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Archives of Editorials #9
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Archives of Editorials in English An international protectorate could bring stability to Haiti Latortue: Haiti on the Right Track, Still Much Work to be Done Haiti Democracy Project Corrects Record on Aristide Party of Haiti's poor in turmoil
OP-ED:
A Vote for Haitian Presidential Candidate Preval Is a Vote for More Abject
Poverty, Terrorism, Drug Trafficking - Overall, Anti-United States
Dumarsais Siméus "He honed his business savvy as president and chief
operating officer at Beatrice, the largest black-owned company in the nation.
His firm, which he bought in 1996 with a $55 million loan, is today Texas'
largest black-owned company and the largest black-owned food processing plant in
the country, according to Black Enterprise magazine. Through it all, Siméus
kept in close touch with his homeland."
Originally: Haitians and the “Citadel Syndrome” Ericq Pierre. Originally appeared in Le Matin, 2005-03-19
It is rare these days to hear anyone say something positive about Haiti or about Haitians. The terms that were once applied to our people — courageous, honest, hard-working — seem to no longer come to mind. This negative perception started with the mistreatment that our people, of whatever class, have suffered in their own country for more than half a century, and that has driven many of them to seek refuge abroad. While they may be better-off there, their success is mixed with frustration. That perception continued with our elite, who chose to keep quiet when they were treated with contempt. Foreigners called them loathsome and disgusting, something we even hear from time to time in Haiti itself. It has been reinforced by the unfailing tendency among some Haitians to drag our country through the mud and to spread the most preposterous rumors, especially when they are seeking some political position or when they think it will advance their interests. We have been, and still are, much too ready to make deals with those who boast of having the capacity to do damage, real or imaginary, instead of trying to encourage and support those who want to follow the rules of the game and obey the law. We will move heaven and earth to be a member of a government, whatever its stripe, and we will fight tooth and nail to hang on to the privileges of our position. But as soon as the wind shifts, instead of keeping quiet we try to pass ourselves off as virtuous types who were working all along to undermine the régime from within. No one is fooled, but that doesn’t matter. We salve our consciences by saying we acted for the good of our country. We spend so much time plotting, perpetrating and preventing dirty tricks that we come to forget or completely push aside the interests of the country in whose name we pretend to justify our political involvement. I wonder what will be left when the last Haitian has been discredited. No doubt we will continue to be surprised that no one takes us seriously. Who knows — will we finally see that we must come to our senses? Catholics search their conscience before they go to confession. Protestants make public avowals that amount to admitting their bad past behavior, and promise not to repeat it. Voodooists have to go through purification before they can take part in ceremonies. Our politicians are the only ones who never engage in self-criticism of any kind. They won’t confess to even the slightest error of analysis, of judgment or of direction. In this electoral year, why won’t they admit to voters the mistakes or shortcomings they may have been guilty of over the last 5, 10 or 15 years? If they aren’t guilty, they should say so. This would be a very edifying experience. I recently took part in an informal discussion about the many reasons why Fidel Castro has enjoyed such great political longevity. Among the proffered reasons I was surprised to hear one participant mention, in all seriousness, that Castro had once confessed to his people that he had governed them badly. He said it only once, and that was long ago. But according to our panelist he still reaps tremendous prestige from the admission. That is something to think about. In any case, we have to get hold of ourselves, for we have a social debt to our fellow Haitians that we must repay. And it’s not true, after all, that we have become a people with no good qualities left, or that our elite is loathsome, or that our middle class no longer feels any patriotism, or that our poor have all become bandits. But we have to recognize that in a sense we have lost our innocence—and perhaps much more than that. So it is that today no one would think of saying, as did Uncle in 1928, that “the Haitians are people who laugh, who sing and who dance.”* And yet Uncle was right in his time, and for our time too. The difference is that in the past we could laugh because we had the feeling that we were happy and that we had prospects for the future, whereas today we have learned, on battlefields at home and abroad, that “you have to laugh before you are happy, for fear you’ll die without ever laughing.” We still laugh, but it’s laughing through our tears. Why are we the way we are? An impossible question, yet some have attempted to answer it. And of all the explanations I have heard the one that rings truest is what has come to be called “the Citadel syndrome.” (This isn’t my phrase. It seems it was used for the first time by an eminent Haitian professor and man of politics. I won’t cite his name, because I’m not sure what context he used it in, and I have never read the piece where he mentioned it. So I don’t want to associate him with the provocative things I’m going to say. Indeed, I would be enormously grateful if this eminent professor, who is still alive, would claim paternity for the expression and agree to share with his countrymen the circumstances in which he used it.) Meanwhile, it seems that Haitians as a people carry within them the Citadel syndrome. You can see this for yourselves. This is the syndrome that prevents us from making the first concession in a negotiation, or from taking the first steps toward meeting our opponent on middle ground. It is the syndrome that stops us from admitting that we have committed mistakes, or even that we have in all good faith made some wrong choices. It is the syndrome that makes us believe it is up to the other person to change, and not us. The Citadel syndrome is an inflated ego, an exaggerated self-esteem, and a tendency to take our notion of ourselves very seriously. It trivializes the things we do, and even the work we live by. It is a frantic desire to “become someone instead of trying to do something,” at whatever cost. The Citadel syndrome has killed off any idea of compromise or concession in Haiti. It will soon smother the national dialogue, of which so much has been said, yet which seems to have been stillborn. It leads us to overestimate our strengths and to throw ourselves into interminable conflicts where, in the end, we lose everything because we have underestimated other people’s capacity to put up a fight. Ultimately it translates into terrible insecurity and a failure of intelligence that makes it impossible to persuade, to compromise or to win. Most of the tragedies of Haiti’s history can be blamed on the Citadel syndrome. Like defenders in a besieged fortress, once we have taken a position we won’t budge. And we seem to say to others, in the words of Haitian writer Frankétienne, si-w kapab, vin-n pran-m , men kwa manman-w, men kwa papa-w (“Come take me if you can; here is the cross of your mother, the cross of your father.) And so we persist in our mistakes. That’s why we are the way we are today. Of course we have every reason to be proud of our Citadel. It’s an amazing monument, regarded as one of the wonders of the world. But what have we done with it? We have simply abandoned it to its fate. The Citadel has brought us nothing, apart from flattering our ego and our pride. It has merely inflicted on Haiti a terrible syndrome that spares no one. It was built to repel a French attempt at reconquest, which never took place. So it has never really protected us from the threats for which it was built at such great sacrifice. Some Haitians speak of it the way people used to talk about Oceania, in other words without ever having visited it. Yet it acts upon our subconscious in a way that does us no good. I suggest, then, that the Citadel should be leased to some international tourist chain that could look after its upkeep and put it to profitable use. Such an initiative would also be quite in keeping with the United Nations’ decision to declare the Citadel a world heritage site. I would invite the National Heritage Protection Institute (ISPAN), the Ministry of Tourism and the Public Enterprise Modernization Council (CEMEP) to draw up some proposals for the government and for the Haitian people on how do put the Citadel to uses that will pay a social and economic return: a long-term lease, a management contract, or something similar. Everybody will gain, and we will have killed several birds with one stone. Let’s free ourselves from the Citadel syndrome.
*Ainsi parla l’oncle (“Thus spake Uncle”), a collection of essays by Jean Price-Mars, published in 1928.
An international protectorate could bring stability to Haiti As Haiti descends deeper each day into anarchy, the time has come to consider some form of international protectorate to take temporary control of that beleaguered Caribbean country. It is increasingly obvious that Haiti's current interim government, installed under U.S. tutelage following President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Feb. 29 flight into exile, has neither the popular support nor the capacity to meet the challenge of the country's ongoing disintegration. If Haiti is to continue as a functioning independent state, alternative options -- including a period of international governance -- need to be seriously contemplated to stem nearly two decades of unremitting political, economic and social deterioration. The history of such missions (called mandates, protectorates, trusteeships or, most recently, transitional administrations) has not been particularly auspicious, but it is clear that nothing else has succeeded in Haiti. As unpalatable as it may be for the vast majority of Haitians, who spent 1915 to 1934 under a U.S. Marine occupation, ceding temporary sovereignty to an international body is one option slowly gathering momentum. `A predatory state' An outside panel of academics, in a Nov. 8 hemisphere analysis prepared for -- although not necessarily reflecting the views of -- the Miami-based U.S. military's Southern Command, which includes Haiti in its area of responsibility, observed that the country ``is on the verge of an outward explosion of boat people and an inward immolation of gang-on-gang violence.'' The report's executive summary also notes: ``Haiti's violence is the consequence of a predatory state, a nonexistent political culture, economic collapse and ecological destruction. Long-term measures are necessary, to the point of considering Haiti for protectorate status under a Brazilian-led regional coalition, if one can be created that is willing to support a 10-year restoration initiative.'' Even some Haitians will tell you privately that protectorate status may be the only solution to the country's current morass, with the United Nations as the most likely -- although not the only -- candidate to undertake such a role. Counting the present U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti, the U.N. Security Council already has authorized nine special multinational missions to Haiti over the past decade, although none has had a mandate to administer the country. Although not endorsing such a role, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan wrote in The Wall Street Journal two weeks after Aristide began his exile that ''Haiti is clearly unable to sort itself out, and the effect of leaving it alone would be continued or worsening chaos.'' Among the lessons learned from past U.N. missions, Annan added, is that ``there can be no quick exit. A long-term effort -- 10 years or more -- is needed to help rebuild the police and judiciary as well as basic social services such as healthcare and education.'' Ericq Pierre, a respected Haitian economist at the Inter American Development Bank, said in a recent paper that the presence of U.N. missions in Haiti, ''whether it is in the ambit of protection of human rights, or that of the organization of elections or for the maintaining of peace, always benefits the population.'' But, added Pierre, ``these missions have had to face three fundamental constraints: Their mandate has never been very precise, their terms have never been defined, their means of operation have always been very limited.'' The contemporary history of the protectorate concept dates to World War I with formation of the League of Nations and creation of the mandate system to administer former colonies and territories of the German and Ottoman empires. It was succeeded after World War II by U.N. trusteeships to administer the world's remaining colonial territories, with the termination of Palau in 1994 as the last such entity. The end of the Cold War gave birth to U.N.-sponsored transitional administrations to shepherd dysfunctional states back to viability. East Timor, Kosovo and Bosnia are among more-recent examples. Such a structure was considered for Liberia in 2003 but discarded at the last minute in favor of an indigenous national transition government. Apart from the United Nations, there was the U.S.-created and -run Coalition Provisional Authority, which governed Iraq for a year after the 2003 U.S. invasion. Society is polarized Obviously, the establishment of any form of multilateral or unilateral transitional administration for Haiti would have to overcome considerable antipathy from both the international community and Haitians themselves, rightly proud of their status as the world's first black republic in 1804 and the Western Hemisphere's second independent nation. More than 200 years later, Haitian society is polarized. Political violence is a staple of daily life, disrupting commercial and social activity. Individual and collective national security is nonexistent. The police force -- numbering less than 3,000 for a wild and rugged country with a population of more than eight million -- is understaffed and inefficient. Armed pro- and anti-Aristide gangs battle almost daily in the capital, while a pseudo-guerrilla force of ex-Haitian soldiers -- a significant factor in Aristide's departure -- independently controls much of the country. On the verge of extinction The economy is in ruins, battered by an accumulation of official mismanagement, corruption and incompetence, coupled with natural disasters that have left thousands dead and many more homeless, a byproduct of the years of ecological degradation. Gonaives, the country's third largest city, is on the verge of extinction, first from the ravages of armed conflict and then from the flood waters of Tropical Storm Jeanne. A provisional electoral council created by the interim government to prepare for new elections late next year is in disarray, with the elections themselves in jeopardy unless security improves. ''What is going on is literally insane,'' concluded Haitian human-rights activist Jean-Claude Bajeux, reflecting on the country's current situation in an interview earlier this month. ``It is what we call in philosophy a death march. If we can't stop this, we are looking at the destruction of the Haitian nation.'' Don Bohning reported on Haiti for The Miami Herald from the mid-1960s until 2000
Now the Hard PartOriginally: La volonté de la Nation Frandley Denis Julien, 2004-11-05
Tout le monde est d’accord pour reconnaître au gouvernement Latortue le mérite d’avoir réussi, au-delà des espérances les plus optimistes, à faire délier à la communauté internationale les cordons de la bourse. Sur ce chapitre, Latortue s’est métamorphosé en lièvre. Cependant, on n’a pas l’impression que l’actuelle administration est bien imbue de ce que la Nation attend d’elle au niveau politique. La mission de l’actuelle équipe dirigeante ne consiste pas seulement à faire la transition entre deux gouvernements, mais encore et surtout à nous faire faire un saut qualitatif d’un système politique obsolète, délétère et stérile, à un système moderne qui puisse permettre au pays de connaître la démocratie et le progrès irréversibles, alimentés constamment par une volonté collective de rattrapage et de conquête. Au cours d’une conférence que j’ai prononcée à Washington l’année dernière sur invitation de Haïti Democracy Project, je me rappelle avoir lâché une phrase qui avait provoqué quelques secondes d’étonnement ― le temps que j’élabore ― au sein de l’assistance : Aristide n’est pas le mal, il n’en est que le symptôme, la fièvre de 40 degrés qui nous indique que quelque chose va mal dans notre système. Mais, si Aristide n’était que le symptôme du mal, son départ du pouvoir n’a que partiellement résolu notre problème, comme un analgésique ne procure qu’une sensation passagère de bien-[b1] être. Il nous faut, maintenant que nous avons arrêté l’hémorragie, attaquer la crise dans sa complexité et dans sa genèse, pour mieux la juguler. Or, le gouvernement actuel n’a encore rien fait pour résoudre la crise profonde qui peut, à tout moment, resurgir et mettre à l’épreuve des structures sociales déjà trop faibles. Latortue ne réussira que dans la mesure où ses actions ont une valeur pédagogique, car aujourd’hui, il nous faut réaliser dans ce pays une révolution par l’exemple, en vue de changer la mentalité collective trop défaitiste et peu encline à l’institutionnalisation. Nous ne pourrons jamais réaliser ce nouveau départ, sans l’intervention de la pensée conceptuelle qui devra définir l’architecture de la nouvelle société à laquelle tous, nous aspirons. La gestion de l’actuel gouvernement accuse un sérieux déficit de débats et d’idées fondatrices. Le débat politique est scandaleusement pauvre. A travers le pays, les gens se plaignent à tort ou à raison, de la lenteur du gouvernement. Cela est dû dans une large mesure, au fait que beaucoup de secteurs de la vie nationale se sentent exclus de la transition qu’ils ne suivent qu'en spectateurs. Or, la meileure façon de s’assurer de la participation de tous à la reconstruction nationale, en dehors du traditionnel partage de pouvoir, c’est de créer des forums permanents sur tous les thèmes de la vie nationale. Ce processus permettrait d’établir la volonté de la nation, volonté devant guider l’action du gouvernement qui en tirera du même coup sa légitimité. I- Le nouveau contrat social pour la consolidation de la Nation. Le groupe des 184 a, au cours des derniers mois du règne d’Aristide, suscité beaucoup d’espoir tant en Haïti que dans la diaspora, en faisant la promotion d’un nouveau Contrat Social. Cependant, à part quelques réflexions diffusées notamment sur internet, ce regroupement d’organisations n’a jamais pu définir les contours réels du contrat en question. Aujourd’hui, la mobilisation autour de cette question traîne des pieds, et les grandes lignes jusqu’ici publiées, en plus d’être évasives, sont plus proches d’un programme de gouvernement que d’un contrat social. Le gouvernement Alexandre/Latortue et la société civile haïtienne doivent comprendre la nécessité d’aboutir à ce nouveau contrat social, qui doit figurer parmi les priorités de la transition. Cependant, il faut d’entrée jeu, préciser un certain nombre d’éléments fondamentaux, corriger certains errements, pour repartir ce coup-ci du bon pied, dans le cadre de la recherche de ce contrat. Il est important de faire ressortir que : a) Le contrat social n’est pas qu’un joli vocable qui honore ceux qui en parlent ; c’est une nécessité, un passage obligé, si nous ne voulons pas que cette société qui demeure une poudrière, n’explose sous la pression des tensions sociales. b) Contrairement à ce qu’on a entendu dans la presse, le contrat social ne peut pas être un texte ; c’est évident qu’il convient d’en définir l’ idée-force à travers des textes, mais ceux-ci ne sauraient constituer qu’une infime partie, la partie conceptuelle d’un projet qui doit voir son application dans le vécu quotidien de chaque Haïtien(ne). Et cette littérature normative, ce corps de textes en question, doit être le fruit d’un processus hautement participatif, qui implique un engagement proactif de tous les secteurs de la vie nationale et de la diaspora, sinon ce sera un cuisant échec. Il faut que l’idée puisse faire son chemin de manière autonome, que les compatriotes se l’approprient , l’enrichissent, et agissent selon son esprit, chacun dans son petit coin. Le Contrat Social, dans le contexte haïtien actuel, doit avoir pour mission, entre autres, de définir les rapports des différents groupes sociaux entre-eux, le rapport du citoyen à l’Etat et vice versa, ainsi que les repères de la nouvelle société que nous voulons léguer aux générations futures. En ce sens, il doit permettre : a) Un changement de mentalité Il y a un rapport très étroit entre la mentalité d’un Peuple, sa productivité et sa qualité de vie ; pour que nous puissions sortir de la crise perpétuelle, il nous faudra provoquer une rupture culturelle, divorcer d’avec notre mentalité défaitiste quotidiennement alimentée par des clichés du genre : Pito nou lèd nou la, depi nan ginen nèg ap trayi nèg, Ayisyen pa gen lè etc. Ce corps de déterminants psychologiques constitue un frein à notre développement, puisque notre mentalité défaitiste ne nous permet pas d’être aussi performants que nous aurions pu l’être avec une mentalité positive. b) L’expression des valeurs fondatrices de la nouvelle société Une société se fonde sur des valeurs qui se passent de génération en génération ; jusqu’ici, les tentatives d’organisation socio-économique et politique à travers notre histoire, n’ont jamais apporté les fruits escomptés. Aujourd’hui, nous en sommes au bilan. Après avoir diagnostiqué l’échec, il convient de redéfinir nos valeurs, leur donner un nouveau contenu, en vue d’imprimer un autre cours à l’Histoire ; parmi les valeurs en question, celles-ci sont incontournables : 1- La reconnaissance de nos différences et de notre complémentarité Nous devons promouvoir non seulement le droit à la différence, mais la différence elle-même qui, grâce à la diversité qu’elle implique, est source d’enrichissement ; c’est la meilleure façon de cesser de contourner les problèmes de fond, de désarmer les démagogues, et d’arriver à une véritable unité dans la diversité. 2- La création d’une société d’opportunités et de solidarité Aujourd’hui, le jeune Haïtien vit dans une société fermée, où les facteurs de mobilité sociale les plus sûrs sont le trafic des stupéfiants et l’exercice du pouvoir. Le pays ne permet à personne de pouvoir planifier sa vie sur le long terme, d’où une tendance à s’enrichir le plus tôt possible, par n’importe quel moyen. Résultat : des professionnels très doués arrivent difficilement à joindre les deux bouts quand ils y arrivent, les hommes d’affaires s’impliquent de plus en plus dans le trafic de la drogue et la corruption, les jeunes doutent de plus en plus de la nécessité d’avoir une bonne éducation, bref, nous institutionnalisons le nivellement par le bas. Tant que le principal facteur de mobilité sociale ne sera l’éducation, nous ne connaîtrons jamais le développement et la paix sociale. Mais pour y arriver, il faudra que, dans tous les coins du pays, les enfants aient accès à une éducation de qualité, et que les nantis consentent à ouvrir aux moins fortunés des fenêtres d’opportunités. L’adoption de ces valeurs et leur application concrète déboucheront sur une Nation forte, capable de faire face à l’Etat qui, en face d’une société désorganisée et faible, constitue le principal prédateur des libertés fondamentales. II- La conférence nationale pour la redéfinition de l’Etat Aujourd’hui, l’Etat n’existe pas en Haïti parce que les citoyens ne s’y reconnaissent pas. L’Etat n’inspire tellement pas confiance, que les gens refusent de lui louer leurs maisons, alors qu’il aurait dû être le locataire le plus solvable qui soit. Dans de telles conditions, il est illusoire de vouloir compter sur une participation citoyenne effective, pour quelque projet que ce soit. Or, sans une participation citoyenne forte, sans le consentement des citoyens, les actions de l’Etat ne pourront jamais aboutir. Car, l’Etat étant l’expression politique de la Nation, il ne peut réussir qu’en fonction des aspirations et en collaboration avec celle-ci ; or, les Haïtiens(nes) réclament un autre type d’Etat pour lequel beaucoup de sang coule depuis plusieurs décennies. Face à une telle crise existentielle de l’Etat, il convient de convoquer les Etats Généraux de la Nation, pour, par le débat contradictoire, arriver à jeter les bases d’une nouvelle façon de voir la res publica. La conférence nationale nous donnera l’occasion de :
a) Changer la perception de l’Etat
C’est un exercice qui devra se faire à deux niveaux :
1- Au niveau des gouvernants
On doit cesser de considérer l’exercice du pouvoir comme un moyen de s’enrichir, de se servir dans la caisse publique, au détriment de la population. Nos dirigeants doivent réaliser qu’on ne s’improvise pas du jour au lendemain Homme d’Etat, et qu’avoir le sens de l’Etat n’est pas donné à tout le monde. 2- Au niveau des administrés Nous devons couper court à notre complaisance envers nos dirigeants, complaisance qui nous conduit souvent à des réactions extrêmes, parce que toujours trop tardives. C’est à nous citoyens(nes), et non à l’Etat de déterminer ce à quoi nous aspirons. Les gouvernants doivent exécuter la volonté majoritaire de la Nation qui elle, doit toujours être en train de veiller au grain à travers ses secteurs organisés. b) Moderniser et moraliser l’exercice de la politique La façon dont nous sommes en train d’adresser la question des partis politiques relève du masochisme pur. Comment un Peuple peut-il accepter que son avenir soit abordé de manière aussi légère, sans créer les conditions pour que ces outils que sont les partis, deviennent vraiment capables de lui garantir la démocratie et le développement ! Nous ne pourrons pas investir des rêves de développement et de démocratie dans des structures politiques où la contradiction n’existe pas, et auxquelles ni la vision moderne et ambitieuse, ni la capacité de concrétiser cette vision font cruellement défaut. C’est comme vouloir aller sur la lune à bicyclette ! c) Renforcer les institutions démocratiques et modifier nos pratiques La démocratie et le développement se mesurent à l’aune des institutions et des pratiques d’usage dans la société. 1- Les Institutions Nous avons toujours privilégié le culte de la personnalité sur la culture institutionnelle. La crise biséculaire trouve sa genèse dans cette fâcheuse habitude. Il nous faut, pour relancer le pays sur la voie de la démocratie et du progrès, donner un cadre à l’exercice du pouvoir politique, à travers le renforcement de nos institutions. 2- Les pratiques Le népotisme, le clientélisme, l’irresponsabilité, l’improvisation, la myopie, la corruption, l’opacité, le culte de la personnalité doivent faire place à la décence, la compétence, l’accountability, la rigueur, la planification sur le long terme, l’honnêteté, la transparence et l’institutionnalisation. Cette rupture ne se fera pas parce que nous vivons dans le meilleur des mondes où tout le monde est de bonne foi ; il faut faire en sorte qu’il y ait un prix à payer pour chaque comportement déviant de la part de nos dirigeants. Mais pour qu’on puisse parler de comportement déviant, il faudra d’abord établir la norme. Conclusion Somme toute, l’argent ne peut résoudre qu’une partie de nos problèmes, et peut même dans certains cas, les aggraver. On ne peut changer un héritage négatif biséculaire sans d’abord consentir à un changement dans notre manière de voir le monde, et de nous voir nous-mêmes,et sans changer drastiquement l’architecture de nos institutions. Le miracle haïtien ne surviendra que dans la mesure où nous le créons. En d’autres termes, il n’y aura pas de miracle. Frandley Denis Julien Directeur Exécutif Mouvement Civique National Cap-Haïtien, le 4 novembre 2004
Latortue: Haiti on the Right Track, Still Much Work to be Done British Broadcasting Corp., 2004-07-08
An official report on the provisional government's accomplishments during its first 100 days in office was made public last night. The presentation was made in the presence of state officials, members of civil society, political leaders, members of the former opposition and representatives of the Friends of Haiti. The prime minister acknowledged that much remains to be done and he expressed satisfaction about his government's accomplishments, especially in matters regarding sanitation, better distribution of electricity and the resumption of educational activities. In this assessment of his government's achievements, Prime Minister Gerard Latortue recalled that the 100 days of probation required for a government normally concern countries where things are going smoothly, but not a looted country such as Haiti. The following is an excerpt from the speech made by Prime Minister Latortue during the ceremony for the presentation of the special report that was held last night at the National Palace: "More than 100 days ago, we were living under the oppression of the former regime but this is no longer so today. More than 100 days ago, the country was divided into two groups diametrically opposed, but this is no longer so today. More than 100 days ago, people in Port-au-Prince were suffocating when breathing the unhealthy smells of piles of refuse everywhere, but this is no longer so today. More than 100 days ago, schools and universities were not functioning, but this is no longer so today. More than 100 days ago, people in the metropolitan area were without electricity, they only had one or two hours of electricity a day, but this is no longer so today. More than 100 days ago, the local currency was falling dangerously but this is no longer so today. More than 100 days ago, public finances and the basis of the economy were showing worrying imbalances, but this is no longer so today." "I believe that any serious assessment of these 100 days should be based on the commitments and the accomplishments. This government announced 100 days ago that what it would like to do was to propose a step, a method, to demonstrate in the time that it was given that it was possible to govern this country in another way, to establish a new type of relationship between the state and the people and between the public and private sectors. In the list of priorities that it was to work on in the immediate term were listed the problem of electricity shortages, the unhealthiness of the streets and the fight against impunity. We said at the time that we had to do the impossible." "So, what was the theme that marked the government's inaugural speech made here on 19 March? With just the few resources we had then the government announced that it was possible to move in the right direction, which would allow it to keep its promises." "We are not here today to ask you to express satisfaction with what we have accomplished. We know that we still have a lot to do. But we also know that we are on the right track. The government does not have a miracle recipe or a magic wand but there is the willingness to do the impossible to change things in this country. Because, as you know, we must do the impossible."
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Haiti Democracy Project Corrects Record on Aristide Rhoda Kadalie, in Business Day (South Africa), 2004-06-14
PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki has an uncanny knack of dabbling with what is taboo, and then trying to give it respectability to suit his often inexplicable agendas. To be sure, if a constituency that Mbeki does not like condemns someone, that person automatically becomes sanctified in his eyes. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and the new Minster of Environment and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, are two good examples of this. Very much in the same mould, is his welcome to our shores of a much-despised dictator, former Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It is hardly in our best interests to make SA a safe haven for this despot. But why does Mbeki do so? Why does he risk international disdain for foreign "policies" that make no sense? Kader Asmal's argument (Sun day Independent, May 23) along with many other mindless editorials, that Aristide should get refugee status as someone driven out of his country, holds no water. Presenting Aristide as a victim of foreign unilateral interventions, and a symbol of resistance thereof, is a load of hogwash in the guise of rational argument. Here is the truth about Aristide according to the Haitian Democracy Project and my own friends from Haiti: Although Aristide was elected democratically as president in November 2000, the opposition boycotted the election for several reasons. Only 10% of eligible voters turned out to vote, in reaction to the growing authoritarianism and corruption of his government. The chimeres who operate much like Mugabe's war veterans ruthlessly crushed Haitian dissent, with the support of Aristide's government. These marauding gangs, assisted by national police, and armed with pistols, clubs, whips, rocks and bottles went into State University, attacked the rector with iron bars, breaking his legs and wounding 30 students before setting the university on fire. Under Aristide's rule, Haiti became isolated from the world community through suspension of grants, loans and aid. Transparency International says Haiti is considered one of the most corrupt countries, surpassed only by Bangladesh and Nigeria. People such as "the priests and laypersons of the liberation theology wing of the Haitian church, the network of grassroots organisations, peasant co-operatives and labour unions, and every single Haitian intellectual or artist of note" who all formerly supported Aristide's rise to the presidency, now denounce him vehemently. It is alleged that Aristide's inner circle had drug connections with the Haitian national police, turning Haiti into a drug state comparable with Colombia. It was against this background that Mbeki, one of only a few world leaders, decided to join Haiti in its 200th year celebrations. Ahead of him went the Drakensberg a South African naval ship, equipped with two helicopters, armoured vehicles, 133 military personnel to the besieged city of Gonaives where Haiti's independence was declared 200 years ago. During police raids in the city, more than 36 people were brutally murdered, and 85 wounded. Knowing what we endured to gain our freedom fighting racist police and Casspirs Haitians could not believe Mbeki planned a visit to support their despised autocratic ruler, who respected neither human rights nor the rule of law. Why would Mbeki, asked my friend, tarnish SA's years of struggle for democracy by participating in festivities contested and vehemently opposed by Haitians themselves? Why did our helicopters, as reported by the local news, station themselves in Gonaives and unload South African soldiers who immediately took up combat positions? When Mbeki knows he is wrong he finds ways to legitimise the wrong not least the R10m spent on the visit to Haiti and the millions that will be spent on Aristide's stay here. Knowing he will get the support from his cabinet and the majority in the National Assembly, no matter what, he invokes the language of racial oppression to justify his moves. He knows there is enough international guilt about colonialism and racial oppression about that will let him off the hook. He also knows there are enough spin-doctors in the media and crackpot political analysts prepared to attribute noble motives to his bizarre actions. Not so, the 100 foreign ambassadors who refused to submit to Mbeki's command to welcome Aristide. And so the lies about Aristide will continue. Mrs Mbeki may accompany him to church amid great fanfare to make this unholy debacle more palatable, but let me remind readers Aristide left behind an almost irreparable mess, while he will enjoy the fat of our land at our expense. Ger ard Latortue, the current Haitian leader, inherited a devastated country. Kadalie is a human rights activist based in Cape Town.
Party of Haiti's poor in turmoil  With the departure of President Aristide, leaders of his political party wonder if Haiti's poor will have a voice in deciding the country's future. mozingo@herald.com
ARISTIDE'S POLITICAL BASE PORT-AU-PRINCE -- Three months after armed rebels sent President Jean-Bertrand Aristide into exile, the political movement he led has fallen into disarray, raising fears that Haiti's vast poor majority will lose its voice in government. Even as Aristide insists that he is the country's rightful president and vows to return, his Lavalas Family party is divided over what to do next: move on without him; boycott promised elections; accept any blame for the violence and corruption that gripped the country in recent years. How Lavalas responds in upcoming months will play a key role in guiding the fate of democracy here, and perhaps test Washington's willingness to help a nation still staggering after the February revolt. ''Lavalas has been the only political entity that has represented the traditionally excluded,'' said Robert Maguire, a Haiti expert at Trinity College in Washington. ``It's the only voice of the poor. And right now, it's in disarray.'' For most of Haiti's troubled history, rule flowed from the top down. From bougainvillea-draped villas high in the hills to cardboard slums below; from a light-skinned elite that controlled the wealth to peasants who had as little wealth as any in the world. While the dynamic shifted from time to time, it didn't flip end to end until priests in the slums began to preach justice for the poor in the 1980s. The liberation theology soon morphed into a broad democratic movement that propelled Aristide, a former priest, into the presidency. The movement was called Lavalas -- the Creole word for cleansing floods -- because it swept away the last vestiges of the 29-year Duvalier dynasty. A decade later, in 2000, Aristide established the Lavalas Family party. But soon after, many of his early colleagues in the struggle for democracy began to distance themselves from a regime they saw as increasingly corrupt and autocratic. ''Lavalas Family was essentially a platform built around one man,'' said Michele Montas, an early Lavalas leader and widow of Jean Dominique, a radio journalist who railed against injustice and was assassinated in 2000. So far, no one has emerged from the political vacuum that followed Aristide's departure on Feb. 29. Many Lavalas leaders have gone into hiding or exile. Rebels still control northern Haiti. The U.S.-backed interim government lacks authority outside the capital. And Lavalas has not agreed to participate in an electoral council, casting doubt about the legitimacy of the election set for 2005. PRIVATE MEETINGS Much of the discussion about Haiti's future is taking place here in the capital, called derisively in the provinces ''The Republic of Port-au-Prince'' for its perceived disconnection with the rest of Haiti. And only in this political bubble, where the U.S. Marines and multinational troops set up operations, do remaining Lavalas activists feel safe to meet. The meetings are not public, but a clear line of disagreement is emerging from them. Hard-line Aristide loyalists -- many in exile in Miami and New York, and in regular phone contact with the former president -- insist that he runs the party whether he is abroad or not. Reformers who stayed in Haiti say Lavalas needs to move on and let new leaders rise in his wake. 'We need to do a lot of self-criticism because Lavalas has done a lot of bad things,'' said Lesley Voltaire, a former minister under Aristide. ``We have to correct things.'' Perhaps the biggest obstacle: Many Haitians blame Lavalas for the terror inflicted in recent years by armed Aristide loyalists known as chimres. Voltaire said the party must go back to the inclusive ideals of the early Lavalas movement. Whether it does that or not, he said, the poor will find someone to represent them. Maryse Narcisse disagrees. As one of only seven people with permission to speak officially for the Lavalas Family party, she insists that the United States kidnapped Aristide and that the party must abide by its own constitution, which names him as the official leader. She denies allegations that Aristide's government profited from drug trafficking or that Aristide armed chimres with automatic weapons. ''What's important is that Lavalas and Aristide are victims of a disinformation campaign,'' she said. ``There is nothing that proves the chimres are Lavalas.'' Where the two factions in the party agree is this: They will have a tough time getting their message out. They say their members are attacked by vigilantes and unduly arrested by the interim government, with help from the multinational forces. A recent Amnesty International report confirmed that members of Lavalas, as well as other Haitians, face continuing human rights violations. RAID BY MARINES On May 10, U.S. Marines raided the home of Annette Auguste, a popular folk singer and Lavalas activist. They killed a dog and arrested 12 people, but ultimately let everyone except Auguste go. Marine Lt. Col. Dave Lapan said she is accused of plotting attacks against the multinational forces. A week later, U.S. Marines helped Haitian national police break up a Lavalas rally in the neighborhood of Bel Air, saying the group did not have a permit. The Marines later learned that the protesters had applied for a permit, but that it never ''reached the highest levels of Haitian national police,'' Lapan said. At least one man was killed during the demonstration. ''They are choking us so we can't speak!'' shouted a furious Hector Vincent, 41, shortly after the shooting. Political opponents of Aristide dismiss the claim as hyperbole. They say Lavalas' own record is the only thing holding it back. ''I don't see Lavalas re-emerging to represent the poor,'' said Andy Apaid Jr., a factory owner and leader of the opposition movement. ``The facts -- the accumulation of wealth, the corruption -- are going to surface.'' He said it would take time to create a sense of ''social cohesion'' after Aristide created enmity between classes. ''We just came out of a hurricane,'' Apaid said. ``It's very early now to see which parties will show a social inclination and represent the poor.'' But many are dubious. The political opposition to Lavalas is strongly tied to the elite that maintained a repressive class system for two centuries. And many see the rebels as a reincarnation of an army that reigned terror throughout the country for generations until Aristide disbanded it in 1995. Fueling the suspicion of an elite takeover: The price of rice -- the main staple of the Haitian diet -- has doubled since Aristide left, making life miserable for much of the country. ''The people who sell the rice are the people who kicked Aristide out,'' said Berthony F.A. Mercier, 50, who paints signs in Port-au-Prince. Others wonder why the multinational forces in Haiti have tried to disarm the chimres in slums like Cité Soleil and not the rebels who openly brandish weapons in major cities like Gonaives, Cap Haitien and Hinche. Within the Lavalas party, some see at least one benefit in all the grief caused by Aristide's departure: A new generation of leaders can now emerge. In the past, Aristide picked the senators, ministers and other party officials. That is partially why, said Yves Cristalin, a young Lavalas member who was president of the Chamber of Deputies, there is such a leadership vacuum in the country now. But Cristalin says his party will ultimately prevail. ''Lavalas is the poor,'' he said. ``Lavalas is not Aristide only. The fight for the poor will continue.''
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