14200: Sanba: Pote-Mak Committee on Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: sanba@juno.com

KOMITE POTE MAK
HAITI

by: Jan Jak Akao


Hinche- December 21, 2002. And the mask is off! Now the plan is unequivocally clear: The project IRI-Macouto-Bourgeoisie reaches its final phase.

It all began innocently with the cobbling by IRI (International Republican Institute) of a bunch of small political parties called Democratic Convergence that paradoxically accepted to flirt with the harmful notion of coup d’état. Little by little, one by one IRI added to it Macoutes, former military (and would be putchists) and Duvalierists forming a cabal of agitators with a deep aversion for elections. Or do not want any because of their fear of losing.

To be sure, the plan is conceived by an adept master who, to reach its goal, splendidly utilizes demonization, disinformation and the co-opting of even previously Haitian independent media. The grand plan calls for to the asphyxiation of the Haitian government by sabotaging its Livre Blanc and Investir dans l’Humain. The eventual aim is to turn its base against it. While it’s taking a bit longer than anticipated to achieve that, IRI passes to the next step: the true hierarchical chief of the opposition, Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier, Haiti’s former dictator for life, has just broken his silence to announce to a Miami based CBS affiliate his return to Haiti. The trivialization of the Haitian flag a few weeks earlier by one of Baby Doc’s army officer who is also one of the leaders of the Convergence- was the signal.

This latest chapter elucidates the anomaly of a parallel presidency instituted by the Democratic Convergence on the very same day the constitutionally elected Haitian president was being sworn in. It also shines the light on the heavy presence of Macoutes, former military at the heart of the Democratic Convergence, as much as the inclusion of members of the Macouto-Bourgeois stratum in the present government which has facilitated a string of endless concessions.

The time is most auspicious to be reminded that during the 30year reign of the dictatorial Duvalier regime, the Macouto-Bourgeois had clamp down on the press while practically eliminating all forms of freedom of expression. Today, anti-government protests are common place and even at times protected by the government. We can only recall the three years following the bloody military coup of 1991. People of the middle class, be forewarned! Remember November 1987 when the ferocious Haitian military orchestrated the killing of many would-be-voters at Ruelle Vaillant. They wanted to prevent the people from voting for Gerard Gourgue (the present parallel president of Haiti!) who was expected to easily win that presidential election. This fact makes it  difficult to explain that the same Gérard Gourgue issued an order -even a mock one- to those same military to return to active duty. We must also recall the reaction of the same Macouto-Bourgeois sector to the massive vote of December1990: it had tried an audacious bloodless coup, which was only thwarted by the vigilance of the masses. They did it again on September 30, 1991. This time they were successful. More than $40million was spent for it. More: according to various Human rights organizations, from 5 to 6 thousands were murdered, 300,000 were displaced and an incalculable number of people braved the high seas to become refugees in the US.

We of the Komite Pote-Mak, more than ever before, want to firmly declare that we do not want the return of those days. We do not want to go back into hiding nor the zombifying terror of the macouto-miltary of years past. We will stay mobilized to counter all actions undertaken by the Convergence and its uncontested chief who, while still living in Europe, is pulling all the strings. We have fought and braved death for the establishment of democracy in Haiti; we vow to preserve it with Jean Bertrand Aristide unless otherwise decided by way of vote by the majority of the Haitian people, the only decision maker on the fate of Haiti.

Jan Jacques Akao.