12573: President Aristide with cooperatives July 10 2002 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com

Unofficial translation


Meeting between President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and cooperatives and depositors in cooperatives concerning the new law on cooperatives and a compensation process for those who have lost their monies in cooperatives. National Palace, July 10th, 2002.

PRESIDENT ARISTIDE:
All my greetings to you. I am very happy to put my voice together with the Ministers' voices to greet you and to welcome you here in our home. I am also happy to thank all of those who worked hard in order to write the law on
cooperatives. I also thank the Senators and the Deputies who are not here today, but who worked hard so that the law on cooperatives could be published in The Monitor today. It took a long time, and many debates took place. The National Press worked all last night so I could have this law on cooperatives
in hand this morning for our meeting.

There is no perfect law that makes everybody happy. A law is an instrument to make understanding easier so everybody knows what they can and cannot do.

In the process, people can agree to make changes in the law. But before it is changed, the law is the law. Everybody needs to respect it. This is why I was hoping to have the law with us this morning. Since we have it with us, allow me to read a few articles from it before we get to the bottom of why we are
here today. We are here to discuss the crisis cooperatives are going through, the compensation, the different ways it will be given so that the victims can see that we are serious, that we accomplish our duty in order and discipline.
So before we get to that, let me read a few articles from the law, since this law will help us avoid another crisis like the one we are living through now.

Article 5 in the law states that cooperatives are based on the following cooperative principles:

1- Voluntary membership open to the entire population;
2- Members have democratic power, so one member equals one vote;
3- Economic participation from the members, autonomy and independence of the cooperative;
4- Education, training, information for the members and the general public;
5- Cooperation between the cooperatives, commitment to the community.

I would like to read right away Article 16 of the law, which refers us to the Conseil National des Cooperatives. It is written:

Article 16  All cooperatives are registered as a cooperative with the Conseil National des Cooperatives (National Council of Cooperatives) as a cooperative.

No cooperative is permitted to function if it is not registered with the Conseil National des Cooperatives.

Article 17  Before they start their activities, all cooperatives need to be authorized to function. This authorization is provided by a notice authorizing them to operate delivered by the Conseil National des Cooperatives, after notice from the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH).
Since this is new to cooperatives, it would be good to read a few articles on the role played by the Central Bank in the operation and control of the cooperatives.

It’s not because we want the Central Bank to take control of the cooperatives that we wrote the law this way.  We, as members of cooperatives and members of government, it is precisely because we want to end this crisis we are going through now. So the Central Bank will exert a control on cooperatives to protect them, to protect all members, because the State has the obligation to protect all citizens’ money. Whether a person puts his or her money in the bank or in a cooperative, the State has to protect this money. So it is
important to read a few articles about the control and supervision of the cooperatives.

Article 10 - A department was created in the Bank of the Republic of Haiti and it was named the Department of the General Inspection of the Caisses Populaires (Saving Banks). This department is in charge of supervising and controlling the Cooperatives and the Federations of Savings and Credit
Cooperatives, that are constituted in accordance with this law. It also makes sure that the standards and the law that concerns them are respected.

(Extract from Article 11 - This department sees to the quality of the cooperatives’ financial situation.)

Article 13 - The Bank of the Republic of Haiti has the power to check by itself, or to give an independent auditor the mandate to check the accounts and activities of all entities, whose activities and operations would be similar to those of a cooperative.

Now lets take a look at Article 15.

Article 15 - The BRH can force cooperatives to respect the management rules which are intended to ensure security for the deposits and to promote a credit policy in accordance with the nation’s interest.

I am certain that all the people who put their money in a cooperative and who were worried about what has happened to their money are reassured with what they’ve just heard. However, there are many great laws in the country and people
don’t always respect them. What will be important is to make them respect the law. As for me, the Head of State, I commit myself to respect that law. I can’t do it by myself, so I will do it together with the concerned authorities. Sitting at this table is the Minister of Cooperation. Cooperatives are linked with this ministry.

The Minister of Justice also has a responsibility to apply the law and this is why he is here this morning. The Director of the Conseil National des Cooperatives is here too, and he has a responsibility. We can see the Prosecutor, who has an important role to play. And the Central Bank Vice-Governor is here in the name of the Central Bank Governor and the
Central Bank Council. His presence here shows that, as the State’s authorities, we all assume our responsibilities, at different levels, complimenting each other.

The Director of the National Bank of Credit and the Director of BPH are here too, because if needed, it may be one of these banks that will work together with the cooperators -- the people in charge of cooperatives.

This being said, I can move on to the second part of this meeting. I hope that the press will help us share the first part of the meeting, that we just looked at quickly with the national community, so that all Haitians who have interests in the cooperatives, or who deposited their money in a cooperative know that the State is fully aware of its duty. And the law will help us fulfill our duty which is to protect your money, protect your interests, since this is the reason you put your money there.

Lets move on to part two.

Last Wednesday, I announced that we were going to meet to take a look at the mechanism of the operation for  compensation, repairing and enforcement of cooperatives. We are not only interested in cooperatives that are having
problems. The cooperatives that do not have any problems are of interest to us too. Last night, I was happy to see the Minister of Cooperation and the Director of the Conseil National des Cooperatives celebrating together with
the cooperatives the national and international Cooperatives Day, through the exhibition they put on. This shows that there are cooperatives that work well. You can see their work through their exhibition. And we can’t forget the great work the cooperatives have done in Haiti in the past 64 years.

Otherwise, it would be an encouragement to them to mismanage cooperatives so we can meet with them and help them move forward. Therefore, this is not only about the problems cooperatives are facing. We will discuss that, but not
only that. It is also about the cooperatives that function well, that are well managed. It is important that members know that not all cooperatives are in bad condition. Far from that. Not all cooperatives are facing problems. Far from that.

In the name of the nation, we embrace all those cooperatives that do good work to tell them how happy we are they exist, because the first article in our Constitution stipulates that our country is a cooperative republic. The existence and the good work of the cooperatives that work well illustrate
what our constitution asks. We will always be with you, we will always walk by your side so the good work that you do in the country can increase every day.

The banks do their work too, but without the cooperatives, it would be much harder for Haitians to obtain credit. Because if you can obtain credit in a cooperative that works well when you can’t get it in a bank, the entire country benefits from that. To have economic growth in a country, you need
credit. And without minimizing the role banks play, we don’t minimize the role cooperatives play either, as the good credit given by the cooperatives that work well is exactly what our country needs for its economic health.

Now lets talk about the compensation problem. How will this work? This is what we will look at together. Has it started yet? Yes, it has started.

I see the great work the Conseil National des Cooperatives has done since it took on the issue of the cooperatives that are having problems.  Cooperatives have had their premises turned upside down, they received threats, some cooperative leaders have gone into hiding. I will say it again: the solution is not in hiding. The solution is in what we are doing now, which is to sit down together to look at the problems and to look for the solutions together. I congratulate all of those who chose to stand up as good Haitians so we can find a way to get compensation and to improve the cooperatives’ financial health, through dialogue and consultation, instead of through fear, resignation or hiding.

The Conseil National des Cooperatives has done good work so far in getting all the files together and it will continue to do so. In a short while, the director will tell us where they are at. And at the same time, I am aware of all the work the Ministry of Justice needs to do, as fighting impunity is a
lot of work. Also, in the name of the Parquet (Court), the Prosecutor receives all the complaints, they handle them and they complete the files the Conseil National des Cooperatives has opened. This great work at the Parquet, Port-au-Prince level, is quite an achievement.

These two people, the Prosecutor and the Director of the Conseil National des Cooperatives, have a key role to play. We will pass them the microphone so they can inform the nation, the cooperative members, and us who are here,
about where they are at with the files they are completing. When they both finish, we will hear the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Cooperation, as they can both add some things to our meeting. And we will tell our reactions, whether we agree or not with what has been said. We will also hear your suggestions on how to improve what has been done already, so you can get compensation in order and discipline. One of my worries, and I am sure you are worried about this too, is that the real victims don’t get compensation,
because some people come with false papers to get their money. It is the duty of the State, and that of the leaders of cooperatives, to make sure that all real victims find compensation and no one comes with false papers to get the
real victims’ money. Or that some people that shouldn’t get compensation come with weapons or false uniforms to intimidate you to take the real victims’ money.

As for the Police responsibility, it is to make sure that there is order, discipline, and to stay alert to watch and arrest all people who would wear fake uniforms to dirty the name of the Police and to try to get money from the cooperatives. A policeman has to give the right example. And policemen need to continue to give the good example they are giving. But they have to stay alert so nobody wears fake uniforms to get money from cooperatives or to intimidate them. They need to arrest those people immediately because we need order, discipline, principles, so that the real victims can get compensation.

There can’t be panic during this operation, because panic is like a hurricane. Panic is like a hurricane because it is enough to destroy trust. And without trust, there can’t be economic growth.  Imagine you are a bank -- the explanation I am about to give here is not so much for the people who are
used to banks and cooperatives, it is more intended to educate all of the Haitian population because we see that the law talks about cooperatives, training and education.  Imagine you are a bank, whatever bank, and word is
going around that you are bankrupt, creating panic, but you really aren’t going bankrupt. What will happen then?  Most everybody who put their money in the bank will run to the bank and ask for it right away. The more people who
see everybody running to the bank asking for their money, the higher panic will rise, and panic will destroy all the trust people had in the bank.  How could this bank satisfy all the demands in just one day? So panic will grow more on the second day. But how could the bank get that money back in just a few days? Because sometimes banks invest or deposit the money you deposited in it elsewhere or in other countries. It takes time before they can get all the money back from their investments so they could satisfy all the people who are panicking and asking for their money. It gets worse when people who are not educated come with weapons. This is why I say to arrest all those people if it happens. The health of a bank doesn’t get better with panic. It
gets better with trust and it is the same thing for all cooperatives. If a person wants to destroy a cooperative, we will see that person come to get a lot of money, encourage panic, lie about cooperatives, to force other people
to run everywhere to get their money. Then the cooperative won’t be able to keep up with that.

You need trust to have economic growth. This is why I ask that we keep our heads up, keep a cool head and stay alert so we don’t let crafty people take our money. And at the same time, don’t let panic make us intimidate the serious people who are managing our money according to the law and discipline
of banks and cooperatives.

This is a page on education, information and training that deserves to continue to be explained and shared so everybody who put their money in a bank or in a cooperative can stay alert and not give in to the wind of panic that would keep trust from growing so economic growth can last.

I am now inviting the Director of the Conseil National des Cooperatives to take a few minutes to summarize for us who are here, for the members who are not here and for all the people who lost their money in a cooperative, how
there is discipline in getting the files together in order to give the right compensation to the real victims. As a cooperative institution, we are closing all doors to fake victims so they can’t get compensation and so real
victims can get their money back quickly and well. After, we will hear the Prosecutor who will summarize for us what has been done already on the legal level.

DIRECTOR OF THE CONSEIL NATIONAL DES COOPERATIVES (C.N.C.):
Thank you Mr. President. My greetings to all my fellow cooperators who are here and I thank the President for the trust he puts in me, the director of the C.N.C. and in the Prosecutor to do a job together, we work compiling. We
have started that job already and I can tell you, in only two days, we have received about 650 complaints. It has been done quite in order so far, apart from a few people who thought their money was ready for them in the C.N.C..

When we receive a complaint, the Prosecutor and I sit together and we set up what the President has called earlier a file. This file is what we will use later to know the methods we will take to set a time for the beginning of
what we call the reparation process.

How do we collect the complaints? It is either in the Parquet or in the C.N.C.. We have things set up for that. There are receptionists who are there to welcome people and to receive the documents they bring. What we ask for are not the original documents. And it is not either a certified letter
written by a lawyer. We ask for a letter that says the name of the cooperative the person was with, the person’s name, the person’s NIF,* and if possible, since I think there will be a second step, a copy of the contract with the cooperative.

Up to now, everybody who came to the C.N.C. expressed their satisfaction that they received good service. We’ll continue to work like this, without any disorder, please. In due course, the Prosecutor and I, since the President chose us to be in charge of this, will let you know, through the media, how and when the reparation operation will begin.

I received many phone calls from unhappy people. I called many cooperative leaders who were supposed to be here today. They told me they couldn’t come because they had to hide. The President just talked about this. Are there people who put on fake uniforms and go to the homes of the cooperators? We
don’t know. Some cooperators have come directly to the C.N.C. to complain about people who have come to file complaints and have seized their things.

We ask all depositors not to do that. Even if you feel cheated, if you deposited money in a cooperative, President Aristide has taken the responsibility to give reparation to the people, together with the cooperatives. You don’t have to be violent, to kidnap people or to steal cars. I’ve had people calling me to threaten me, although I have no financial
resources yet. So far, the Prosecutor and I have been  compiling files only. Since the day the President has announced we would be working together, there hasn’t been a day we haven’t worked together. The work is being done, we won’t forget anybody. But as the President said in his statement, you need to be patient. And with patience, together we will find a solution for everyone.

PRESIDENT ARISTIDE:
Thank you Mr. Director. Now we will hear from the prosecutor.

THE PROSECUTOR:
I want to greet his Excellency, the President of the Republic, the Ministers who are here, the Heads of the banks who are here and all the cooperative members’ representatives. Like the President just said, the General Director of the C.N.C. and the Parquet of Port-au-Prince are working on the cooperative issue. A cooperative is an institution provided for in the Haitian Constitution. So now a law has been voted on, and as men of law, it is in our interest to respect that law. On the Parquet level, we are
interested in the legal framework. We received many complaints.

I counted this morning with the director of the C.N.C. In the Parquet we have approximately 315, and the director received about 300.  So we received many complaints already. We are working and it is important to do good work, because among all the complaints we received, many are not real ones. They
are complaints that have been invented for the circumstances. We let those people know that a public action will be initiated against them. We will continue to advance the process  because a cooperative is something that touches all levels of the Haitian society so it is in the States interest to protect this institution. And as the heads of the public action, we will not let anyone go off the line on this issue. Many complaints are real and we will forward them to the people in charge so we can see how the evaluation
and reparation process will proceed. But for those of you who brought in false complaints, and you know if I am talking about you, we will analyze all the complaints and the Parquet will initiate public action against you.

And for those who really have money deposited in a  cooperative and who are worried about their money, we will say it again: you don’t need to worry.

The State has created an institution to work on the cooperative issue and the people working in this institution are experts who have extraordinary qualities. We have taken great steps forward and we believe that we can find
satisfying solutions.

We will tell the people who ran away that it is not the solution. Wherever you are justice will find you because it will go after you for violation of common law. The Haitian State has an agreement with sister nations, so we will get to you. I don’t think this is the solution. The solution is to come back in Haiti. Through dialogue we can find a solution to the problem. For anyone who acts on the fringe of the law, or who defends personal issues, we will not let anyone use and destabilize the National Police, this institution
that Haitians worked so hard to create.

Whoever puts pressure on the people in charge of cooperatives to try to get money on an individual level, the Parquet will initiate public action against these people. As the prosecutor, I send out a message to all the people who
ran away, who are in different countries. I ask them to come back. Justice is willing to guarantee their security on the national land. This is a clear message. We say it again: the authorities concerned will initiate public action against the people who brought in false complaints. All the offenders,
people bringing disorder, defending their own interests, the Parquet of Port-au-Prince will not hesitate a second to initiate a public action against you.

And we want this to be clear, all of you who deposited money in a cooperative, you are a member of that cooperative and it is in your interest to defend the cooperative interests, but not on an individual level. The Haitian State makes the formal commitment to all these people that they will
get compensation. So it is in calmness and serenity that we can find solutions together with the people who are here, to see how we can manage to get both the members and the Haitian State out of this situation.

At this moment, we are on the right track, we have had many good work sessions and we want to thank the experts who are working with us on this issue for their good advice. I think you can put your trust in us. Sooner or later, everyone will get satisfaction.

PRESIDENT ARISTIDE:
Thank you Mr. Prosecutor. Just before the Minister of Justice speaks, I will congratulate the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor for the great work they are doing together with the lawyers who were hired by the Haitian government. They sat together and they signed an accord. This morning, I
heard someone say it is not an accord, it is almost an accord. They say it is only a draft, but it is clearly a written accord. It is an accord signed by the Minister of Justice, the political players, the political players’
lawyers, the opposition political parties and the lawyers representing many victims from the failed coup détat on December 17th. They worked hard yesterday and they signed an agreement on how compensation will be given. This is good! This is very good! Just the same, there are victims from the
cooperatives. And the meeting we are having this morning will help us complete what has been done already in identifying the mechanism that will allow all groups of victims to get compensation orderly.

What was done yesterday is a good example and I believe we can continue the good work through this meeting today. I hope we will complete what has been done already to find a good mechanism for compensation, repairing and reinforcing the cooperatives that are working well in providing credit.

MINISTER OF JUSTICE:
Thank you President. Good morning President, good morning everyone who is here. After hearing the director of the C.N.C. and the Prosecutor, I do concur with everything they said, and as the Minister of Justice, my role is to provide the Prosecutor with all the necessary means so he can function
within the framework of the law. As the President mentioned earlier, the law was passed and we are all aware that we need to build a lawful country. Without the law, nothing can function. We ask that all dispositions and all activities that can lead to a solution of this problem be done through this law.  The law is there and we need to respect it.

So we ask everybody to keep a cool and calm head to find a solution to this problem together with the justice system. We heard the warning the President gave and the prosecutor confirmed it about the people who are doing the wrong
thing. The law is there to punish all these persons. It can only be achieved through constructive dialogue.  Nothing can be done without dialogue. Yesterday, it was through a constructive dialogue with respect for one another that we accomplished what we did. We are hoping we can work like that
with the Prosecutor, the Director of the C.N.C. and everybody else involved in finding a solution, so we can find a solution to solve this problem, with respect for each other. Thank you.


* Government identification number found on one’s DGI identity card.

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