19807: Esser: Colonialism Gets A New Pair of Shoes (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

http://www.playahata.com/

Haiti: Colonialism Gets A New Pair of Shoes 

by Eyecalone


2004 was supposed to celebrate the bi-centennial of the Haitian
Revolution. Instead it's looking more like a celebration of 200 years
of colonialism, imperialism, and destabilization.

In the year 1492, Christopher Columbus landed and claimed, a small
island in the Caribbean in the name of Spain, renaming it Hispaniola.
First the Spaniards and then the French created plantations on the
island and started importing enslaved Africans in great numbers,
while simultaneously, nearly wiping out the native Taino-Arawak
“Indian” population. In 1697 due to difficulties managing the
territory, the Spaniards ceded the western third of Hispaniola to the
French crown at the Treaty of Ryswick, which divided the island into
French-controlled St. Domingue (Haiti) and Spanish controlled Santo
Domingo. For over 100 years the colony of St. Domingue (known as the
Pearl of the Antilles) was France's most important overseas
territory, supplying it with sugar, rum, coffee, cotton and
consequently wealth and prestige. At the height of slavery, it is
estimated that between 500,000-700,00 people mainly of western
African origin, were enslaved by the French and from the time the
first enslaved Africans were brought to the island they rebelled with
an intensity that seemed to increase annually. Between 1791-1803
enslaved Africans engaged in a protracted war of liberation against
their enslavers. Napoleon Bonaparte dispatched an army of more than
30,000 French soldiers led by his brother-in-law, Charles Leclerc,
and assisted by British and Spanish forces, to attempt to wrest
control of the Island away from their former slaves, but they
ultimately failed. The strain in terms of finances and loss of French
soldiers proved so great that Bonaparte was forced to sell his
country's 800,000+ miles of territory in North America (the Louisiana
Purchase) which extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky
Mountains, for $15 Million in 1803. The purchase of the land more
than doubled the size of the nascent United States, and by the time
the land was reconfigured, the early U.S. government had added 15 new
states.

In the struggle to expel their colonial rulers, the armies of
enslaved Africans were commanded by Toussaint L'Ouverture ("the
opening"), who during the struggle and before Haiti declared
independence, would be seized and sent to France where he would die
in a French dungeon in less than a year. Eventually it would be
Jean-Jacques Dessalines who fought alongside L'Overture for much of
the struggle, who would declare the Western hemisphere’s second
Republic of Haiti - or Ayiti in Creole, which was the name given to
the land by the former Taino-Arawak (meaning "mountainous country") -
on January 1st, 1804. The United States and the European slave
masters and colonizers in the region were livid and also nervous, and
refused to recognize Haiti as a sovereign nation. The colonial
European powers in the region feared Haiti would set a bad example
for other colonies in the area, particularly over the issue of
slavery, so they adopted a policy of isolation, although France would
recognize Haitian independence in 1825 in exchange for an “indemnity”
of 150 million Francs (the U.S. didn't recognize Haitian independence
until 1862). This perception of Haiti as a threat would be begin to
be realized when Haiti began helping other countries in South America
to set themselves free from the yoke of the Spaniards shortly after
expelling France.

In the aftermath of the revolution, the animosity and divergence of
interests that had existed between the "mulattos" (half-whites) and
the non-mulatto Africans reemerged and there was a period,
particularly between 1843 and 1915 where there was a much political
instability marked by several abrupt changes in leadership - much of
it violent. During this period several European nations still claimed
interest in the country. The Germans, particularly, were well in
control of the country’s commerce internationally and the US viewed
the economic presence of the Germans in the Haiti as a threat to
their interests and their hegemony in the region. Wanting to secure
naval stations throughout the region as the prospect of a war in
Europe loomed closer and closer by the early the 1900s, the United
States used the Monroe Doctrine, a policy that opposed European
intervention in the Western Hemisphere, and the Roosevelt Corollary
whereby the US assured the responsibility for direct intervention in
the region in order to check the influence of European powers, to
invade Haiti in 1915. The United States Occupation of Haiti lasted
from 1915 to 1934, during which the U.S. supervised all governmental
decisions in the country, rewrote the constitution revoking the
article forbidding foreign ownership of Haitian land, and created the
Army of Haiti (Forces Armées d’Haiti) whose purpose was to be
maintaining "calm and stability" as defined by its sponsors in the
United States. 

Between the U.S. military's "departure" and the year 1957, leadership
in Haiti was transferred between a number of non-descript nominally,
U.S. approved "Haitian leaders".
Eventually in 1957 François "Papa Doc" Duvalier was "elected"
president of Haiti through an election guided by the military,
marking the beginning of a truly painful and repressive period in
Haitian history. Duvalier produced a new constitution to strengthen
his power and later declared himself president for life in 1964. He
created his own guard to protect him from a coup from the military, a
paramilitary group named the "Tonton Makouts", which came to have
more power than the army. Under Duvalier's rule thousands of Haitians
fled the country in fear for their lives. He stayed in power until
his death in 1971 but shortly before his death, Duvalier designated
his son Jean Claude Duvalier who was just 19 at the time, as his heir
to head the country. With Jean Claude assuming power the Duvalier
dynasty continued and U.S. patronage continued until on February 7,
1986, Jean Claude resigned and left the country under internal
pressure, much of it from the Haitian masses.

At the end of the Duvalier Dynasty the country went through a period
of political instability moving from one short-lived military
government to another. Finally after several short stints of military
rule, Jean Bertrand Aristide, a young priest who had a strong
following with the Haitian people, was overwhelmingly elected to the
presidency in 1991 along with his Lavalas movement, on a left-leaning
populace, platform promising positive changes for the Haitian poor.
Though he publicly seemed to accept the decision of the Haitian
people, George Bush Senior, the then President of the United States
wanted a former World Bank official Marc Bazin to assume the Haitian
Presidency and began planning Aristide's ouster.

Aristide attempted to compromise with Washington’s concerns by
appointing Raoul Cedras as his military commander, but several months
later Cedras initiated a coup d’etat against Aristide’s government
usurping Aristide’s 5-year presidential term while Aristide was
soliciting economic assistance from the U.S.. Aristide was kept in
the U.S. for approximately 4 years as Cedras solidified his Haitian
dictatorship. During this period the so-called Revolutionary Front
for Haitian Advance and Progress during was formed. The group known
by its acronym, FRAPH, was responsible for the deaths of around 5,000
Haitians as it carried out the torture and murder of the
dictatorship’s opponents and the assassination of several prominent
political figures, including Haiti’s Justice Minister Guy Malary and
political activist Antoine Izméry. The FRAPH was led by Emmanuel
“Toto” Constant, with his second in charge being Louis Jodel
Chamblain who is one of the current coup leaders. Constant, it was
revealed, was an operative on the CIA payroll and was later granted
US protection and asylum. So strong were the ties between Constant
and Chamblain’s right wing death squads and the US, that a couple of
years later when the US military entered Haiti to restore Aristide to
power in 1994 one of the first things they did was to seize documents
from the FRAPH headquarters and ship them back to Washington to
conceal U.S. involvement.

A change in leadership in the U.S., lead to a change in approach,
though not necessarily goals, with respect to Haiti. The US and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) insisted that the incoming Aristide
government carry through stringent structural adjustment programs
aimed at privatizing Haiti’s public sector and maximizing the
profitability of Haiti's “free trade zones”, assuring an
uninterrupted supply of cheap labor and a guarantee of no strikes
enforced by “professionalized” security forces. For example, Haiti
was forced under IMF “advise” to lower trade barriers and import
products such as rice from the U.S. simply because they were cheaper,
but as a result ruining Haitian farmers. In a move vehemently opposed
by the far right and many Republican legislators, Aristide was
returned to power in September 1994, under the escort of 20,000 US
troops and UN peacekeepers. 

He was to finish the remaining 7 months of his term under the
understanding that he would not be allowed to run again until after
the next election although the bulk of his term had been usurped by
the Cedras dictatorship. Aristide’s hand-picked successor, René
Préval lasted from 1996 to 2001, during which time Aristide, though
out of office, seemed to be reconciling somewhat with sections of
Haiti’s ruling elite as the Haitian government attempted
implementation of the IMF’s austerity programs that had devastating
consequences for the masses of Haitian people, and thus beginning the
erosion of some of Aristide’s support base. Apparently these
concessions were not enough or deemed too slow by the U.S, and when
Aristide was re-elected in May 2000 (actually took office in November
2000) he found he had few friends in Washington or Europe. Although,
no one presented credible evidence that voting irregularities changed
the outcome the right-wing Haitian opposition raised the cry of
“fraud,” a charge that was quickly echoed by the Clinton
administration, not to mention the US Republican Party.

In actuality, two elections took place in 2000. The first elections,
in May, saw full participation by a range of political parties,
including the Lavalas party of president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In
the May elections of legislators and municipal government
authorities, Lavalas won by a landslide. Observers from the
Organization of American States (OAS) did not fault the conduct of
the elections. However, in eight cases, the electoral council seated
Senators who had won by a plurality of the votes, not by an absolute
majority. Because these eight Senators were Lavalas party candidates,
the opposition immediately cried fraud. Knowing they would lose the
presidential election in November 2000, the opposition “Democratic
Convergence” refused to participate. They cited the eight contested
senatorial elections as "proof" that the presidential vote would be
rigged. The OAS tried, in more than 20 missions, to arrange new
elections or compromise between the “Democratic Convergence” and the
government. President Aristide persuaded seven of the eight senators
to resign, clearing the way for new elections. Aristide agreed to OAS
proposals for new elections. The “Democratic Convergence” refused.

Allegedly in retaliation for the alleged electoral improprieties. The
US and Europe froze virtually all forms of economic aid to the
destitute Caribbean country. When Bush Jr. was installed as U.S.
President forces who favored a more aggressive approach to Haiti were
once again in control of US foreign policy and economic aid to Haiti
remained blocked. Men like Otto Reich and Roger F. Noriega, were
appointed to high-level positions as Bush’s envoys for Initiatives in
the Western Hemisphere. Noriega’s, who became Undersecretary of State
for Western Hemispheric Affairs, far right positions are well known
as are Reich’s. During the Reagan Presidency he was a key figure in
the drive to secure support for that administration’s illegal
sponsoring of the “Contras” in hopes of overturning Nicaragua’s
democratically elected government. Around the same time, bombs began
falling in the United State’s latest attack on Iraq, Reich was in
Haiti as part of a delegation representing the OASt and the Caribbean
Community Council attempting to broker an agreement between the
Haitian government and the Washington-backed "opposition" to Lavalas.
Reich's visit coincided with reports from the Haitian police that
uniformed soldiers of Haiti's recently abolished army had begun
regular armed incursions into the Central Plateau region of the
country from the Dominican Republic. This should have proved
especially unnerving since Aristide had abolished the Haitian
military in 1995.

It was not absolutely clear who was arming the “rebels” but they
returned to Haiti heavily armed with equipment not generally
available in Haiti, which allegedly included, all-terrain vehicles,
uniforms, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, M-60 and M-16 machine
guns, and other heavy artillery. Ira Kurzban, the Miami-based
attorney who has served as General Counsel to the Haitian government
since 1991 accused the U.S. of arming the rebels possibly out of an
alleged recent shipment of 20,000 M-16s to the Dominican Republic.

The complicit US media has presented the situation in Haiti as one in
which the US was attempting to broker piece between several
opposition groups, and Aristide, in order to avoid a potential
bloodbath. While attempting to present themselves as independent and
democratic, in reality there are 2 interconnected faces to the
Aristide’s “opposition”, both of them led by individuals who are
intimately connected to the US. In the North the well-armed
opposition was led by the aforementioned Chamblain, who was convicted
and sentenced in absentia to hard-labor for life in trials for the
April 23, 1994 massacre in the region of Raboteau and other murders.
Also present is another FRAPH veteran, Jean Tatun who along with
Chamblain, was convicted of gross violations of human rights and
murder. 

Another key rebel leader is former Haitian army officer Guy Philippe
who received special training from the US military in Ecuador during
the Cédras dictatorship, and then was given a string of senior posts
in the national police force. Philippe previously had fled the
country in 2000 under accusations he was planning a coup. He also has
been linked to drug trafficking. The non-military wing of the
"opposition", is headed by the Democratic Convergence and other
opposition groups, such as the Group of 184, which includes students,
teachers, and even former Aristide supporters who have become
disillusioned with his government's performance. The Democratic
Convergence includes political representatives of Haiti’s traditional
business and political elite. Apparently only interested in
protecting their wealth and privilege, this opposition includes
prominent supporters of the former Duvalier and Cédras dictatorships,
and also some former supporters of Aristide. They claimed not to
support, nor have any connection, with the armed rebellion which was
the true power driving the Haitian coup.

One of the leaders and principal spokesperson of the Democratic
Convergence, which has received ample support from the U.S. (via the
organization National Endowment for Democracy, and other U.S.-based
“advocacy groups”) and France, is an American citizen and wealthy
sweatshop owner in Haiti, named Andy Apaid. He was born in New York
and although Haitian law does not allow dual-nationality and he has
not renounced his US citizenship.

With the small ill-equipped Haitian police force clearly outgunned
and being overrun by an even smaller, but very well armed rebel
force, Aristide appealed to the international community, particularly
the US or France, to send troops to preserve Haitian democracy. He
was rebuffed as the U.S. made it clear they would do nothing to offer
assistance. Instead the U.S. urged Aristide and his political
opponents to accept a mediated peace process. U.S. Secretary of State
Colin Powell, after talks in Washington with representatives of
Canada and the 15-member Caribbean Economic Community (Caricom),
called on Haitians to accept Caricom's ideas for settling Aristide's
political fate. Aristide quickly agreed to the demands of the
region’s major powers and CARICOM, that he cede many of his executive
powers, including control over the national police force and the
electoral commission, to a new prime minister to be appointed in
consultation with the opposition. But the opposition flatly refused
to accept any agreement that would leave Aristide, whose term was due
to end in February 2006. Include in the few other agreed upon demands
by the "opposition" was the re-institution of the Haitian military.
Washington effectively placed negotiations in the hands of the
"opposition" by announcing beforehand that any positive response to
the Aristide government’s request for international assistance to put
down the rebellion was dependent on it first obtaining an agreement
with the opposition - an agreement that obviously would never come. 

Bolstered by the US tacit and covert approval the rebellion grew more
intense and widespread, and the statements of US and French officials
went from veiled warnings to Aristide to overtly calling for his
resignation (The only time I’ve witnessed a faster transformation in
public statements was from the Haitian born musician, Wyclef Jean who
went from saying to he wasn’t sure who to support in the conflict, to
supporting the "rebels" in a couple of days. Despite, regularly
claiming Haitian pride it was apparent Wyclef probably knows more
about his extensive, collection of expensive cars than Haitian
politics). According to some press reports, the State Department had
further offered the opposition guarantees that Washington would
itself move to oust Aristide if he did not comply with the terms of
the deal.

The rebel advance finally slowed when they reached the outskirts of
the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, where they made a number of
threats about entering the capital, but did not attempt to enter
Port-au-Prince. Port-au-Prince as was the case in much of Haiti as
the coup progressed, descended into chaos and near anarchy as looting
spread uncontrollably. However, Port-au-Prince was still a known
stronghold of Aristide supporters. Armed Aristide supporters, who the
mainstream American media, in parroting and endorsing, the one sided
accusations of the rebels refer to as "Aristide's thugs" or the
“chiméres” pledged to defend the capital leaving the situation at an
impasse that was shaping up to be a potential bloodbath. While it is
true that in the period leading up to the coup, some Aristide
supporters, including "thugs" recruited from the slums, have targeted
opposition demonstrators and organizations that have taken
anti-Aristide positions, including unions and students, it is indeed
telling that the history of human rights violations and mass murder
by the rebel leaders of the coup has hardly been mentioned.

Aristide did not flee the capital or step down as was probably
expected, instead he stated adamantly that the rebels would have to
remove him. The situation was setting up as a potential public
relations nightmare for the Bush administration and a bloodbath for
Haiti. As Tim Carney, who served as U.S. ambassador to Haiti in 1998
and 1999 stated “We do not want Haitian boat people washing up on our
shores again,'' referring to the period in the 1970s and 1980s when
some 50,000 and 80,000 Haitians, fleeing poverty and repression under
the rule of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, arrived by boat in
Florida. “We're clearly looking at the last days of Aristide in
office,'' said Carney, who serves on the board of the Haiti Democracy
Project, a Washington-based “advocacy group”. “The challenge is how
to do it, how it can happen in such a way that you can have a minimum
amount of chaos and blood and devastation.'' In their patently racist
policy of dealing with Haitian refugees the U.S. had already set up a
U.S. Naval bulwark around the Island to prevent refugees fleeing
violence from escaping to Florida, days before. Meanwhile Rebel
leader Guy Philippe, attributed the rebels holding off on attacking
the capital, to a U.S. appeal he claimed to have seen on the Internet
(that too is very telling, though hardly believable). Asked if the
United States had directly contacted the rebels, Philippe said no,
adding "We will keep on sending troops, but we won't attack
Port-au-Prince until we understand what the U.S. means."

Finally on February 29th came reports from a French radio station
that Aristide had been forced from office, possibly at gunpoint, and
on to a plane by American forces between the hours of 4 and 5:30am.
This report was allegedly corroborated by a worker at the
Presidential palace and an ABC news cameraman who declined to be
named. In addition US congresswomen Rep. Maxine Waters, claimed to
have spoken briefly with Aristide on the morning of March 1st.
According to Waters Aristide claimed to have been forced from office
and he along with his wife, and possibly 3 others, are being held
partially incommunicado in the Central African Republic possibly
pending a trip to South Africa. The Bush administration vehemently
denied the charges, claiming Aristide left on a flight chartered by
the U.S. but on his own free will. By the end of the day on March
1st, Aristide was able to conduct a telephone interview there he
adamantly claimed he was "forced to leave" Haiti by "White American"
military.  

Almost immediately after Aristide’s departure rebel forces rolled
unopposed into the city where they will likely begin reprisals and
door-to-door searches for Aristide supporters. Meanwhile, almost
simultaneously with the arrival of the rebels, hundreds of newly
arrived U.S. Marines and French and Canadian officers fortified their
positions in the capital, which included the airport, the seaport and
the presidential National Palace. Regardless of the nature of
Aristide’s departure, it is clear that the “rebels” did not force him
out and the Bush administration in it’s zealotry seems to have dug
itself a hole unless they can get Aristide to change his story or
plan to silence him permanently. The so called “democratic” groups
and nations, responsible for this 32nd coup in Haiti’s 200 year
history, have made it abundantly clear that they have an aversion for
any meaningful interpretation of the word. The failure of the
Aristide government to meet its promises to provide jobs, social
services and adequate incomes to Haiti’s impoverished masses played a
significant role in Haiti’s fall to a few hundred well-armed thugs,
but to attribute the current situation to simple corruption or the
failure of Aristide’s policies is an inadequate cop-out. Apparently
in the past 200 years of colonialism, racism, and imperialism very
little has changed. Once again the principal parties responsible for
this most recent coup d'etat, lie not on the island itself, but in
the top offices and boardrooms of Washington and it’s French junior
partners.

Released: March 1st, 2004
.