André Apaid
Encyclopedia
André Apaid, Junior, the leader of the Group of 184
in Haiti
, the civil society movement which forced Jean-Bertrand Aristide
from power in 2004 through a coup d'état. He is the head of Alpha Industries, one of the largest assembly factories in Haiti, and of Fondation Nouvelle Haiti, a member of the Initiative de la Societe Civile group. Apaid was born in the United States and is not a citizen of Haiti; however, he is a permanent resident of the island country.
Numerous allegations have been made against Apaid:
Group of 184
The Group of 184 is a group of Haitian individuals and organizations in a variety of sectors, ranging from business and the economy to media and education, who are united in opposition to Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his Fanmi Lavalas party. The name springs from the number of organizations in this...
in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, the civil society movement which forced Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian former Catholic priest and politician who served as Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies...
from power in 2004 through a coup d'état. He is the head of Alpha Industries, one of the largest assembly factories in Haiti, and of Fondation Nouvelle Haiti, a member of the Initiative de la Societe Civile group. Apaid was born in the United States and is not a citizen of Haiti; however, he is a permanent resident of the island country.
Numerous allegations have been made against Apaid:
- His father, Andre Apaid, Senior, a Haitian immigrant of Lebanese origin, had been a strong supporter of Jean-Claude DuvalierJean-Claude DuvalierJean-Claude Duvalier, nicknamed "Bébé Doc" or "Baby Doc" was the President of Haiti from 1971 until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986. He succeeded his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, as the ruler of Haiti upon his father's death in 1971...
. - The root of the Apaid family's opposition to Aristide is believed to be Aristide's doubling of the minimum wage in 1991, which conflicted with Alpha Industries business practices. Alpha Industries had been described in international reports as a notorious sweatshopSweatshopSweatshop is a negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labour laws may be violated. Sweatshops may have...
. Apaid has also been accused of tax evasion. - Apaid is the head of the Group of 184Group of 184The Group of 184 is a group of Haitian individuals and organizations in a variety of sectors, ranging from business and the economy to media and education, who are united in opposition to Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his Fanmi Lavalas party. The name springs from the number of organizations in this...
, a group that is seen by some as a legitimate political organization and by others as an instigator of violence. - Apaid reportedly has close ties with Thomas "Labanye" Robinson, a violent and dangerous gang leader in Cité SoleilCité SoleilCité Soleil is an extremely impoverished and densely populated commune located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area in Haiti. Cité Soleil originally developed as a shanty town and grew to an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 residents, the majority of whom live in extreme poverty...
, a slum outside Port-au-PrincePort-au-PrincePort-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
. The Center for the Study of Human Rights states that Apaid pays Labanye to kill supporters of the LavalasFanmi LavalasFanmi Lavalas is a leftist political party in Haiti. Its leader is former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It has been a powerful force in Haitian politics since 1991. Fanmi Lavalas governments supported a policy of "growth with equity" based on Caribbean and Western European social...
party, the political party of Aristide. - The switch to electronic voting in Haiti, though the majority of Haiti is without electricity, is being promoted by Claude Apaid, the brother of André Apaid and the owner of the computer company that has secured the government contract to supply voting machines.