It is heartening to read of Fr. Marc Boisvert’s good work in Haiti (“A year of misery, hope in Haiti,” Dec. 20). We should make New Year’s resolutions to help these long-suffering victims of centuries of European and U.S. abuse.

Two corrections: It was not “another popular revolt” that overthrew President Aristide’s government, but relentless U.S. low-intensity warfare, creating an arguable election irregularity and calling it a crisis to discredit the government, giving millions to the miniscule political opposition to create unrest, blocking hundreds of millions in committed foreign loans to render the government helpless, subverting the National Police, training and arming ex-military thug insurrectionaries, and, finally, in collusion with France and Canada, approving overthrow of constitutional democracy by withholding peacekeepers.

We resorted to insurrection and kidnapping when a secret Washington poll showed still strong support for Aristide and the Lavelas party and little for the opposition. The rump government we installed excludes the majority supporters of Aristide and constitutional government.

Second, “Much of the violence in Haiti” may begin in the Cite Soleil slum, but the large share originates with the ex-military-freed criminal thugs who have killed at least 20 times as many democrats as have fallen victim to Aristide backers and who rule the countryside: it is open season on defenders of constitutional government, and Washington’s silence gives consent to completion of the purge of democrats begun by CIA-operatives Gen. Raoul Cedras and FRAPH head Toto Constant during the 1991-1994 coup.

William H. Slavick, Maine Haiti Solidarity, Portland