19411: (Hermantin) SunSentinel-South. Florida Haitians speculate about Aristide transit (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

South. Florida Haitians speculate about Aristide transition

By Alva James-Johnson
Staff Writer
Posted February 28 2004

Herard Abraham is a retired commander-in-chief of the Haitian military who
has sat quietly on the sidelines in his Miami Shores home.

Gerard Latortue, a former Haitian foreign minister who now lives in Boca
Raton, left the country when President Leslie Manigat was overthrown in
1988.

These days both men's names are floating around South Florida as possible
transitional leaders if Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns.

Speculations about who might be involved in helping to restore Haiti in the
event of an Aristide resignation are rampant throughout the Haitian-American
community. The names of former military leaders and government officials now
living in South Florida are mentioned on Haitian radio, in newsletters and
e-mails. For the past week the community has been bombarded with proposals
from several organizations laying out their plans for the country's future.

Jean-Robert LaFortune, of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition in
Miami, said many think that Haitians living abroad should be part of
whatever changes are made in the country. They represent Haiti's middle
class, sending $800 million to family annually, about 7 percent of the
country's gross domestic product.

"The Haitian diaspora is the next best hope for Haiti," he said. "We have
the know-how in terms of technology and professionalism in different fields.
We have many investors that have the money to invest in the country. All
those attributes can be put into the development of Haiti."

In 1990, Abraham received international acclaim for helping the country move
smoothly from 35 years of dictatorship and military rule to a fledgling
democracy. He handed the military's power to Interim President Ertha Pascale
Trouillot, a Supreme Court justice who then arranged for Haiti's first
democratic presidential election. Aristide won.

This week the former lieutenant general issued a statement calling for
Aristide's resignation and a plan for a transitional government. A call to
Abraham's home was answered by his nephew, Pierre Richard, who said his
uncle broke his 14-year silence because the country had become chaotic. He
said Abraham was not ready, however, to talk to the media.

For some in the Haitian-American community, Abraham's statement signaled he
might return to Haiti to participate in a transition process if Aristide
stepped down.

"What I see is that someone very respected might be ready to serve his
country again as the new commander-in-chief of the Haitian military," said
Parnell Duverger, a Haitian-American and economics professor at Broward
Community College.

Latortue is a former executive of the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization. He is now a business consultant and a television talk show
host on the Haitian Television Network in Miami.

Lesly Jacques, director of a popular Haitian radio station in Boca Raton and
an Aristide opponent, said his radio station's correspondent in Haiti
reported recently that Latortue's name was presented to Aristide as a
possible prime minister, but Aristide rejected it.

"Latortue is a respected economist and his name has been floating around for
some time now as a possible prime minister or president of Haiti for two or
three years," Duverger said.

Jacques said people in Haiti and the United States have also been talking
about Abraham as a possible candidate for either position.

Jean Frantz Turene, an Aristide supporter, said he thinks Abraham would be
able to bring the country together because of his military background. If
the president is forced to resign, Turene said he wants leaders who will
bring peace.

"We have to come up with a compromise where everybody can work together to
achieve a common goal for all people," he said. "I want Haiti to go forward
where we can make some changes."

Reconstruire Haiti Inc. is a Sunrise-based organization calling for
Aristide's resignation and proposing a transitional government. Latortue
should serve as prime minister and Abraham and seven others as advisers, the
group said.

Olicier Pieriche, president of the organization, said Reconstruire Haiti is
the American arm of the opposition movement in Haiti led by businessman Andy
Apaid. He said the document laying out their plan had been sent to President
Bush, French President Jacques Chirac, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and
Colin Granderson, assistant secretary-general of the 15-member Caribbean
Community.

Pieriche said Latortue and Abraham aren't affiliated with the organization.
He said the list of people for the proposed transition consists of Aristide
supporters and opponents.

"We need people to work together to change Haiti," he said.

Pieriche is a lawyer and pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale.
He said he worked as a foreign diplomat under President Rene Preval, who
served from 1996 to 2001.

Granderson said he's not familiar with Reconstruire and has not received the
document. He said a transitional government would have to be created by "the
major actors on the Haitian question," which he described as the United
States, France and Canada.

"I'm hearing the rumors like everybody else. But these things only become
important when people in government start dealing with them," he said.

Alva James-Johnson can be reached at ajjohnson@sun-sentinel.com or
954-356-4523.      Email story



Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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