20287: Nealy: RE: 20245: (Chamberlain) The nation-building trap (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: David Nealy <dlnealy@msn.com>

RE: Barton and Forman account:

It is refreshing to be reminded that there were and still are constructive
efforts undertaken to help Haiti's people in effective ways, including some
of the USAID projects cited in the 1990's. The realization that such efforts
must be sustainable and must involve local participation to be so is a
lesson that we muct learn.  Even better, taking up the message in Paulette's
E mail, are those efforts that involve Haitian leadership and control, but
also with accountability and transparency. Meeting all those criteria is
tough, and many if not most proposed international projects fall short of
that.

In the coming phase of increased international involvement, serious
accountability and transparency from all sides, including foreign (meaning
non-Haitian) military actors, Haitian government, IRI, USAID, rebels and
chimeres can only be achieved with substantial help from the international
and Haitian press. To extend that logic, protection of the press and pursuit
and conviction of those who threaten and murder reporters, editors,
publishers, destroy radio stations etc. should be a priority. Establishment
of the rule of law will require a free press too. Hopefully those in the
international news media can support such an effort with ideological
neutrality. Is this one of the things all can agree on? We desperately need
to find a few such things to work on, it seems to me.
One related  problem is the fear of compromising CIA or other organizations'
secrets by pursuing convictions of criminals. Is there a solution to this
problem from the legal community?

David

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