17875: Esser: Young Haitian Democracy Deserves America's Strong Support (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. E s s e r <torx@joimail.com>

Common Dreams

Young Haitian Democracy Deserves and Needs America's Strong
Support

Published on Sunday, January 11, 2004 by the St Paul
Pioneer Press (Minnesota)
by Dick Bernard



On Dec. 6, I landed in Port-au-Prince: my first visit to
Haiti. It began an intense week of learning about what had
been for me simply a geographic place.

I came back changed.

Why would a retired grandfather from an affluent suburb
devote time to go to one of the poorest countries of the
world?

Though Haiti might be a little-known place and a rare stop
for tourists, it has a compelling story to tell, and much of
that story is about US, as in the United States of America.
There is a lot to learn about ourselves flowing from a study
of Haiti. That's why.

Among many others, we met a local official who had
co-founded a public school for impoverished children. We
visited his school for most of a morning.

Two days later, the official, who was an active supporter of
the government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was
assassinated. So goes politics in this island nation — a
carryover from past brutal times. To this has been added
that most American of dirty politics: character
assassination, rumors and gossip intended to take down a
standing government.

Jan. 1, marked the official beginning of the bicentennial
year of the independence of Haiti, the second European
colony in the western hemisphere to achieve independence. I
don't know if the U.S., first to gain independence, was
actively involved in this celebration — if so, it has been
very quiet. Our two countries have an unpleasant history:
we, a nation founded by slave owners; they, a nation founded
not long after by slaves who cast off their chains of
oppression. They violated our rules; they have paid for that
ever since.

This month also marks a second and potentially calamitous
event for Haiti: President Aristide remains in office
through 2005, but only nine of 27 members of the Senate
remain and none of 80 representatives in the Legislature.
There are no elections scheduled, likely due to a deliberate
attempt by an organized opposition to force the resignation
of a democratically elected president, and effectively
damage the president's political party. Members of the
party, called Lavalas, finally evicted the brutal Duvalier
regime in 1986. No agreement has been reached on rules for
new elections. Indeed there has been virtually no dialogue
about establishing the elections (the opposition refuses to
participate).

The United States is almost certainly backing and indirectly
funding this destabilization campaign in the circuitous way
such things work.

What I see happening in Haiti would be called "regime
change" in other contexts, a la Afghanistan and Iraq.

It is rarely possible to uncover the facts about political
moves, and I have come to profoundly distrust official
political-speak in our country. Indeed the official American
political position will likely be denial, with pious words
of justification.

What cannot be denied is that the dominant political force
in present-day Haiti is a democratically elected government
whose interest and main constituency is the poor of this
desperately poor country.

A skeptic? Take time to learn … and learn both "sides"
equally well. Dismiss hearsay. It will be simple to find the
anti-Aristide government position, which seems to be our
government's position; it will be harder and more important
to find the pro-side.

Take time to learn more about our near neighbor just two
hours east of Miami.

The Haitians are a beautiful and historically oppressed
people. Their current government represents a positive
change from an evil past, and is still a work in progress.

It deserves our active support.


Dick Bernard (dick@chez-nous.net) lives in Woodbury,
Minnesota. Read more about his trip to Haiti at
www.chez-nous.net/peace.html.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0111-07.htm