5863: RE: 5523,5520, 5513 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: archim <archim@globelsud.net>


        The negative comments regarding Ira Kurzban's statements re. 
     Haitian and US elections, need to be countered. Joel Dreyfuss surely 
     makes several correct points, but they are points which have nothing 
     to do with Haiti and its manner of counting votes in the previous 
     election(s). As Joel should know, our problem in Haiti is not how we 
     count the votes; or who counts them; or who certifies them; or who 
     is/was in charge of the electoral council; or, quite honestly, who is 
     running for president! Our problem is one of jealousy, back-biting, 
     envy, megalomania and down-right corruption! In a society where no one
     respects the law, it appears to me that we need to have a leader who 
     can inspire people to have a love for their country and in so doing 
     develop that necessary respect for the law.
        The people of Haiti overwhelmingly elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide 
     when the importance of "democracy" was emphasized by our "big brother" 
     to the north. Those elections were monitored...even by Jimmy Carter, 
     and Aristide won. I was not in favor of Aristide at first, but when I 
     realized that the Haitian people...the voice of democracy in 
     Haiti...wanted him, I rallied 'round their choice. But what happened? 
     That same "big brother" to the north didn't like him and so they 
     collaborated with the minority voice in Haiti (big businessmen, 
     military leaders, megalomaniacs, etc.) to overthrow him. That was a 
     big, big mistake! That was an anti-democratic action supported by the 
     very society which prides itself on *its* version of democracy.
        And look what happened: international public opinion pretty-much 
     forced the USA to return Aristide and fly the evil ones away...at the 
     expense of the US public. Following the return of Aristide, his 
     opponents (in Haiti and elsewhere...especially in the US) have 
     carried-on a relentless campaign of disinformation and jealousy; 
     murder annd intrigue, and political smear, all, I might say, without 
     effect on the majority of the Haitian people. We all know that 
     Aristide will win; that's a given. Most of us want Aristide to win, 
     and that's a given also!
        Garry Pierre-Pierre's comments really do sum up the situation, 
     especially where he uses his supposeed loss of $40,000 in revenue as a 
     main reason for his dislike of Lavalas. "Big business" is directly 
     responsible for the deep abyss into which Haiti has fallen, not 
     Lavalas. Had all those big businesses paid their taxes, paid living 
     wages to their employees, and shown some compassion for the majority 
     of the Haitian people (instead of building magnificent mansions in the 
     hills), maybe Aristide could have started his work at the second stage 
     of reform: creating respect for the leader, for the country, and for 
     its laws. The big businessmen didn't respect the laws, so why should 
     the people be expected to do so?
        On Nov 26...next Sunday, the majority of Haitians will vote, and 
     there is no doubt that Aristide will win. Haiti has already started 
     its "winning-streak" by standing firm against outside pressures to 
     postpone the election, and by refusing to bow to those who demanded a 
     "recount" of the May elections.
        Haiti is a "fledgling democracy", so give us a chance to do our own 
     thing and let's see if we know more about how our country should be 
     run than do those who do not live here. Yes, pre-election time is 
     "spooky" in Haiti, as Richard Morse wrote (see 5522), but the country 
     is filled with "spooks" so what can we expect. Let's stand behind the 
     leader of the majority and stive to dispel the spookiness in the 
     coming years.
        +AM/FM