20149: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Plan now for Haiti's long-term stability (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sun, Mar. 07, 2004


Plan now for Haiti's long-term stability

OUR OPINION: THIS TIME, STAY UNTIL THE REAL MISSION IS ACCOMPLISHED


The array of tasks facing the U.N. rescue mission in Haiti is staggering:
Disarm the gunmen and find a way to deal with the criminals among them.
Provide for the urgent needs of those who lack food and medical attention.
Assist Haitians of good will in establishing a provisional government. Above
all, create and maintain a safe environment so that Haitians can go about
their business without fear.

That's the short-term agenda. Harder to achieve will be the long-term goal
of putting Haiti on the road to democracy, prosperity and stability. The
mission won't be easy, cheap or brief.

Stabilize the country

Given the magnitude of the task, it does little to inspire confidence when
U.S. leaders, in a misguided attempt to calm public opinion, seek to put an
immediate restriction on the time that U.S. forces will remain in Haiti.
Years after U.S.-led NATO forces moved into the Balkans -- in Kosovo and
Bosnia -- U.S. soldiers are still there, still under the NATO umbrella. Why
then the unseemly haste to get out of Haiti? As in the Balkans, the mission
doesn't end when shooting stops.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan put it best: ``This time I hope that the
international community is not going to put a Band-Aid on, and that we are
not only going to help stabilize the current situation but assist the
Haitians over the long haul and really help them pick up the pieces and
build a stable country.''

Exactly. Haiti is beset with overwhelming problems that must be overcome if
it is to avoid a repetition of the cycle of political turbulence that it has
suffered through endless times. Nearly 80 percent of the population live in
abject poverty. Half of those age 15 and over can't read or write. The
unemployment rate is 70 percent. AIDS ravages the country. Life expectancy
is 52 years. No democratic government -- no government of any kind -- can
survive in this environment.

Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding Jean-Bertrand Aristide's hasty
departure from the national palace have become the focal point of the debate
over Haiti. Given Mr. Aristide's long history of saying one thing and doing
another, or simply twisting reality to suit his own needs, his claims of
being kidnapped must be taken with a grain of salt. Haiti was ailing long
before Mr. Aristide came on the scene, and the important question now is
whether other countries are willing to make a commitment to fix the
fundamentals.

U.S. must take the lead

A damage-control mission may enjoy short-term success, but it is doomed to
long-term failure. The nations willing to assist Haiti must set positive
goals for the country -- eradicating illiteracy, for example, and
establishing a working judicial system -- and then be willing to stay as
long as it takes to get the job done.

This is a task for the entire international community, but the United States
must lead. Our self-interest in success should be self-evident, just as
failure is evident when Haitian boats are on the horizon.

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