13910: The Struggle against Corruption in the Lavalas Regime (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

>From Olivier Nadal: o_nadal@bellsouth.net
To all Corbetters, once again this text below is not propaganda.This is the
truth.
Sincerely.
Oliver Nadal



THE STRUGGLE AGAINST CORRUPTION
IN THE LAVALAS REGIME
A POLITICAL CHALLENGE, A COUNTRY’S COMMITMENT



October 25, 2001



The Haitian electoral hold-up of the year 2000 took by surprise not just the
political parties or the true democrats, but also all those fighting for
freedom. They understood and supported the struggle led by the Convergence
alliance against the reign of the electoral arbitrary and the diversion of
the universal suffrage that has mobilized both the international and the
national sectors for the last 18 months.

Weary of the on-going situation, the country seems to be moving toward
taking a corrective ballot in November 2002. Nothing more is planned on the
agenda. If yesterday’s victims have not understood the true stakes, and if
they gave in to the whistles of an easy victory at the polls on the basis
that power is discredited, they are bound to disaster once again. It is
because the forces and occult networks that have carried out the electoral
hold-up in the year 2000 are still in their position and are waiting the
right time to do it all over again.  You cannot get wine from a turnip.


1. TRUE NATURE OF THE LAVALAS GOVERNMENT: INSTITUTIONALIZED CORRUPTION

The 2000 electoral fiasco was the direct result of the manipulation of
electoral laws by Lavalas Government, and embodied in the person of J.B.
Aristide (JBA). Such a corrupt system established by JBA can only be
legalized and legally recognized by “elections”. Since 1994, JBA has meshed
society through identifiable circles of power thriving on allegiance
relationships revolving around him. At present, Aristide’ Regime is based
exclusively around a network of finances. The system works like a huge
machine pumping money for the lords and tycoons of his mafia-like regime
where the godfather reserves the right to keep the largest share. These
networks are:
 The network misappropriating multilateral funds
 The network misappropriating bilateral funds
 The network of monetization and misappropriation of humanitarian aid
 The network of unlawful traffic
 The network misappropriating the country’s savings
 The network annihilating of national assets

To guarantee the perpetuity of such a controlled system, JBA has no choice
but to win every single election. In today’s context, his popularity is
quickly eroding. Moreover, with the complacency of the international
community, he has to win the elections by means of massive electoral fraud.


2. IMPLEMENTING LAVALAS SYSTEM OF CORRUPTION

This means:
1. Implementing a Rump Parliament based on bogus elections
2. Implementing a puppet government (unknown political personalities) or a
supportive follower of administrative irresponsibility (campaigner /
follower of Lavalas).
3. Taking advantage of the goodness of the international community.
4. Profiting from the negligence of his political opponents.
5. Deploying a body of bent government officials, followers of the
administrative criminality.

This body of officials referred to above is at the core of this corrupted
system because they occupy key positions in the Government. The system’s
efficiency is set on the sincerity and submission of the government
officials to J.B. Aristide (René Préval), even if that means infringing the
administrative regulations and integrity. The Ministries are becoming empty
shells having no control over the decentralized state-run agencies such as
CONATEL, CNE, PL480, PNH, ONA, TELECO, APN, DGI and so on. One can
understand why Aristide is so determined on having his faithful ones in key
positions in self-governing agencies, because this is how he will be able to
shape his network of parallel power groups with the autonomy of decision and
autonomy of execution.

2.1 THE NETWORK MISAPPROPRIATING MULTILATERAL FUNDS
This refers to funds paid out by agencies such as BID, the World Bank, the
European Community etc.  To embezzle the funds, the system set up by
Aristide uses dummy companies as bidders for tenders, overcharging and other
irregular deals. One should remember that the Lavalas lords have majority
shareholding in the constructing company Routes et Ponts which swipes the
State’s largest constructions work. In 1977, the World Bank had to oppose
some payments intended for specific projects as a sign of protest against
the documented misappropriations of funds by the Lavalas Regime.

2.2 THE NETWORK MISAPPROPRIATING BILATERAL FUNDS
This concerns particularly countries practicing direct donations like Taiwan
and to a lesser degree Japan. For instance, the cash that Taiwan gives is
hidden under humanitarian categories such as setting up school restaurants
or health community developments. In reality, the National Palace uses these
funds to refill its cash box. Because the actual de facto Minister of
Education did not understand this, he almost lost his job. His quarrels with
the Government came about because he wanted his ministry to keep the latest
$1.5 million check Taiwan gave for setting up school restaurants.

2.3 THE NETWORK OF MONETIZATION AND MISAPPROPRIATION OF HUMANITARIAN AID
The unlawful action is done with the cooperation of the PL480. PL480 is a
government agency, open on paper, but very shifty in its management. It is
in charge of monetizing all humanitarian aid funds. The money received must
be geared toward the development of projects, but in reality, it is placed
at the disposal of the National Palace. This can only take place if the
PL480’ Senior Management is bought to defend the cause of JBA.

2.4 THE NETWORK OF UNLAWFUL TRAFFIC
It is not necessary to go into details when it comes to unlawful traffic.
However, one should note that the Lavalas Regime controls this sector
through PNH (the Haitian National Police), the top ranking officers of PNH
(CIMO, Swat Team), APN as well as through Customs. Another tool in the hand
of the Lavalas Regime is the judicial system since some de facto Justice
Ministers often come out of Law Offices that defend the cause of the drug
lords.

Credit Unions are blooming, offering interest rates of 10% a month, without
economic justifications. They are doing unfair competition to the formal
local banks and they are a perfect demonstration of unlawful traffic.
Camouflaged behind credit unions, these bucket shops are really recycling
the Regime’s dirty money with the blessings of the State.

2.5 THE NETWORK MISAPPROPRIATING THE COUNTRY’S SAVINGS
To do this, the Lavalas Regime uses the network of the Haitian private banks
and the Banque Centrale d’Haiti (BRH). For the last five years, they have
worked at becoming the entrepreneurs of a large fraudulent corporation
profiting the Lavalas Regime while producing Treasury Bonds called Bons BRH
and cunningly hiding behind them. To finance its sumptuous spending, like
buying the Nissan Patrols or the official homes, the BRH prints paper money.
Under the patronage of Governor Lesly Delatour, BRH has implemented two
schemes to keep the surplus of money from coming to the market: increasing
the required reserves and high interest rates on the BRH Bonds, causing
inflation to rise and the local currency to fall, and compelling the private
banks to keep the surplus of paper money.

Treasury Bond holders receive a 25% interest rate, without any risk for the
banker. Under these conditions, the productive private sector no longer has
access to bank loans. Businesses are going bankrupt because the interests
are too high. Unemployment is worsening. Local consumption is becoming
limited. Savings accounts remuneration is only 3.5%, and the inflation rate
fluctuates between 16 and 18%. One must pay more than Gourdes 25.00 for US
$1.00. Unfortunately, the Haitian population has to pay this price to keep
the Lavalas lords using their luxuriant cars and living in their sumptuous
homes.

2.6 THE NETWORK ANNIHILATING OF NATIONAL ASSETS
This concerns only the Telecommunication sector. In this area, the visible
channels carrying out this policy are CONATEL and TELECO. Millions are going
back and forth between Haitel Comcel, Fusion, Sprint and so on. TELECO has
become a den of Chimères (JBA’s secret police) in the pay of the Lavalas
Regime.



3. STATE CORRUPTION AND STATE DISSOLUTION

For the last seven years, the Lavalas Regime has been implementing its own
network. This has caused the reinforcement of State corruption and an
impoverishment of the country. From 1994 and 1999, the international
community has paid out $2 Billions in aid. In the same period, in the IDH
(Human Development Index) of PNUD, Haiti is at a pitiful rank. Absolute
poverty touches more than 80% of the Haitian population. Meanwhile, the
Lavalas Lords such as the CNE’s Director, the former Director of the SMCRS,
the former Governor of the BRH, the former de facto Finance Minister, the
former de facto Public Transportation Minister, the spokesman of the Lafanmi
Lavalas, the de facto Prime Minister are all constructing or buying castles
in the nice neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince or abroad. How can one forget
that during the inauguration of his Government, the de facto Prime Minister
announced economic austerity measures in the management of public money?
Three years later, the State bought him a $2 million home while teachers
only make bare subsistence wages – whenever they are paid –, hospitals are
short of first aid materials, and peasant have no access to bank loans or
credits or grants to boost national productivity.

This system of corruption feeds on the prevailing poverty in Haiti. Scores
of candidates (followers) are waiting their turn to be elected to a public
office. The helpful godfather pretends to keep himself out of the fray,
encouraging the conflicts in the midst of the scum of followers. The Lavalas
followers themselves are denouncing cases of corruption in their own ranks
(Celestin / Cherestal – Dongo / Renard – Luvérus – Mrs. Duperval).
Nevertheless, this looks more like gangland killings caused by uneven
distributions of the loot between rival groups within Lavalas than people
wanting to stand against the prevailing corruption.

Lavalas followers make every effort not to directly involve Aristide in
their deals, even though he is the administrator, facilitator of this
established system of corruption and the primary beneficiary. For the eight
thousand people who helped him organize his media-hype show in Gonaives, he
spent over $1 million just for transportation. Therefore, one can understand
the arrogance of Claude Ménard, the de facto Interior Minister who went to
the Bureau d’Immigration et Emigration (Emigration and Immigration Bureau),
grabbed for the cash desk that contained the proceeds corresponding to the
cost of issuing passports. This had never been seen before, even under
Duvalier’s Regime. The Duvalier’s followers would look like altar boys
compared to the Lavalas birds of prey.

In a United Nations System report on Haiti dated October 2000, one can read:
“The international cooperation with Haiti, like everything else, is in a
crisis. It is characterized by the following: the absence of clearly defined
State priorities, the inexistence of an overall development plan, the wastes
and redundancies, corruption, the absence of governmental authorities in the
implementation of projects, the State’s non compliance with rules and
regulations, the widespread perception of the Regime’s non-neutrality, as
well as the political agendas of the international community”. This report
covers the period between 1994 and 1999, or five steady years of the Lavalas
Government.


4. POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS AND LEGITIMACY OF STATE CORRUPTION

The logistics of State Corruption have been holding hostage the current
negotiations. It influences the format and content of the system and directs
the results in a way truly favorable to its heir, JBA. Aristide’s political
foes must not under estimate the existing international network of tolerance
and complicity towards the Lavalas Regime. It is powerful, secret,
anonymous, efficient, trans-national and paralegal.

4.1 State corruption / “Subdued-type democracy“
The Lavalas Regime and its head JBA practice and maintain State corruption
in a state that has become known as “subdued democracy” (cf. François-Waver
Verschave. Noir Silence. 2000, Editions des Arènes). This system is
implemented in African countries in order to legitimate a dictator’s power,
himself being the guarantor and administrator of the interests of
multinational companies. This system is based on the denial of national
preoccupations, the non-satisfaction of the country’s needs, the pilfering
of national resources by the handful of free riders and the persecution of
all political opponents.

The implementation of this system has started slowly in Haiti since 1994
when “constitutional order”, returned and became official with the creation
of the political party Lafanmi Lavalas in 1996. Yvon Neptune’s confession /
warning concerning the connivances of Aristide and his “laboratory” to
prepare his return in 1994, enlightens the underground deals that
accompanied the memorable return.

The attacks of Lafanmi’s coordinator against the international community
should really be seen as a rallying cry of solidarity around faithful
Aristide who has been faithful indeed to plunder and dilapidate the
resources of the nation for the last seven years. The dismantling of the
Haitian Telecommunication network to the benefit of Comcel, Fusion, and
Sprint along with the plunder of US$2 billions that was supposed to be an
aid from abroad between 1994 and 1999 exemplify this (Haiti: Bilan Commun de
Pays. October 2000).

The official figures (US$3 billions) and slush funds spent by the Lavalas
Regime between 1997and 2000 in lobbying, or in corrupting international
civil servants, tell a lot about the essence of this network of corruption,
starting with the level of complicity that the head JBA enjoys in
international political circles.

4.2 SUBDUED DEMOCRACY – RIGGED ELECTIONS
The opposition is involved in repeated negotiations with the international
community and Lavalas. Yet, it should not make any mistake concerning the
struggle or its sphere of operation. In a “Subdued Democracy”, pluralism,
the Rule of Law, the respect of the universal suffrage are secondary, they
are just acceptable. The only thing that counts is ensuring the continuity
of things, with a sure man able to safeguard and guarantee the interests of
multinational companies and the interests of organized crime. In this
system, there is no room for free, fair democratic elections as whished
wished by the Convergence opposition and the other true Democrats.

This system has been operational in African countries such as Cameroon,
Togo, and Gabon since 1997. It was experimented for the first time in Haiti
in May 2000 and then in November 2000, and JBA has always been the main
beneficiary. The recent on-going negotiations in the framework of this “… …”
Caribbean version could only lead to rigged elections, which would
legitimize the Lavalas regime and Aristide at the head.

The rigged elections scenario in a “Subdued Democracy” Caribbean version has
three parts:
1. Whatever the means, organization of general and local elections /
presidential elections (ballot fraud, encouraging election boycott,
slaughter of opponents).
2. Crackdown on demonstrations set off by the opposition using the Regime’s
paramilitary groups.
3. The opposition is invited to have open dialogue with the President
 “Elect” with an international mediation, providing jump seats for the
Government and a few seats during counteractive elections.

4.3 NEGOTIATIONS / JUSTIFYING RIGGED ELECTIONS IN NOVEMBER 2002
Since the inauguration or legitimacy of JBA at the Summit of the Americas in
Quebec, he has managed his affairs efficiently. As his international
henchmen wanted, he has managed to become the unavoidable man around. The
repetitive negotiations are a proof of this. By doing so, he has become the
guarantor in charge of maintaining the national situation “as is”, which has
been characterized since October 1994 by widespread corruption, economic
plundering, continuous devaluation of the Gourde, generalization of unlawful
traffic, corruption of the security forces, and the impoverishment of
several layers of society. In short, the State is in a disintegrating
condition while all the characteristics are there to justify an
international take over by the UN and the OAS. Under those circumstances,
Aristide is a perfect client for the international community, an
enthusiastic adept of revised and adjusted “Appeased Democracy” with the
Afro-Latino touch of the Caribbean.

In these conditions, Lavalas and JBA must win the November 2002 elections by
all means. For the international community, an adept of this “Subdued
Democracy ”, Lavalas and JBA are the only political tool able to create the
conditions for the emergence of a “Disintegrating State” and to perpetuate
it in a manner that would justify international supervision. The role of the
Lavalas and JBA is both perverted and dangerous. As the head of State, he
must prove his innate incapacity to lead a State and confirm his
paternalistic interventions tinged with racism of foreign cooperation.
In spite of what is seen, the real stake of the current negotiations is the
renewal of the “Subdued Democracy” system as is, Caribbean version. In other
words, the system must continue to function on a connection-based system,
looked after by multinational firms multinational and organized crime groups
like before (you water me, I water you). The round of voting in November
2002 should definitely legitimize this ideal of State corruption run by
Aristide directly from the National Palace.

For the time being, JBA has been advised by his international tutors and he
is trying to secure time concerning the November 2002 Elections. He reserves
the right to jump on the bandwagon at a moment (February-March 2002) when
the Convergence opposition is divided, broke, and humiliated and will have
to choose between boycotting the elections or submit to its results. It will
then be the triumph of “Subdued Democracy”, Caribbean version in the land of
Dessalines and Charlemagne Peralte. The November 2002 electoral hoax would
be legitimized by the international community “on their cloud” and would
consecrate the Parliamentary victory of Lavalas and lead the way to electing
another lord for the Lavalas Cartel in December 2006. Pressing obligation
under the “Subdued Democracy” system.

Resistances

The resistances to the corruption imbedded in the State’s system must be
enlisted in the framework of a collective approach, aiming at promoting and
enforcing all elementary civil or civic liberties that are threatened,
ridiculed by local or foreign “Subdued Democracy” followers. It is a
long-term project that goes beyond the frontiers of political parties and
the framework of the ongoing discussions. It requires commitment from every
citizen in defining and enunciating the basic values that each person must
abide by.

>From 1994 to 2001, the Haitian society has been able to measure the degree
of incompatibility between the Lavalas Regime and the flourishing of basic
civil rights. The following are examples: the freedom of speech for the
journalist (Daly Valet). The right for a Member of Parliament to control
Government’s actions (Senator Yvon Toussaint). The right to dispose of one’s
own possession (Michel Gonzalez). The right for a businessman to do go about
his affairs (Olivier Nadal). The right for a lawyer to teach law (Me Gerard
Dalvius). The right for a doctor to care for his patients (Dr. Jimmy
Lalannes). The right for each citizen to eat, have a place of his own, and
cloths himself.

Our society will be strong when the majority of people will believe there is
more to win than to loose if these values are upheld. Our society will be
strong when these essential values will be so rooted in every person that
they will become common assets. Our society will be strong when it will be
able to say no collectively to tyranny and intolerance that are a threat to
everyone.

This political fray will not be won with a few jump seats in a tyrannical
and corrupted Government or with a few seats in rigged elections. If one
believes that this system of State corruption could be fought with two
ministers, four electoral counselors and a few elected candidates, he is
really underestimating the co-option capacity of the system implemented by
the Lavalas and its international henchmen.

This fray is not an electoral one either. It is political and moral. It is
based on the refusal of tyranny and intolerance. Yesterday it was from the
Duvalier era, today it is from the Lavalas era, and tomorrow it will be from
...   “Subdued Democracy” followers are hired from every camp, and every
level of society. The anti-Lavalas’ confessions of faith do not represent a
pledge for the fight against corruption, the protection and promotion of
basic civil rights in Haiti.

The expansion of State corruption has perverted all borders, and cracked the
moral foundation of society as a whole, to the point that everyone now
thinks that he or she must cheat to make it in life. If one watches the
leaders and follows their example, the rule is simple: steal and kill to win
the elections. The nature of this noxious environment alters the entire
electoral process. In their quest to prioritize this electoral ground to
break a deadlock, some leaders of the opposition are setting up a political
suicide of executives, grass root groups, and worse are siding with “Subdued
Democracy”, Caribbean version.

The real political short / medium term political stakes are neutralization,
the dismantling of State corruption networks in view of creating a favorable
environment where basic civil rights can flourish in our society. Victory
over State corruption and “Subdued Democracy” is a prerequisite to see the
establishment of democracy and economic modernization in Haiti.





Rony Mondestin
Provisory Executive Comity
Mouvement de la Reconstruction Nationale (MRN)
October 25 2001