13922: Blanchet: Fw: Pres. Aristide's full speech & Q&A from Nov.28, 02 (English) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: <MKarshan@aol.com>

> PRESS CONFERENCE BY HIS EXCELLENCY, JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE, PRESIDENT OF
THE REPUBLIC, ABOUT THE SITUATION, AFTER A BREAKFAST IN HONOR OF THE
TAIWANESE DIPLOMAT, MR. MICHEL LU –
>
> National Palace, November 28, 2002
>
> OPENING SPEECH BY PRESIDENT ARISTIDE:
>
> Dear friends, welcome to this breakfast we just had in honor of the
Taiwanese Ambassador. I hope that we can share the same enthusiasm we shared
with him with the Haitian people through our words.
>
> Those people who would like to know what would be better for the country
have their answer: it is peace. We said that the path of peace is the best
way to lead us to complete deliverance. And the path of peace is the only
way to lead us to deliverance. There is dialogue, understanding and wisdom
on that path of peace. Right now, the Electoral Council is the path of peace
which will lead us to elections, because there is no place for coups d’etat
on this path.
>
> If there is a lot of hunger in the country today, if there is a lot of
unemployment, it is the result of about thirty coups d’etat.
>
> Every time the Haitian army and their accomplices thought that a coup d’
etat was the best thing for the country, they only  plunged it deeper into
blood. The last coup d’etat in 1991 left us with 5,000 corpses. Pigs ate our
brothers and sisters’ corpses. So Haiti’s history proves that we need peace
and not coups d’etat.
>
> We need dialogue, not violence. We need respect, democratic compromise and
never the violence of a coup d’etat. That is the reason why, to all the
people who are wondering what the best path for the country is right now,
the answer is simple!
>
> It is peace. The answer is clear! It is peace.
>
> Only the path of peace can lead us to that deliverance.
>
> Therefore, I invite all Haitians everywhere to remain calm. The police
will have to disarm everyone who owns illegal weapons. Those who have search
warrants issued for their houses to be searched, then that will be done
according to the law so that these illegal weapons can be taken away. This
is so that no one will be in possession of illegal weapons to disturb the
peace. Those of you who are crazy for power and who let your desires for a
coup trouble you, you should take it easy! Calm down. Haitian history has
proved that the Haitian army, which has led us to all the coups d’etat,
cannot take us again to where we have been. We are now approaching 2004 and
we need all children of the country, without distinction, so we may, with
the help of that peace, cross over to the path that leads to elections.
>
> Tomorrow is November 29th. What we are going to see will remind us of what
we experienced on November 29, 1987, in Ruelle Vaillant, where the people
who didn’t want elections to take place for the sake of coups d’etat, those
people then massacred the electors on that street on November 29th. So, the
people who are mourning today feel very angry when they see those same coup
d’etat weapons again..
>
> You, the Haitian people, you should be careful so that you do not
experience another November 29th again. The Electoral Council needs to be
set up, elections need to take place. All of this in peace. That's why on
the occasion of November 29th, I ask all former soldiers or anyone who was
the army’s accomplice in the Ruelle Vaillant massacre to think, to remember
that the Head of State needs them, the nation needs them. But they also need
to find common sense to stay away from those weapons who kill and leave
people mourning, to let the police get those weapons back so we can get to
elections together. If you are scared to go to the elections and there is
violence, it is no good. It is this same fear that made the Haitian army do
what they did in Ruelle Vaillant.
>
> And before we actually got to November 29, 1987, there were shootings in
the Artibonite area. There were shootings in different places in the
country. That is what we feel is going to come now. It is as though all the
people who are afraid of running elections, their only strength is weapons
so they can intimidate and shed blood and so they can prevent us from
finding a peaceful climate which is capable of leading us to elections, as
was the case in 1990 and 1995.
>
> We believe that what happened in the last elections two years ago can help
us understand what is happening here. Do you remember what was going on
before the November 26th elections?
>
> Bombs were thrown in Carrefour and all those victims are mourning.
Yesterday, a home-made bomb was thrown in Petit-Goâve. This comes from the
same hands, the same people who don’t want elections and who create violence
with their weapons, their bombs. They used to threaten the international
community. The other day, they shot an OAS car as it was going in the
Artibonite. So I say and I repeat again: the only path to deliverance is the
path of peace. And that’s why I repeat again: the country needs all its
children without distinction. But all its children need to find common
sense, reason and the wisdom not to let a coup d’etat shed more blood.
>
> I hope this message will help everyone to get a hold of themselves so that
Haitians talk with Haitians, dialogue with Haitians. So that we can discuss
when we disagree with each other without violence, without blood. But so
that we can go to elections together with dialogue, respect, understanding.
>
> I am ready to answer your questions.
>
> QUESTIONS/ANSWERS:
>
> QUESTION:
>
> Of course, you and us know what is happening in the country. We can say
the country is on the verge of ruin. As the Head of State, you have the
responsibility to let the population know the decisions you will take to
save Haiti, two years before the celebration of our independence. On this
day, President, before we are knocked out, because sometimes we know it is
necessary to get knocked out before we get back on our feet again, what
responsibilities will you take regarding the nation so the country can be
saved two years before its independence 200th anniversary?
>
> PRESIDENT ARISTIDE:
>
> Thank you. Earlier, I was saying that a person who has great knowledge is
never embarrassed to learn more. Sometimes, it is the people who don’t have
a lot of knowledge who think they are through learning, they don’t need to
learn anything more. Our 200 years of experience taught us an historical
lesson that needs to be understood by all.
>
> Weapons that were used in coups d’etat, in the thirty or so coups d’etat
we have been through, didn’t lead us anywhere. They led us to more poverty,
more hunger, more violence, more mourning. We see the results. What we need
to do now is to be guided by good common sense to lead us to dialogue,
compromise, elections.
>
> I assume my responsibility, I take it on. When all citizens take on their
responsibilities, all political parties, all organizations, all sectors take
on their responsibilities too, then the work will become easier. As the
saying goes: many hands make the load easier to carry [Haitian proverb].
Since we reject dictatorship, we have no right to fall into dictatorship. I
call to reason, I call to common sense and that’s what I do here. A call to
find reason, common sense so that people who don’t understand the lesson of
200 years remember that it is not too late to understand it and if they
think they understand it, all the better. They can understand it better
still. Our country cannot go through another coup d’etat. Our country has
suffered too much from coups d’etat already.
>
> The result we have here can be seen as the result of the embargo, which is
like a rope strangling the country. But good common sense will make the
people holding that rope understand that they must let go of that rope,
instead of pulling on it more. They cannot do that with violence, they can
do it with understanding.
>
> I always say that you can see the glass of water half empty, or you can
see it half full. I believe that every Haitian without distinction has
positive things inside. Even those who have weapons in hands now, illegal
weapons with no papers, those persons have something positive inside that
will make them make the effort to understand they are on the wrong path.
>
> So, I call to that good common sense. I believe in mankind, I believe in
the Haitian man, I believe that all Haitians can find their good common
sense, their rational common sense to understand the lesson which is clear.
And the people understand it. The more hunger there is, the more people
understand that the thirty coups d’etat are among the main reasons for it.
So they don’t want another coup d’etat, they peacefully mobilize against all
those who want to use weapons to bring them back into another coup. This is
not a game they play, it is serious.
>
> QUESTION: An article came out in a Dominican newspaper, El Nacional,
saying that the Bush administration is behind all manipulation, all ploys
taking place in the country right now, like having people wear fake school
uniforms. What is your reaction to that, President?
>
> My second question is: with everything happening right now in the country,
can the people hope to see elections, will the CEP be formed?
>
> PRESIDENT ARISTIDE:
>
> Thank you. According to the law, we must respect freedom of speech. I
brought that up in my speech on November 18th. Freedom for everybody to meet
when they want to, where they want to, for peaceful purposes, for political
purposes. The same respect we have for freedom of speech in the country, we
have for freedom of the press. If a newspaper abroad gives a point of view,
an opinion or makes a declaration, we may agree or disagree, but we respect
its freedom. That’s how I see the article you are talking about. I respect
freedom of speech. We have a responsibility and, as the Haitian Government,
we assume it.
>
> Our responsibility is to protect all citizens, to protect their rights,
protect the institutions, defend the country’s integrity, prevent weapons of
those who are crazy for coups d’etat from harming the democratic and
peaceful process after the people have voted their president. That is our
responsibility and we take it on strongly and firmly.
>
> Concerning your second question, could you synthesize it so our answer can
be more direct in order to have time for other people to ask questions.
>
> QUESTION: The question is: With all that is happening in the country at
the moment, can the population hope to see the formation of the CEP in the
next few days, and will there be new elections in the country?
>
> PRESIDENT ARISTIDE:
>
> Yes, you can hope. Yes, you must hope, yes, we must work to get there.
Yes, because the government has the will to do it and there are institutions
that gave their representatives’ names already. We thanked them before, we
thank them again. We hope that before long, a CEP will be set up so the
electoral machine can start moving. We really hope that. But everyone needs
to work to make this yes become a reality. A good step has been taken to set
up the CEP and I hope we will continue to take more steps.
>
> And when the electoral machine is moving with the CEP, all the people
working for disarmament, the police, need to continue to fulfill their duty.
Because we need more security before the elections, during the elections and
after the elections. Fortunately, security is also a psychological thing.
When you feel good inside, it is easier to help keep the social climate more
peaceful and more secure. We cannot deny the existing psychological
insecurity while we try to get the right conditions for elections.
>
> The more lies there are, the more psychological insecurity will increase.
The more truth there is, the more psychological security will increase. That
is the reason why I keep insisting on the different aspects of security.
>
> We need truth. We need to respect the truth, we need dialogue, we need
tolerance so we can talk, see where we agree, where we disagree, to create a
better psychological climate to promote security and increase security every
day.
>
> Right now, we hear so many things about security and insecurity, whether
it is here or abroad, it is not very good for our morale. So we won’t deny
what is going wrong. We recognize it, as men of science. But we will not
exaggerate either and forget the positive things. The glass is half full.
When you take the good things in everybody without distinction, it is easier
to increase your morale and your psychological security. I insist a lot on
that because I believe in it.
>
> I believe that very often, like in a family, when you know the good things
in the other person, it is easier to feel more psychological security. That
is why I invite the entire nation to look at the good things in other
people, positive things, positive values, instead of looking only at things
you don’t like, things that don’t make you happy.
>
> So, yes, we will have elections, yes, there will be elections, because
everyone will play their part to get there. I started playing mine and I
invite others to continue to play theirs.
>
> I will end with these few words for university students and university
teachers, particularly for the State University of Haiti.
>
> About a week ago at this table, I had a meeting with a delegation of
professors from the State University of Haiti and two students representing
university students. I answered positively to two requests they made. One of
them concerned a communiqué that mentioned a new commission at the head of
the University, in the education authority. The other was about the bill
concerning the university’s autonomy deposited in the Parliament. My answer
was positive and it still is positive.
>
> Minister Myrtho Celestin, the Minister of National Education, did good
work, great work that both the Prime Minister and I recognize. When a
well-prepared citizen does good work, we must encourage him or her, we must
recognize that. That’s why I am happy to thank Minister Myrtho in the name
of the nation for the great work she did to increase education in the
country.
>
> We don’t have many university professors. As I told you during our meeting
at Ranch Croix-des-Bouquets, my duty is to make sure we don’t loose any
teachers we have. We need all of them. Whether they are primary school
teachers, high school or university teachers, there aren’t many compared to
what we need, so I have the obligation to encourage, respect, accompany and
thank those we have when it is necessary.
>
> The same way, I thank Professor Tardieu for his technical work in the
commission. Minister Myrtho Celestin wrote a letter in which she says she
prefers to leave her place for somebody else to continue the job. The Prime
Minister and I took a long time before answering that letter. That’s why
there was confusion as to whether or not she had resigned. Because of the
great respect we have for the good work she’s done, we encouraged her to
continue, to stay. But in freedom and respect, she believes it is best for
somebody else to continue the job in her place. She expressed that in her
letter, saying she will continue to take care of the everyday business until
tomorrow.
>
> So, I thank Minister Myrtho and Professor Tardieu with the hope that we
can stand together further ahead to continue the work that is started. For
now, if they both choose to serve the country in other fields, it is my duty
to respect them, to respect the work they do and to see how other people
will continue the work they were doing.
>
> For example, it is calmer now in the education authority. Inside the
university, I am happy to see it is calmer so the work can start again in
calm and continue calmly.
>
> Students have the right to agree or to disagree, and in the State, it is
our duty to hear them respectfully and to make compromises when we need to.
The democratic compromise I talked about last November 18th when I said that
a wall of apartheid shouldn’t stand between us, Haitians, to turn our
country into a country of apartheid. Every one of us can take a piece from
that wall of apartheid to start building a bridge of compromise, democratic
compromise. That’s the democratic compromise I actualize through this path.
The path of exit.
>
> When we say something, we mean it. We meant what we discussed last week at
this table and we expressed it too when the Minister of Communication read
the government’s official communiqué last week, in which it is declared that
the President answered positively the teachers’ requests. There probably
will be a new Minister of National Education next week, and meanwhile, the
education authority, the University Council will continue to work. In
parallel, members of Fanmi Lavalas who are in the Commission of Education in
the Chamber of Deputies have already submitted the bill to the executive. We
reached an agreement, they recognize that it is a compromise. They could
have decided to do something else, but they chose to participate in the
democratic compromise too.
>
> So, both university students and professors, they continue to work in
serenity and calm because they know they will have the possibility to give
their opinion on the bill when it returns in the Parliament further ahead,
as they have asked, when they decide to do so, with respect for the
University’s independence and autonomy.
>
> So, I encourage my brothers and sisters from the university community to
continue, as you are doing, to work in serenity and calm, continue to lead
democratic debates because that’s what university is all about: research,
debates, tolerance, excellence. We share this same encouragement with the
entire nation. Serenity, calm, dialogue to protect democracy together, and
to take weapons away peacefully. That’s what the police will continue to do
in accordance with the law. This way, as we go along, instead of increasing
poverty, hunger, unemployment, we see in the country right now with weapons
from thirty coups d’etat, which put us there in the first place, we will be
in peace and will be happier. Then, the farmer, with his exceptional
culture, who smiles, in spite of his poverty, when he meets a foreigner,
will smile because of a better psychological health too. May the Haitian
people not loose this smile that shows the depth of our culture which allows
us to deal with our problems with intelligence and not with weapons.
>
> Thank you all!
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