The Haiti Platform in the Netherlands is an informal network of Dutch

non-governmental-organizations and individuals who are in different ways 

and with different goals, actively involved in Haiti.



The participating organizations are

-       development organizations:  Solidaridad, ICCO,

        Bilance (Cebemo), Cohan

-       human rights organizations: Amnesty International,

        The Human Rights Commission of the Dutch Council of Churches,

        Justitia & Pax.

-       Organizations working specifically with/for Haiti:

        AYITI TOMA FILMS and Cohan.



The Platform was founded after the Coup d'°tat against President Aristide in

1991. Because of the difficult situation in Haiti there was a common need to

coordinate activities and exchange experiences. In Switzerland, France and

Belgium Haiti Platforms arose more or less at the same time. At the European

level the initiative was taken to support all together a Solidarity Fund in

Haiti. This Fund was managed by the Haitian Human Rights Platform and served

to economically assist victims of human rights violation and repression and to

assist grass-root-organizations whose leaders had disappeared, fled or were

killed. It was hoped that the Haitian Human Rights Platform might be a little

bit more protected from repression if it had a lot foreign organizations from

a lot of foreign countries supporting them. The Solidarity Fund effectively

assisted a large number of people and grass-root-organizations.



In September 1993, the Haiti-Platform Netherlands, invited President Aristide

and his Minister of Foreign Affairs and his Minister of Planning and

International Cooperation, to Holland in order to obtain moral and political

support for Haiti and its legitimate President and government in exile. The

Platform organized meetings with the Dutch Prime Minister and the Minister of

Foreign Affairs, a Press Conference and a Public Event in Amsterdam where

President Aristide held a speech and discussed with the public.



At the request of Mr. Emanuel Charlemagne, Mayor of the capital of Haiti, Port

au Prince, members of the Haiti Platform are now investigating possibilities

to assist the Mayor in solving technically and financially the tremendous

garbage problem of his city.



Suggestions or advise on this subject are most welcome!! 





The Haiti Platform can be contacted through: Solidaridad

Goedestraat 2

3572 RT Utrecht

NETHERLANDS

Tel.: (31) (0)30 2720 313

Fax:  (31) (0)30 2720 194

E-Mail:solidaridad@antenna.nl