13248: Allen posts on OAS Resolution 822 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dr Allen <drallen@periogroup.com>

 OAS resolution 822 makes the following demands on the Haitian Government:

"-Restoration of a climate of security
-The effective prosecution of any person, and dismissal, when appropriate,
of any person found to be author of or accomplice in the violence of
December 17, 2001, and subsequent days;
- The completion of a thorough inquiry into all politically-motivated crime
-Prompt reparation for organizations and individuals who suffered damages as
a direct result of the violence of December 17, 2001."

    On a larger point, I agree with those who think that only Haitians can
resolve the current crisis.  The OAS, even in good faith ( not so obvious),
cannot and will not get us out of this impasse.  The decision by the
government and the opposition to defer to the OAS  in this matter is indeed
a regrettable one.  If the Haitian judicial branch is not  part to the
process, it is doomed to fail and all resolutions will be what they have
been so far: posturing by an international community that wants to give
itself a good conscience. However, because of the historically dismal state
of the judicial system and its lack of independence, it is not trusted to
intervene in the crisis.  Any of its decisions would be viewed as a decision
by the executive branch.  I still believe that the intervention of the
Haitian judicial branch in the process is a must.
    Some have said that the insertion of "restoration of a climate of
security" in resolution 822 will yield at least some progress in security.
To those I would say that I for one do not think that you can restore what
was never instated .  I cannot think of a time when a "climate of security"
existed in Haiti, at least in a political sense. In addition, the government
and its supporters (the American too,before 2000) have always claimed that
since the "return of Aristide", we had a Democracy, which pre-supposed that
such a climate existed before December 2001. This OAS recommendation is so
vague that it is subject to divergent interpretations.  The government will
claim hat such a climate already exists and the opposition will never be
satisfied that the goal is reached.  Who will decide?
    It is true that last Thursday I witnessed something I did not think
possible in Haiti.  On my way from the airport to Lalue, I encountered the
march organized by the students.  They all had red cards in hand and were
chanting " Down with Aristide, Down with the Lavalas thieves, red card to
Lavalas(a soccer metaphor).  All this was happening with perfect order under
the watchful eyes of the Haitian Police.  Pamphlets were distributed which
were very critical of Uncle Sam and the Lavalas (Sept 19, 2002,  was the 8th
anniversary of the second American invasion). I was impressed!  I later
learned that the day before, the same police force disrupted a peaceful
concert (Bookman Eksperyans)  when the government was beginning to be
criticized, and that it had been warned by the "Embassies" that the student
demonstration, whose two previous attempts were thwarted by the government ,
better not be disrupted this time. For most, the Lavalas regime now
practices "Selective Climate Control".
    On the issue of "Prompt reparation for organizations and individuals who
suffered damages as a direct result of the violence of December 17, 2001",
again we have tremendous problems. Since no Haitian court has established
who is responsible and to what extent, the government is free to choose who
will be compensated and what amount it will give.  In addition, the
'taxpayer' again foots the bill and not the perpetrators of the crimes and
those who hired them.
    The sad truth about those resolutions (806, 822) that pretend to guide
us, is that they are meaningless; it is merely part of a "piece de theatre".
The more resolutions the OAS passes, the further away we will be from a true
Haitian solution.  Now that the "societe Civile" is asking for an
International Force to supervise the Haitian Police and act as a guarantor
of our security, we have really come full circle.   How can we trust the OAS
when it has discredited itself since 1991 in the way it had handled the
Haitian problem?
    I will likely be in Haiti on January 1, 2004.  Will we celebrate two
centuries of independence or mourn that we have lost our way and are now
dependent on an Omnipresent Ambassadorial Sleaze (OAS)?

 Joseph A. Allen DDS
 Miami, FL