18565: Esser: Re: 18548: Simidor's last reply to Esser (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dominique Esser torx@joimail.com

Can you please tell us how Haiti Progres is in bed with Lavalas? Look
at articles critical of Aristide and Lavalas such as the article
containing Ben Dupuy's statement about the Lavalas/Aristide
government <... Transparency? Dupuy [Ben Dupuy of Haiti Progres]
asked. "...We see a number of people in the [Haitian] government
now... who came to power without a penny and today they have lots of
capital, huge palaces, and big institutions," Dupuy said. "Nobody
knows where that money came from and they have never abided by the
Constitutional requirements" of filing a financial disclosure
statement on entering and leaving office. ...> . Haiti Progres, April
2001 (http://www.haitiprogres.com/2001/sm010418/xeng0418.htm )

It is one thing to make up strings of facts, but true knowledge shows
in the ability to back it up. I kindly asked for answers to my
questions, but it isn't because I made my 'mind up on a subject I
know so poorly' as you write. If you can provide facts as to who
observed the elections of November 2000, with which methodology, and
how the media such as the New York Times, you seem to perceive as
independent and more capable in regard to reporting on Haiti than the
Haitian journalists, arrived at their numbers regarding the election,
I will gladly change my opinion. And herein lies the problem, if you
do a search on any media database there are volumes of allegations of
low voter participation but most can be traced back to political
elements in Haiti that have no standing with the Haitian masses plus
a vested interest in electoral politics and none can actually
describe as to how the voter turnout figures were compiled. It is
easy for an opposition to boycott an election they wouldn't stand a
chance of winning, not organize observers and then make claims about
turnout that they can't back up, this is exactly what happened in the
case of the 2000 November elections.

If you trust corporate media sources from the outside depending on
journalists that often report unbelievable fabrications more than
Haitian sources, you may have your reasons. I for one don't see why I
shouldn't put more value in the reporting of highly informed and
qualified Haitian journalists, yes - they do also work for US media
and other Non-Lavalas outlets, as opposed to the make believe
journalism of the likes of the Associated Press.

You write there were 20 observers when there were in fact more than
thirty, yes is a quantitative difference and it is big. Is it more or
less believable if there's 50% more people reporting the same
observations? If you allege that somebody has poor knowledge of an
issue you shouldn't report wrong numbers. You write of fabrications
and exaggerations and attribute statements to people: are you willing
to share your sources?

None of my questions have been answered, is it because nobody except
the people I quoted actually observed what happened? And you bring
also a new element into the discussion the 'massive fraud' in the May
2000 elections, again without substantiating the claim, can we have
the reports and observer documents for that?

Re: KOZEPEP - it is my understanding that their appeal was/is not
based so much on rumors but on the fact that they and Jean Dominique
brought the question of land reform to the table, but maybe I just
hold the Haitian population in a higher esteem than you and believe
in their ability to make informed decisions as to which political
groups best represent their interests. speaking of KOZEPEP, I quote:
<... Their [personalities of the ruling Fanmi Lavalas party] fears
were heightened by the creation of the KOZEPEP organization with its
large turnout of members, mostly peasants, in both the capital and
many provincial towns, showing no allegiance to the party [Fanmi
Lavalas] or the leader at Tabarre. ...' Info Haiti, 2001-05-14
(http://www.haitipolicy.org/content/148.htm ) I believe it is known
to you who the leader at tabarre is. Yes, no other than J.-B.
Aristide to which you claim KOZEPEP is so beholden.

I would prefer facts to answering questions with new allegations in
case you can enlighten us about your sources and back up your claims.

.