a1621: BBC: Haiti: Opposition leader Manigat explains his objections to negotiating process (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>

Haiti: Opposition leader Manigat explains his objections to negotiating
process
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 9, 2002

The leader of the RDNP [Assembly of Progressive National Democrats] insists
that negotiation is not the way to get the country out of the current
impasse. Professor Leslie Manigat, who is no longer a member of the
Convergence [opposition coalition], has invited the democratic forces to
prepare for the period when Aristide will leave office. Manigat hopes that
the democrats will draw positive lessons from the Peruvian experience in
order to change the political configuration in Haiti. Manigat speaks as
follows:
[Manigat - recording] We must arrive at political change in this country. We
said so clearly before and honest people should think about preparing for
the period after Aristide leaves office.
[Journalist Rotchild Francois Jr] But how can this invitation be turned into
a reality, when mobilization cannot really take place in Haiti because of
the problems that have been going on for some years? How can people get
Aristide to leave office when he clearly stated that he has no intention of
leaving office?
[Manigat] Mobilization takes time, because we are living in ambiguity. On
the one hand, they [the Convergence] say that they are going to become
mobilized to get Aristide to leave office. That means a lot of risks, of
course. But, on the other hand, they say that they are open to negotiations
which will allow Aristide to remain in power under certain conditions. That
is one of the causes of the problems of the mobilization.
But that is not all, there is a situation of general policy. Why does the
mobilization not work as they would like it to? This is because the country
and we must be sincere like the RDNP, the country is not making progress.
That is the important thing. The people are aware that what is lacking is
unity to start with, which would have got things under way.
[Francois] So, in other words, according to you, negotiation is not the way
to resolve the crisis. But, at the same time, one must take into account the
international community, which entirely supports the negotiating process.
[Manigat] The international community supports that process completely
because there is inadequacy in Haitian opinion and deficiency in the Haitian
opposition. Did the international community not support Fujimori to start
with? And yet Fujimori had to leave office later on, did he not?
As realistic people we can impose a solution on the national collectivity.
Maybe that is what is taking place now. That can be done. And this would not
be the first time for such things have taken place. Once Haitians do not
have the nerve to make a patriotic decision then the international community
will impose a decision that is not at all patriotic.
We do not mean to say that we are against the OAS. We are against the way
the OAS carried out the process. For instance, the OAS could have just
created a commission of inquiry to seriously establish the facts, conclude
and condemn the culprits, as was the case between Haiti and the Dominican
Republic. We all agree that there are clean-ups and good actions that could
be done and can be done, and not by force by an OAS commission of inquiry.
But to give full permission for the OAS to interfere in the judiciary,
police and the governance of this country, we can only say that nationalism
is obsolete and that we agree with the concepts of globalization. But there
is a limit and, better than that, there is, fortunately, what is called
patriotism. I even evoke the patriotism among Americans, which is
extraordinary. God bless America - like them we can say patriotically may
God bless our dear Haiti.
BBC Monitoring/ ¸ BBC