14055: Hyppolite Pierre Re: stanley honorat: ideas on current situation and response to dorce (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Hyppolite Pierre <hpierre@irsp.org>

Stanley,

I find it to be honest with you, quite a challenge for anyone including
myself, to be advocating the overthrow of government in Haiti. This is not a
statement that I am making from a Lavalas point of view. In writing this, I
try to be as reasonable and level-headed as I can be. I honestly consider
all values on the equation, and my conclusion is as rational as God allows
me to be. My conclusion is also deeply rooted in Haiti's history, and our
obssession with the presidency.

No one is saying that Aristide and his present government are doing wonders
for Haiti. I doubt it that even Jean-Bertrand Aristide (who is the dark
beast, la bête noire of the opposition, the wealthiest segment of civil
society, national and international institutions including many Human Rights
organizations) would claim having achieved much in Haiti over the past 22
months.

The government could give you and I a long laundry list of why they have not
been more effective. Some of their arguments would be quite valid, indeed.

The opposition would also under the same breath, give you a long laundry
list of reasons why this and the previous Aristide Government (Chérestal)
have not achieved much. The opposition would be right to many extent too.

The basic point however is this. Despite our hypocrisy and use of euphemism,
Haiti is, was, and has been a failed society for at the very least a
century. The primary reason or reasons? Misunderstanding and personalization
of power on all sides; misunderstanding of the concept of power. To put it
bluntly, we revert everything to the presidency. That is wrong.

Serge Pierre-Louis, a leader of the opposition (I believe Convergence),
yourself, and some other vocal opponents of this regime on this list,
adamantly refuse the proposition that Aristide finishes his 5-year term. But
honestly ladies and gentlemen, every society or even every family that
functions well, does so by virtue of rules, laws, and regulations which when
violated, are dealt with accordingly.

In our country's case, history has at least taught me that the best way to
resolve disagreements of that kind are through an orderly process. Thank God
that we now have something called, the electoral process.

Aristide is one man. Whether you or he believes it or not, Aristide is one
man with a job that he applied for, and which the poor majority of the
Haitian people had hired him to do. I sense that even there, you will
strongly disagree. Never mind that, for it is the basic truth. He won an
election on November 26, 2000.

Now, today, his government is in serious trouble. For the first time in
quite a few years, real opposition is mounting against his government.
Still, he has more support inside the country, especially among the poorest
than many are willing to admit. He proved it last week when he went to Les
Cayes, and he proved it again when he left Haiti last weekend to go on a
conference in Cuba, and returned safely to the National Palace.

If he is misreading that still popular support he holds and wishes to go
about doing business as usual, that is his bad choice. He seems to have
however, realized by now that his support is beginning to not crumble but at
least waver because of desperation. The latest new reports, on Haiti Press
Network regarding his willingness to make even more concessions, is quite
suggestive of that.

The opposition on the other hand, now has a tremendous advantage, a momentum
that they must learn to build on for the next elections. They can exploit
the disenchantment with the present government by going through the
electoral process. They should all go to elections, build on the momentum
that they have now, and perhaps even win a majority in Parliament, even when
that would require the building of coalitions.

Such victory would have great positive consequences for the opposition. Here
are just a couple of them:

 -They would have the opportunity to run government, thereby rendering
Aristide mostly ineffective since they cannot stand him;
 -They would be able through their work as government officials, to prove to
the people (again, rich and poor), that they are more able than Lavalas to
do good. Therefore their candidate for the next November 2005, presidential
elections would have a much, much stronger chance to win.

This would be the first step towards resolving the continuously unstable,
and consequently failed Haiti. It would also signal that slowly but surely,
Haiti is becoming a State of Law, not a State of Man.

The passion that many display on this list in regards to this issue, is
nothing else but passion. Anyone who takes the 1987 Constitution and reads
with their brainy eyes the relevant articles on this issue, anyone, will be
able to decipher the extraordinary advantage that the opposition now has in
Haiti, if they agree to adhere to the constitutional process.

Unfortunately and as usual, everyone is in a rush. Everyone wants that
ultimate job, the presidency. Yet, not only are they fighting amongst
themselves to get it, but also they are not even articulating what they will
or would do, should they become the next leader of Haiti.

That makes me suspicious. I do suspect indeed that should someone else
replace Aristide within the next few months or year, that Haiti would become
even more unstable in the long run. Much, much more unstable than it already
is. Mighty international backers would be able to help a government survive
for a couple years or perhaps just months. But the long term prospect would
be quite dim, knowing Haitian political leaders' appetite for la chaise
bourrée, the stuffed bright armed chair of the presidency.

We must all learn together to live by the rules, and abide by the rules of
law if we wish for a better Haiti. My only hope is that Aristide does
understand the severity of the situation, and that he does have a new, more
inclusive and also transparent government. That would help tremendously in
terms of ensuring a long term stable, prosperous, and confident Haiti.

But for now, the plight of a miserable people (again rich and poor)continues
to grow because, the most intelligent and well-educated segment of society
refuses to think with their brain, but prefers to listen first to the dark
corners of their heart. Worse, they are being pushed in that direction by
sometimes well-intentioned foreigners who have no clue or understanding of
Haiti's history, and the psychology of our ruling class or classes.

My best to you, Stanley
Hyppolite Pierre
IRSP
http://www.irsp.org