a 17: "No comments" (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Joe Allen <jaallen1@bellsouth.net>

from: Jaallen1@bellsouth.net

  The " no comments" issued by the members of convergence was disturbing; I
initially thought it was a missed opportunity to take a principled position
and defend democratic values.  The convergence I felt needed to dissociate
itself from these unfortunate events.
    After speaking to many friends in Haiti , it now becomes clear that
there is a new angle to the story.  Is it spin from a reactive sector that
is ready to accuse Aristide no matter what?
   Many observers now believe that Aristide and his cronies may have
fabricated the crisis.  Since one cannot denounce something that does not
exist, I now interpret the "no comments" to mean that the opposition views
the events with great skepticism.
    The version of events proposed by the Aristide government resembles
greatly the one developed last summer when the former military academy was
attacked.  To put it mildly, the current version has more holes than Swiss
and does not withstand a rigorous analysis.  This invites the wildest
speculations, from drug dealing to political expediency. Having said that, I
must admit that the police force may indeed be that bad and not know where
the attackers went.
    Although  we do not yet have a clear culprit for the attacks, we at
least know that the pro-lavalas mobs have performed in the same predictable
manner  since 1990,  this time minus the necklaces (Pe Lebrun).  The "bayo
sa yo merite" is still the "modus operandi".  Reporteurs Sans Fromtieres
accuses the pro-lavalas sector of orchestrating the attacks to the
opposition, that resulted in extensive material damage.
    We will have to wait for more details from the government in order to
form a definitive opinion on the coup or auto-coup.  If it is clear that the
perpetrators of the coup must be punished to the full extent of the law, one
should not diminish the need to bring to justice the pro- Aristide
arsonists.  Two wrongs do not make a right!
     The application of democratic principles is the only measure of ones
commitment to those principles.
Joseph A. Allen DDS
    Miami, Fl