15480: Re: 15456: Saint-Vil about President's Credit and Deduction dues (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Jean Saint-Vil <jafrikayiti@hotmail.com>

Onè,

In the latest exchange between Kathy Dorce and M. Raber, some interesting
comments were made about the responsibility of a Head of State for the
actions of his followers, the responsibilities of elites and of the people
in general in securing a stable and secure national environment. They
sometimes contrasted the situations of Haiti and of the U.S.A. I would like
to bring my 2 cents to this interesting conversation.

To Dorce’s complaint that “one man who is president is not responsible for
what many do, even if they do support him”, M. Raber responded: “ This is
what being president is all about. You take credit for the good stuff and
deductions for the bad stuff”. Although I would say it is neither this or
that, I would add that President Aristide should take some credit for the
determined, intelligent and surprisingly peaceful actions of the masses who
woke up very early in the morning – braving all kinds of announced dangers,
to put his party and himself in power in 2000, with a comfortable majority.
This was a logical and undeniable electoral victory !  By the same token,
G.W. Bush should accept the deductions stemming from the actions of those
who conducted ballot manipulations in Florida, shifting in his favour many
African-American and Jewish votes, thus giving him the very slim, forever
tainted and rather suspicious “electoral victory” we all observed.

By the same token, Jean-Bertrand Aristide should indeed accept serious
deductions for the shameful foot-dragging taking place in the Jean Dominique
investigation. And I agree with Raber when he adds: “saying you understand
why gangs kill people does nothing but encourage the gangs. Publicly
denouncing those acts with no colourful doubletalk would at least win some
diplomatic points”.  Likewise, Bill Clinton should have  taken similar heat
from the series of murders and race-motivated violence the NYPD, LAPD etc…
conducted in the late 1990’s and 2000 (Abner Louima, Patrick Dorismond,
Amadou Diallo etc…).  Yet, somehow, not even Mayor Rudolph Guliani or the
State Governors appear to have paid any political price for these outrageous
crimes.  All this suggest that doubletalk is as shameful as blatant double
standard.

Raber commented, and I agree with him, that “a climate of security” in
principle, “promotes investment in the economy by those holding the economic
power (foreign and Haitian investors)”.

Hower, it is perhaps by inadvertence that Raber encourages us here to ASSUME
that those holding economic power in Haiti are interested in investment – as
opposed to sitting on and protecting the wealth they already have amassed
over several decades of “elite-friendly” dictatorships. There are many
“Haiti Experts” who seem to suggest rather authoritatively that investment
in a secure – democratic environment - is furthest from this elite’s mind.
Among them we even find a Professor of National Security Affairs at the
Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, who stated in his 1996
report:

“To make matters worse, the wealth of the country continues to be
concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of people--MREs or
Morally Repugnant Elites, a U.S. diplomat once called them--who have
traditionally profited by monopolies, a grossly unfair system of taxation
and other mechanisms designed to benefit them at the expense of the vast
majority of Haitians. Unless these realities change, there is likely to be
violence. There has been in the past, and there will be in the future. The
only way that the system can be maintained is by repression.” (page 9)

“During these years, the "merchant-bourgeois" and landowning ( gwandon)
sectors of the elite steadfastly supported the dictatorship and opposed
Aristide's return. Powerful militarybusiness alliances dominated much of the
country's economic activities, controlling the import of Haiti's four main
staples:flour, cement, sugar and oil. Within the merchant-bourgeois group,
three rival conglomerates--basically run by the Mevs, Brandt and Bigio
families--competed with one another, with other influential families and
businessmen, and with more moderate technocratic-managerial elites
associated with the assembly industries, for political influence,
oligopsonistic market control, and other opportunities for profit. Some of
these leaders had close ties with high-ranking members of the regime.
Colonel François, for instance, was on the Mevs' payroll; Cedras was allied
with the Brandts.26 “ (page 10)

WHITHER HAITI? Donald E. Schulz, April 1, 1996

http://www.carlisle.army.mil/ssi/pubs/1996/wthrhati/wthrhati.pdf


Finally, Mr. Raber’s suggestion that “ Aristide could just for a few weeks
put the money he puts into his personal security towards the security of the
country and show  his resolve”, sounds to me like a perfect recipe to enter
the man’s name on the much-too- tall wall of famous dead black heroes.
Disbanding the CIA- controlled FAdH (so-called Haitian army) has done a
whole lot to diminish the violence in Haiti.  And, yes Aristide does deserve
much of the credit for this. But, that is obviously not enough. He also
deserves some deductions for the violence that has taken place in Haiti
since then, especially that involving members of the Police National
d'Haiti. But to suggest that because of this, the man should take his own
security away and let his enemies gun him down like Lumumba or Kabila (make
your pick)  is rather cynical. Come on folks!  Soyons sérieux!

BTW: M. Schulz document sheds quite a light on events unfolding today…some
of it looks even somewhat prophetic !



Jafrikayiti
«Depi nan Ginen bon nèg ap ede nèg!»
http://www.i-port.net/sd-in-j/

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