14353: Sanba to Simidor from Jan. 2nd

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: sanba@juno.com


Mon cher Daniel

Since you missed the soup joumou at Rosie’s this year
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to your family both: natural and political

I wish this year be more fruitful in terms of research for real solutions to our dear country’s dilemma. As a prerequisite those solutions have to go through defining what we mean by different notions such as zeal in defense you are discovering in my effort to set records straight. It is a difficult task we have to undertake if we really want to build anything.
To be specific, my exception to your position is not exclusive to the weaknesses and shortcomings from the government. It addresses the fact that there had effectively been an assassination attempt -as opposed to a staged one- that you might have perceived as an intimidation from highers-up in the government, because only those at the top would know the content of that promised report in the killing of Jean Dominique.” This perception is premature because nobody except the judge in charge is supposed to know the content of the findings, and second, even in case of leak, you and I have no way to know who the criminals are in advance. Thinking otherwise is jump-shorting both: the indictment, and the trial to come before we can condemn, if and only if the trial itself reaches the right verdict without any doubt. Therefore, condemning before trial is no better than impunity, in the sense that it leads or at least favors such a culture by its potential of facilitating the escape of real criminals.
As to the impunity itself, you and I know very well “all passion put aside” that the present government inherits it, as much as the very structure of the judicial system in Haiti. It has certainly to be conceded that it is the government’s duty to remedy the situation, but sadly enough, it is not the spirit of the criticism around that prefers linking the whole situation to the wallowing of such government in impunity as you put it.
If elaboration is needed I will remind the skeptics that in criminal matters justice starts with investigations. You and I should know that there is no adequate apparatus for that in Haiti. Therefore casting all the blame on the regime in place is less than truthful. And it’s not zealous defense on my part to say so.
If anything, I could feed my argument on your own noticing “that those who murdered even Jean-Marie Vincent and Father “Ti Jean,” two cold-blooded murders... did not even get the semblance of an investigation”. To me, it is or at least may be very indicative of the incapacity of the government to do better, because both had been very close to the government. For the sake of the discussion I will associate those two close-to-Lavalas fathers to the victims from all the putches: that of September 30rd 1990, or the guerrilla like of July 28th 2001, or December 17th 2002. They had not been getting a semblance of an investigation either. That points at incapacity. Therefore our duty as  Haitians is to work at pushing for reinforcing this system. It starts with a more profound assessment (than condemning) so that we can apply the proper pressure to get rid of the impunity you talk about without inadvertently giving clearance to the zenglendoes and the makouts of before Lavalas. It is rigor, Daniel. We are going to need that rigor to reclaim Haiti.
Otherwise you may believe that I do not intend to cause you any grief, by saying that the proper thing to do is to show some respect for the victims of “Christmas night event against Michelle Montas”. I think that we should, whatever their status. It goes consistent with my strong opposition to death penalty even against makouts, criminals and fraphists.  I want you to believe also -and I know you will- that you do not have to remind me how in your book, “all kretyen vivan are equal”. But I have to find dangerous -as I should for the drug relating theory- for you to express degrees when it comes to right to live between “the few privilege like Montas and the millions whose lives are worth nothing”. That may contradicts your belief that “Tout Moun se Moun.”

 François-Marie