18219: Esser: Cry Contradiction (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com


Opinion: Charlie Hinton - Response to "In These Times- Cry Haiti"


Kevin Kim stumbles all over himself trying to present a balanced
viewpoint in "Cry Haiti" (ITT 1/5/04). After spending most of the
article quoting Haitian opposition and U.S. State Department
officials who subtly blame Aristide for how bad the situation is, he
actually hits the nail on the head with his statement, "Unlike
Aristide, the opposition lacks popular support and seems more bent on
ousting Aristide and destabilizing Haiti than reaching any electoral
compromise."

Mr. Kim talks about "long-delayed" elections, but fails to say who is
delaying them or why - the real key to understanding the situation in
Haiti. Simply put, the "intransigent opposition - partly composed of
former authoritarian and elitist elements with disturbing ties to the
International Republican Institute, a D.C.-based advocacy group
influential in Bush administration circles" (thank you again, Kevin)
is preventing the elections by refusing to appoint any members to the
Provisional Electoral Council, which oversees elections, BECAUSE THEY
KNOW THEY WILL LOSE. No electoral council, no elections.

It's disturbing to see a progressive magazine like In These Times
give so much credibility to current and former State Department
officials. The State Department is far from an unbiased observer in
Haiti. Since the election of President Aristide in 2000, the United
States government has spent millions of dollars to bankroll an
opposition with little popular support and has enforced an economic
aid embargo intended to starve Haiti. A signed loan from the
Inter-American Development Bank has still not been distributed, and
the World Bank and IMF have cut off all loans, making it even more
difficult for the Haitian government to finance health, education and
development projects.

In December, 2002, the International Republican Institute sponsored a
5-day meeting of Haitian opposition groups in the Dominican Republic
to develop strategies to destabilize Haiti. A former ambassador to
Haiti, Timothy Carney, said in a Reuters interview in November, 2002,
"The big question is whether Aristide is going to understand that he
has no future
. . . Without massive reform, Haiti is once again headed for the kind
of chaos that has intermittently dogged it history." It is now clear
that what he means by "massive reform" is the overthrow of a
constitutionally elected president.

An international media campaign designed to tarnish and discredit the
Aristide government forms a significant aspect of this
destabilization campaign. We have seen this pattern of before - in
Jamaica, in Chile, in Nicaragua, and currently in Venezuela. With
"Cry Haiti" In These Times has jumped into the fray, giving
credibility to the Haitian elite and the Bush administration and
discounting the role of the millions of poor Haitians who support
their president. Is that really where you want to be?

Sincerely yours,

Charlie Hinton
Haiti Action Committee

http://www.haitiaction.net/News/Opinions/ch1.html