Responses to Information Requests

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

OPL: from the Lavalas Political Organization (Organisation politique Lavalas) to the Struggling People's Organization (Organisation du peuple en lutte)

The Lavalas Political Organization (OPL) was founded in 1991 (PHW 2008 2008, 546; OPL Jan. 2000; Haïti-Référence n.d.), during the 1991-1994 military regime (AlterPresse 4 Mar. 2004) and President Aristide’s exile (IRSP 11 Sept. 2008). The OPL officially became a political party in 1995 (Political Scientist 11 Sept. 2008; Haiti Apr. 2005) and brought together five movements (Le Monde diplomatique Oct. 1997; Volcans Jan.-Feb. 1995): [translation] “the Little Church (petite Église); an organized peasant movement; a more radical movement from the years 1975-1980; a movement of socialists, communists and nationalists; and a movement comprising people who were never organized but who supported change, were patriots and supported President Aristide” (ibid.; see also Le Monde diplomatique Oct. 1997).

Although initially the OPL was affiliated with the pro-Aristide Lavalas movement (Volcans Jan.-Feb. 1995; Haïti-Référence n.d.; OPL n.d.; see also AlterPresse 4 Mar. 2004), it completely dissociated itself from that movement when it became the Struggling People's Organization (OPL Jan. 2000; Haiti Democracy Project 11 Oct. 2004). During its first convention in January 1997, the organization decided to change its name (OPL Jan. 2000). According to several sources consulted by the Research Directorate, this split resulted primarily from a division within the Lavalas Political Organization, which gave rise to the Lavalas Family (Fanmi Lavalas) party and the Struggling People's Organization (PHW 2008 2008, 546; The Independent 23 Oct. 2004; FOCAL June 2001). The split was confirmed in the legislative elections in April 1997, when each party ran its own candidates (International Crisis Group 18 Nov. 2004, 6).

Founding members and leaders of the OPL

In 16 September 2008 correspondence, a political scientist originally from Haiti who is currently the president of the International Center for Information and Documentation on Haiti, the Caribbean and the Afro-Canadian Community (Centre international de documentation et d’information haïtienne, caribéenne et afro-canadienne, CIDIHCA), a cultural institution located in Montréal, sent to the Research Directorate the following official list of the founding members of the Lavalas Political Organization, which was obtained from an OPL staff member:

1. Géra[r]d Pierre[-]Charles
2. Irvelt Chéry
3. Sauveur Pierre Etienne
4. Jean Louvier Elie
5. Héra[r]d Pauyo
6. Patrick Norzéus
7. Rosny Smarth
8. Marc Romulus
9. Ernst Mathurin
10.Evans Lescouflair
11. Ed[ga]rd Leblanc
12. Adeline Chancy
13. Suzy Castor
14. Paul Déjean
15. Paul Denis
16. Gabriel Bien Aimé
17. Chavannes Jean Baptiste
18. Max Chancy
19. William Kénel-Pierre
20. Charles Manus

(16 Sept. 2008c)

However, two sources consulted by the Research Directorate provide only the name of Gérard Pierre-Charles as founder of the OPL (IRSP 11 Sept. 2008; Le Monde 14 Oct. 2004).

In a 1995 article in the magazine Volcans, Suzy Castor, one of the OPL’s founding members, is quoted as stating that the OPL originally wanted to distinguish itself from other political parties by moving away from being an organization built up around a [translation] "'leader'" to instead being a [translation] “collectively managed organization comprising national coordinating body and a seven-member executive” (Volcans> Jan.-Feb. 1995).

The following information comes from the OPL’s website and concerns the organizational structure of the OPL in 2000:

The Struggling People's Organization (OPL) is led by:

A nine-member executive committee. The general coordinator is Professor Gérard PIERRE-CHARLES and the primary members are

Senator Irvelt CHERY, International Relations

Paul DENIS, former senator and senatorial candidate

Sauveur Pierre ETIENNE, Secretary of the executive committee

Rosny SMARTH, former prime minister.

A political committee comprising a varying number of members includes the nine-member executive committee, as well as the following:

The elected OPL senators

The speakers of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, if they are elected OPL members

Representatives of the OPL’s parliamentary group in the Chamber, managers and experienced leaders.

The most well-known of these figures are

Edgard LEBLANC Fils, current Speaker of the Senate

Suzy CASTOR, Senate candidate for Ouest department

Vasco THERNELAN, former president of the Chamber of Deputies and candidate for a seat in the Chamber. (OPL n.d.)

In its January-February 2005 newsletter Potekole, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs reported that, during its second convention held from 17 to 19 December 2004, the OPL voted to reorganize its leadership team as follows:

Five of the nine executive committee members elected during the second OPL convention are also mentioned in a 20 December 2004 AlterPresse article. The same source also reports that Edgar Leblanc replaced the late professor Gérard Pierre-Charles (AlterPresse 20 Dec. 2004).

In a 7 July 2008 article, the Haitian daily Le Nouvelliste published a list of 13 members of the OPL executive committee following elections held during the third national OPL convention of 4 to 6 July 2008:

Edgard Leblanc Fils, General Corodinator; Andris Riché, Assistant General Coordinator; Anick Joseph, Training Coordinator; Ernst Mathurin, Organizational Coordinator; Pierre-Paul Harry Marsan, Communications Coordinator; Suzy Castor, International Relations Coordinator; Roland Étienne, Finance and Budget Coordinator; Eloune Doréus, Executive Secretary; Anthony Jean-Louis, Assistant Executive Secretary; Paul Denis, Vasco Ther[n]elan, Arthur Papillon and Rosny Smarth, Advisers.

In an 11 September 2008 telephone interview, the Political Scientist and CIDIHCA President provided the names of most of the members of the OPL’s leadership as they appeared in Le Nouvelliste. He also sent correspondence to the Research Directorate that provided the following information: During the third OPL convention, the executive committee was expanded from 9 members to 14, and Evans Paul has never been a member of the OPL (Political Scientist 6 Sept. 2008b). This information could not be corroborated among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

OPL membership cards

In additional correspondence, the same Political Scientist stated that since 1995, the OPL has issued a limited number of membership cards, but only through the OPL headquarters (ibid. 16 Sept. 2008a). Further or corroborating information on the existence of OPL membership cards could not be found among any of the other sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

AlterPresse. 20 December 2004. “Haïti : Edgar Leblanc remplace Gérard Pierre-Charles à la tête de l’OPL.” <http://www.alterpresse.org/imprimer.php3?id_article=2012> [Accessed 8 Sept. 2008]

_____ . 4 March 2004. Ronald Colbert. “Haïti : les premiers pas d’une reconstruction difficile.” <http://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article1211> [Accessed 11 Sept. 2008]

Fondation canadienne pour les Amériques (FOCAL). June 2001. “Haiti after the 2000 Elections: Searching for Solutions to a Political Crisis.” <http://www.focal.ca/pdf/haiti_pp.pdf> [Accessed 15 Sept. 2008]

Haiti. April 2005. Ministère de la Justice et de la Sécurité publique. “Liste des partis politiques enregistrés et reconnus.” <http://www.cep-ht.org/ListedesPartis.htm> (Conseil électoral provisoire, CEP) [Accessed 16 Sept. 2008]

Haiti Democracy Project. 11 October 2004. Johnny Bélizaire. “Adieu Gérard Pierre Charles.” <http://www.haitipolicy.org/printversions/2663.htm> [Accessed 9 Sept. 2008]

Haïti-Référence. N.d. “Organisations politiques en Haïti.” <http://www.haiti-reference.com/politique/organisations/> [Accessed 19 Sept. 2008]

The Independent. 23 October 2004. Colin Harding. “Gerard Pierre-Charles, Leading Opponent of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti.” <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/gatildecopyrard-pierrecharles-544706.html> [Accessed 15 Sept. 2008]

Institute for Research in Social Sciences and Politics (IRSP) [Rockville, Maryland, United States]. 11 September 2008. Correspondence from the Director General.

International Crisis Group. 18 November 2004. Une nouvelle chance pour Haïti? (Rapport Amérique Latine/Caraïbes no 10) <http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/ latin_america/french/10_a_new_chance_for_haiti_fr.pdf> [Accessed 18 Sept. 2008]

Le Monde. 14 October 2004. Jean-Michel Caroit. “Gérard.” (Factiva)

_____ . 26 December 1997. Jean-Michel Caroit. “Haïti s’enfonce dans la crise politique.” (Factiva)

Le Monde diplomatique. October 1997. Bernard Cassen. “Combats fratricides sur un bateau qui coule. Haïti dans la spirale du désespoir.” <http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1997/10/CASSEN/9304.html> [Accessed 11 Sept. 2008]

Le Nouvelliste. 7 July 2008. Robenson Geffrard and Rébecca S. Cadeau. “Quand l’OPL veut se renforcer.” <http://www.lenouvelliste.com/articleforprint.php?PubID=1&ArticleID=59524> [Accessed 22 Sept. 2008]

OPL. January 2000. “Vers 2004, pour la refondation de l’État-nation.” <http://www.oplpeople.com/projet.html> [Accessed 11 Sept. 2008]

_____ . N.d. “Présentation de l’Organisation du peuple en lutte (OPL).” <http://www.oplpeople.com/home00.html> [Accessed 11 Sept. 2008]

Political Handbook of the World 2008 (PHW 2008). 2008. “Haiti.” Edited by Arthur Banks, Thomas Muller and William Overstreet. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

Political Scientist and President of the International Center for Information and Documentation on Haiti, the Caribbean and the Afro-Canadian Community (CIDIHCA). 16 September 2008a. Correspondence.

_____ . 16 September 2008b. Correspondence.

_____ . 16 September 2008c. Correspondence.

_____ . 11 September 2008. Telephone interview.

Potekole [Delmas, Haiti]. January-February 2005. “Deuxième congrès de l’OPL 17-18-19 décembre 2004.” <http://ndihaiti.org/Potekole_Janvier_Fevrier_2005.pdf> [Accessed 26 Sept. 2008]

Volcans [Paris]. January-February 1995. No. 15. Laurent Beaulieu. “Haïti : un nouveau départ.” <http://pauillac.inria.fr/~maranget/volcans/fevrier/index.html> [Accessed 19 Sept. 2008]

Other sources consulted

Oral source: Attempts to contact the OPL were unsuccessful.

Internet sites, including: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Rights & Democracy.