Marc, the "Anti-Macoute Brigade of Chimen Nef" erected barricades of burning tires and have been distributing angry leaflets. Some, like Port-au-Prince Justice et Paix, have questioned how quickly the government is willing to get money for ex-soldiers when, for two years, it has never come up with reparations promised to coup victims. Questions Are Raised Is it merely coincidence that whenever the U.N. troop mandate nears its expiration, insecurity rises? Last week, when the mandate of the International Civilian Mission ended, it was immediately extended, without discussion. Now not only will the U.N. troop presence be easier to justify, but the U.S. has an excuse to send in an undisclosed number of its own soldiers. It is also important to remember how the U.S. has used right-wing terror to apply pressure here. There is no telling how much the ambience of fear affected parliamentarians hesitating to vote for the neoliberal reform laws. U.S. and other officials had effectively told the Lavalas government that if the laws did not pass, the government was on its own. It was this week that deputies finally passed the privatization law, enabling a team to leave for Washington today to sign agreements with the IMF. And Justice et Paix's question is good, but does not tell the whole story. Why is the government going to "the international community" to get money for the ex-soldiers when it is obvious who stole the missing pension funds: the former High Command, now enjoying golden exiles in the U.S. and Central America, while the U.S. pays ex-Gen. Raoul Cedras rent for his Port-au-Prince mansion. Neither the U.S, the political parties so happy to criticize the government, nor Smarth himself have even suggested recuperating the stolen funds. All of these questions beg answers. [PHOTO: General John Sheehan. Caption: Gen. John Sheehan, here last week to issue warnings and see about sending in more U.S. soldiers. AFP] RABOTEAU GROUP: FIGHTING BUT FRUSTRATED GONAIVES, Sept. 3 - Twenty-seven months after participating in one of the bloodiest massacres of the coup d'etat period, army Captain Cenafils Castera and Jean Tatoun are in a Gonaives prison. They were scheduled to be tried in the court session to begin next week, but last week, officials told Agence Haitienne de Presse that their trials have been postponed because officials claim, the cases have not yet been prepared. The massacre, called "a crime against humanity" by the Commission of Justice and Truth, occurred on Apr. 22, 1994. Soldiers and thugs from the CIA-linked FRAPH (Front pour l'Avancement et le Progres Haitien) gunned down over two dozen people as they ran toward the beach. Some escaped in canoes but were killed by soldiers waiting in boats offshore. The soldiers said they were looking for Amio Metayer, a popular leader also known as "The Cuban" whom they claimed was a "guerrilla." They had jailed his 17-year-old brother in November, 1993, and his sister and father a day earlier. Today Metayer, who escaped that day in a canoe, later fled to the U.S., and returned in 1994, lives once again in this seaside shantytown next to Gonaives, where houses are made of cardboard, sheet metal, sticks and plastic, and where the main source of income is fishing or collecting salt on nearby flats. Metayer is a leader the popular organization Organisation Populaire Democratique de Raboteau (OPDR). Gathered on a porch recently, OPDR members could not contain their frustration at the lack of justice and their cynicism with the general situation. Despite the new police, the U.N. troops, the International Civilian Mission and the return of constitutionality, nothing has changed for Raboteau. Metayer himself was even shot recently by a man who had said there was a price on his head. The shooting occurred on the eve of a planned OPDR demonstration to denounce the fact that Tatoun and Castera will not be tried this fall. "There is a group that wants to get back into power, because now there are taxes they have to pay, and those are the ones who used to talk on the telephone all day, but they did not have to pay, you understand? They had a series of privileges and they'd like to have them again... And unfortunately, we will never be in agreement with that kind of maneuver," an OPDR member explained. But behind those strong words, there is a growing cynicism with the lack of justice. "The justice situation is no good because the people who are in charge of justice are the same ones that were around with Captain Castera, so they can't judge him. They were all part of the same team! For justice to happen, the people that are in the system today have to be gotten rid of," Metayer said. Apart from a few judges swapped, there has been no reform of the judicial apparatus. "Not only should people find justice, but they should get reparations, too. A lot of things were stolen by Castera," pointed out another OPDR member. "The people stood up to the macoutes. What did they get in return? A gun in their ass," said an ex-soldier who said he had refused to participate in the massacre and today has no job or income. As people spoke, men and women gathered on the porch until over two dozen were voicing their frustrations. The conversation turned to the U.N. troops. "They are not here for the security of the people. It is for their own people, for the U.S. embassy," said one. Everyone nodded, recalling the November, 1995, demonstration here where three people were shot. Rights groups accused U.N. troops but rather than conduct an investigation, the accused soldiers were transferred and the case closed. "They have failed here. They are asking for an extension of their mandate, but for me it's useless because they do not do anything, absolutely nothing," said another. Despite the insecurity however, OPDR members said they will not let the threats of ex-soldiers scare them or keep school from opening. [See page 1.] Metayer said: "Schools will open in Gonaives... If one single student dies, there will not be one ex- soldier left in Gonaives. We'll clean the place out." "We are a force on the terrain, and they know that. OPDR and many other popular organizations," another added. But faced with freely circulating ex-members of FRAPH and the army, the lack of justice, and continued unemployment and rising prices, OPDR members are clearly frustrated. "We are the ones who fought against the regime for three years, but we can barely get by today... I'd like to have a little radio, but the government does not give us any thing," said a soft-spoken man. "We don't understand. If there is a plan to help the people with jobs and programs, we have not seen it. That lantern has not yet been lit." [PHOTO: monument by beach. Caption: Seaside monument to victims of the 1994 putschist massacre in Raboteau, built by a local popular organization. HAITIAN JUSTICE: PROTECTING THE GRANDON CAMP PERRIN, Sept. 1 - In a typical example of how the justice system works in favor of the dominant classes, three peasants arrested for "illegally" occupying what they say is their own land today sit in prison. The arrests came at the request of Wilfrid Thomas, a local grandon (large land-owner) who, according to Mouvement Paysan Marceline Saut-Mathurine Camp Perrin (MOPEMS), a peasant organization, originally stole the land from the peasants in 1985. Thomas held onto it until the 1990 election of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, when the peasants re-occupied it. When the coup d'etat happened, like peasants all over the country, MOPEMS members were arrested or persecuted. Thomas took the land back. Then, with the return of constitutionality in 1994, he went into hiding and the peasants re-took their land. On Aug. 23, police officers and judicial officials arrived in the community of Edouard and arrested three men: William Alexandre, Oreste Alexandre and Jeff Alcime. MOPEMS Coordinator Michel Loden said Thomas first took the land, 14 carreaux (about 18 hectares), covered with coffee, fields and woods, with the help of Tonton Macoutes. "Everyone knows him. He goes around and steals land from peasants in the commune," Loden said in an interview at a community radio station. "The coffee is ripe, and needs to be picked, so he made them arrest us." When the peasants re-occupied the land, they never bothered to take Thomas to court. "You know, justice is a question of peze-souse (squeeze and suck) where whoever is bigger, he is the one that squeezes," he said. "They always stick us; say our papers are no good." Thomas has a paper saying someone from Chantal sold him the land, but the peasants said they are not related to anyone there. "If he has a paper, it is something they did during the coup d'etat or during Namphy," the MOPEMS coordinator said as other members of the group listened, nodding. The System in Action Last week, on Aug. 27, MOPEMS tried to get the three out of jail. A scheduled hearing was cancelled since Thomas did not show up. That day, Substitute Commissaire Fougere Jean Louis said, in his opinion, the land belonged to Thomas, and refused to even look at their papers. "When we got there, he said he would not deal with us, and he told us to get a lawyer. But we are peasants! Where are we going to get money to get a lawyer?" Loden said. "Look what is strange," Loden pointed out. "Jean Louis said that if we had come to him first, and called Thomas before him, he would have said the land is for us, but because Thomas came first, he is saying the land is for Thomas. That is impossible!" Contacted on Aug. 29, Jean Louis said that until Thomas shows up, the peasants will remain in prison: "I cannot listen to only one party. I have to hear both, to have a confrontation to see which one is right. Until that happens I will not judge them." Jean Louis added that he has only been in his post for a month, but that he was shown a paper dated 1991 where the Commissaire said Thomas was the land's owner. "Since the court said he was already in possession, our role is to protect and guarantee that possession. It is not a question of Wilfrid Thomas or whoever, it is a question of a person who owns land, and the Commissaire, a representative of society, confirmed that, to avoid thievery. It took those conservative steps," he said, and added that if the peasants thought they owned the land, long ago they should have taken Thomas to court. "We told them to get a lawyer." Thomas has said that he never had problems until 1991 and that he never used Macoutes: "Whenever I had a land problem I always went through justice." MOPEMS Mobilizing MOPEMS, which has 4,260 members, has already mobilized with a meeting of 300 to 400 people. Many there wanted to take action immediately. One proposition is to re-take over the land, but they decided to give the justice system a few more days. "If they do not let our members go, if we do not get justice, all of us who are heirs, we will all move onto the land," Loden said. "We will organize ourselves, and then we will render justice ourselves." ANGRY CITIZENS BLOCK MAIN HIGHWAY LIMBE, Sept. 6 - For five days, angry citizens and members of popular organizations here have been blocking Route Nationale 1, which links Cap-Haitien and the Northeast with the rest of the country, with burning barricades, cement drainage pipes and other items, stopping all traffic north and south. The protestors are demanding: that a new lycee whose construction was suspended be finished so their children can go to school; that the Limbe River, which overflows when there are heavy rains, be dragged; that the local Vice Delegate (the representative of the executive) be replaced; that telephone service be repaired and that the village be electrified. The barricades have prevented medicines and merchandise from reaching the Cape, causing some price-rises and even scarcities, and have stopped produce from Plaine du Nord from reaching the capital. Gasoline is also reportedly growing rare, bringing problems not only to drivers but also to Electricite d'Haiti, which says soon it will not be able to electrify Haiti's second- largest city. The protestors, who blocked the highway one day last month also, say they will not give up until their demands are answered. "Nobody from the government ever shows up to answer our demands," one told journalists yesterday. "We pay taxes, we should get education." Yesterday, North Dept. Sen. Renaud Bernardin (PLB) told the press he understands the protests and criticized representatives of the executive. "The North is fragile. I have told people in government that, and I cannot tell the protestors to back down, because their demands are just! TELECO has been broken for five years; how am I supposed to tell them to back down?" Bernardin said. "I understand what they are doing and I hope that other people understand it and that as rapidly as possible there are discussions." PARENTS DEMAND JUSTICE PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept. 5 - At the same time as the government has allowed one of the two laboratories (4-C) that manufactured and sold poisoned syrups responsible for the deaths of at least 67 infants [see Haiti Info v.4 #19] to go back into the medicine business, a committee representing the parents of the dead children today complained that they have not yet received justice, and said they are suing the German manufacturer of the poisoned glycerine syrup, Pharval laboratories (the other company), and the Haitian state. "Ever since the Haitian state has existed, it has always resigned from its social responsibility to protect all citizens of the country, especially in terms of health," said Martinez St. Fleur, spokesman for the committee, and asked: "Everyone knows the Haitian justice system is rotten, where those who can 'buy justice' get it. We poor parents cannot afford that... Can we hope to get justice and reparations without demagogy?" The committee criticized Minister of Health Rodolphe Mallebranche for the ministry's slow response to the crisis, and Pharval for a lack of professional ethics, and said it wants reparations "even though a person's life is more important than money" and said "for us, justice means a responsible state so what happened will not happen again." Close-up: CLINTON & DOLE: IN WHOSE INTEREST? The recent Republican and Democratic conventions, like the presidential elections in general, were nothing more than a glittery American television show, with a standard cast of characters, one-liners, false suspense and a predictable ending. Beginning with the New Hampshire primaries, running through the two parties' conventions, the debates and ending with election night, candidates will spend millions of dollars on consultants, a half-dozen campaign appearances a day, advertisements, polls and the other mechanisms that are part of the American political apparatus. But for all the uncertainty and suspense the media and pundits try to build into the process, not much is really left to chance. By the time the conventions rolled around, it was clear who the two main parties would choose as their candidates. Although in the past, delegates used to hobnob and lobby up until the vote, today it is more of a four-day party for members and donors (one in five Republican delegate was a millionaire, the television news said), where every moment is programmed, every word scripted and every entrance timed, especially during "prime time." To nobody's surprise, Robert Dole and William Jefferson Clinton came out the candidates for U.S. president in 1996. What is at Stake The two men, and their parties, face a number of national and international stakes. On the national level, although the Clinton administration can boast of low unemployment rates and 10 million new jobs, the candidates need to assure continued economic growth and reassure a working population worried about job security and the loss of industrial jobs due to globalization of the economy. Related to that is the concern over too many "government handouts" to the poor or unemployed, to illegal immigrants, or others deemed undeserving by consultants, pollsters and party strategists. The deficit and the national debt are also in the campaign speeches. Although almost all U.S. families operate with a deficit (mortgage, car and credit card payments, college loans, etc.) the deficit, the smallest among all the OECD countries, has been made into "an issue" by Republicans who think the government is "too big." The other issues are those threatening the "American way of life": a troubled education system, growing crime and urban violence, gun control, drugs, and bombings: not only of U.S. targets overseas, but also within the U.S. itself. Internationally, the concern is to assure the maintenance of U.S. hegemony. It is not without its challenges, for instance from the attacks on buildings or airplanes to which the U.S. cannot respond, or from balking allies, as with the protest over the Helms-Burton law and other U.S.-imposed sanctions on foreign countries, or with the recent missile attack on Iraq. Where They Stand On all of the above issues, the candidates do not differ too much. Take the party platforms. The Democratic one, crafted by the White House, is more Republican than what used to pass for "Democratic." It calls for a balanced budget, more use of death penalty, and opposes welfare for illegal immigrants. In the words of platform chairman Georgia Gov. Zell Miller, it is "the mainstream, moderate path to the future." The Republican's, called "Restoring the American Dream," is apparently more conservative, even than Dole would like, but Dole has already taken his distance, saying openly that he has not even read it. On the size of government, taxes, the economy and the deficit, the two candidates and their parties today sound almost the same. Cut government and taxes, balance the budget, privatize, "grow" the economy. In Clinton's 1992 campaign manifesto, "Putting People First," he promised to reform health care, create job-stimulus programs and cut taxes. He did none. In fact, one of the Republicans main problems is that for almost four years, Clinton has been "out-Republicaning" them. Soon after he took office, the Wall Street Journal rejoiced: "On issue after issue, Mr. Clinton and his administration come down on the same side as corporate America." Last year, the Financial Times noted the soaring profits and said: "The news that the markets have justifiably seized upon is that a Democratic president has accepted much of the Republican agenda." (Nov. 18-19, 1995) The Democratic party was traditionally supposed to be sensitive to the needs of the poor and working people, but that era is long gone, especially in the person of Clinton. During his term he worked hard to prove that. For instance, despite labor's opposition, and in a unified front with the Republicans and with the backing of four ex-presidents, he pushed through the North American Free Trade Agreement. He is a zealous free-trader, supporting the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs and the Telecommunications Act. He stalled on the much-needed minimum wage hike (it had not been raised since 1991) until this spring, when polls showed 80% of U.S. citizens favored it and the Republicans opposed it. It was then a "go" for the Clinton machinery. Not just the Republicans but now both candidates and parties call for reducing government. Dole has said he believes in people while Clinton believes in government, and in his 1993 State of the Union address Clinton did say: "I want to talk to you about what government can do because I believe government must do more," but three short years later, in 1996, he said: "The era of big government is over." And although Clinton had called for "ending welfare as we know it," he had claimed to have a plan where welfare recipients would be given jobs and training. The Republicans' plan called for more drastic cuts and few programs. With the advice of Republican mercenary Dick Morris, last month the president signed a slightly- modified Republican bill, wiping out programs and guarantees first put into place by Democrats 60 years ago. Of course, there are still differences on flag issues like abortion, affirmative action, and a few others, but even there the ground that separated the two parties and the two candidates is shrinking. Anti-abortion Democrats and pro-choice Republicans are increasingly causing problems for their respective parties, and the Democrats have distanced themselves from affirmative action and other landmark policies, seizing instead on simpler problems with more potential media play, like the rash of black church arsons. On the international level also, the parties are closer together than the media and pundits portray. There is always a unified front when it comes to protecting and projecting U.S. hegemony, like this week, when Clinton okayed a missile attack on Iraq, the Republican Colin Powell, in the middle of campaigning for Dole, said he was 100% behind the president. Where was the Republican "isolationism?" Now the candidates are making promises in an attempt to give voters something to tell the two apart. Dole and supply-sider Jack Kemp are promising a 15% income tax cut and to accept school vouchers. Clinton is promising tax credits for education. Dole is promising to bring morality back to the White House. Clinton is promising to "right the wrongs" in the welfare bill. Dole will fight drugs better. Clinton will enact more gun control laws. But after all, how much are those promises worth? From Bush's "Read my lips" to Clinton's pledge not to send back Haitian refugees, the platforms and promises are for the gallery, aimed at bringing in votes. Once in office, as Clinton illustrated so well, the president will not even remember them. As the Haitian saying goes: "Pawol kandida pa pawol prezidan," or "The word of a candidate is not the word of a president." American Public Numb Faced with two virtually identical programs, with promises and propaganda, the American public is depoliticized, confused, and not only manipulable, but also manipulated, all of which suits the candidates just fine. Rather than talking about the issues, they can pontificate with moral platitudes, or move the focus to "character" (as the Republicans did) or age (as the Democrats did). Rather than debate concrete programs, they play on the emotions of the American people, and the media happily goes along. The most honored guests in San Diego were not the new "Contract with America" Republicans, but the video of an ailing "hero" from days of yore and his wife, who waved emotionally to her Alzheimer-stricken husband's video image for all the American public to see. Trying to take a ride on the moment and the memories, Dole swore: "We are going to continue the Reagan revolution." The Democrats featured movie stars, Ron Brown's widow and the paralyzed Christopher Reeve. Much of Al Gore's speech was an emotional evocation of his dead, ex- smoking sister, recited while cameras zoomed in on his crying mother. Every night and morning, the networks and daily papers announce the latest "point spreads," tell the public what its "concerns" are, predict winners and losers and propagate the latest scandal. The resulting barrage, which does not even get good ratings anymore (the networks cut convention coverage to one hour per night and may eliminate it altogether) only confuses and manipulates the public even more, something illustrated clearly in voting figures. The American people, already depoliticized by the way the system works, have lost more and more interest. In the 1992 presidential elections, less than 40% of eligible voters even bothered casting a ballot, and of those, almost 20% voted for populist millionaire Ross Perot. Two years later, only 39% of those eligible to vote participated in the "Republican landslide." Actually, it took only 17% of eligible U.S. voters to change the face of Congress, and most of them were voting more against the Democrats than for the "Contract with America." What Choice is There? For those who do decide to vote, what have they got to choose from? There may be differences in form between the two candidates and their parties, but not when it comes to function, as the figures for "soft money" contributions (large donations to party coffers in order to get around limitations on donations to individuals) show so clearly. According to Public Citizen, in 1995 major corporations gave Republicans US$33.7 million and Democrats, US$25 million. The Republicans and the Democrats, and especially these two candidates - Dole, who has distanced himself from the young Turks in his party, and Clinton, who is more "moderate" and "pragmatic" than the Democrats of the past - fill their function very well: they serve the interests of the dominant class and of the imperialist bourgeoisie. SOURCES for citations: Chomsky, Noam, "From Containment to Rollback," Z Magazine, June 1996; Peterson, David, "The War at Home," Z Magazine, Aug. 1996; TIME magazine. [PHOTO: Clinton and Dole. Caption: Clinton and Dole, vying for the presidency: two sides of the same coin. TIME] ABOUT HAITI INFO: * Haiti Info is published every two weeks in Haiti by the Haitian Information Bureau, an alternative news agency. * All articles Copyright HIB. REPRINTS ENCOURAGED. Please cite Haiti Info and send copies of usage. * Haiti Info is available by mail. For subscriptions, other correspondence and help for journalists: Haitian Information Bureau, c/o Lynx Air, Box 407139, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 33340, USA. For electronic mail: hib@igc.apc.org.