18783: Allen: Aristide's mea culpa (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dr Allen <drallen@periogroup.com>

Can we count on Aristide's mea culpa?

In the middle of this turbulent political season, Jean Bertrand Aristide's
management of the affairs of the country is once more the question of the
day.  If Aristide is the man in charge, he has to answer the tough
questions.
             Why is a trained police force of five thousand men unable to
rout a ragtag band of ill-equipped armed men?  So far Aristide's only public
explanation for not taking Gonaives back is that he wanted to avoid hurting
civilians, and wanted to go slowly. That is in sharp contrast with the
declarations of the prime Minister, who feels that the government needs
"technical" assistance from foreign powers. Is that a diversion designed to
lull the "rebels" into a false sense of security or is the police force that
bad?
    Let's say that our worst fears are confirmed and that the police force
is that paper tiger that cost us so much money. Some members of the
government have floated the idea that they may need "technical help", but so
far, no official document has formally confirmed the request to either
international organizations or foreign countries. This is the typical
Lavalas behavior that we have come to except. If there is an emergency and
that in their best judgment an international force is needed, why are they
waffling?
            Did Aristide and his numerous foreign and domestic supporters
make a mistake in disbanding the Haitian Army and replacing it with this
ineffectual force? Let's listen to Yvon Neptune:

"La police haïtienne n'est pas une armée, quand elle fait face à des
trafiquants de drogue armés, à des trafiquants d'armes qui avancent des
prétextes politiques, il est du devoir de la communauté internationale de
voir avec nous quelle est la meilleure approche"
My rough translation: (The Haitian police is not an army, when facing armed
drug dealers.it is the duty of the international community to see with us
what is the best approach")
     Since the Lavalas have decided not to have an army in violation of the
constitution, should we have to beg the international community every time a
hundred "bad guys" try to disrupt the system and impose their will on a
democratic Haiti?  Did the Lavalas in their haste to get rid of the army
leave the country unprotected?  Another important question: If the Lavalas
government was victim of a coup attempt in December of 2000, as it claimed
it was, how could it be so unprepared two years later to deal with on
hundred armed men (initial band that took Gonaives)?     In a true
democratic system, the prime minister and the minister of justice would have
been summoned by parliament to answer those questions and right-minded
people would be justified in asking for heads to roll.  There is also room
in there for a "dereliction of duty" charge against the president that left
a nation so vulnerable against both domestic and foreign potential threats.
            Make no mistake about it, whatever our political leanings or
affiliations, the Lavalas have failed the country and have endangered its
sovereignty.  The least Aristide could do is to admit his glaring failure
and have the decency to resign, not because he is not a legitimate
president, but because he is inept and does not have an answer to the
problems of the Haitian nation.

 Joseph. A. Allen DDS,
Miami. Fl