20477: Esser: In Haiti, Democracy Is Out (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

Sacramento Observer
http://www.sacobserver.com

March 16, 2004

Analysis: In Haiti, Democracy Is Out
By Michael D. Roberts | SACOBSERVER.COM WIRE SERVICES

(NNPA) - If the U.S. and French troops now in Haiti can quell the
violence and restore some measure of peace and order out of the chaos
created by an armed insurrection of thugs, then many Haitians would
breathe a sigh of relief. However, many progressive people in and out
of Haiti would feel a sense of betrayal and anger at the way that an
elected president was treated.

Although the violence in Haiti may be quelled and peace restored, it
will not justify the actions of those who sought to remove President
Aristide.

And no amount of justification and rationales would take away from
the issue that even if Aristide was bad, those who actively worked
for his removal were 10 times worse.

Indeed, those who now hail the U.S. and French actions forget that
with blinding clarity the events of the last month in Haiti has led
to the unmistakable conclusion that violence and thuggery can prevail
over democracy. And nobody can be under any illusion now that the
United States is willing to dance around its stated commitment to
democracy and fairness when it comes to its dealings with a leader
that it simply does not like.

CARICOM's "failed state" is the combination result of years of
political brutality, of a country whose modus appears to be that of
the Perpetual Coup and Conspiracy, a tiny elite only concerned with
holding on to political power, and a criminal underclass that has
grown and developed, given birth, by conditions of poverty, want and
illiteracy.

So that today, even as many sing the praises of the U.S. and France
with thousands of heavily armed foreign troops stationed on Haitian
soil once again, democracy is definitely out. Thuggery, violence and
revenge are definitely in.

Alarmed at the high-handed and arrogant actions of the United States
that saw an elected president bundled onto a waiting plane like a
common criminal, CARICOM, Africa and progressive voices in Europe
have been calling for an independent U.N. investigation. CARICOM is
concerned about the dangerous precedent that the U.S. has set and its
implications for democracy in the region. The Organization of
American States has been saying that it will hold an emergency
meeting on Haiti and has condemned the U.S. role in the whole sordid
mess.

But CARICOM, which scarcely can agree on anything save the next
meeting, has demonstrated extraordinary courage by taking a
principled stand on the Haitian issue. This is a sharp departure from
the usual norm of simply genuflecting to the U.S. and its adventures.
CARICOM must know that it has taken a calculated risk from a U.S.
Administration that is vindictive and punitive and that coming on the
region's condemnation of the U.S. and its invasion of Iraq the
relationship to strain level will be increased tenfold. But it is
high time that CARICOM show some spine because what happened in Haiti
can very well happen in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago or Guyana given
the prevailing circumstances in those nations.

That is why CARICOM must stop talking about a largely ceremonial
regional security system and decisively act to build it and equip it
with the means necessary to deal with situations such as Haiti.
However, CARICOM has to be much more proactive. The organization went
to Haiti and twiddled its thumbs when everyone knew that the
situation was getting progressively worse. Then the organization went
to the United Nations in a symbolic move that it knew would be going
nowhere.

CARICOM could not muster even a token police force to help Aristide
when he called for help because it was concerned about how the U.S.
and France would react and the respective governments in the region
fear of the political fall out if it sent its policemen and soldiers
to die in Haiti. No CARICOM leader had the guts to take that kind of
political decision and so the organization and its leaders simply
grandstanded and engaged in futile rhetoric.

But for CARICOM the political crisis in Haiti is far from resolved.
After news of his resignation was released, Aristide's supporters
took to the streets in protest, and they are now left feeling
disenfranchised and angry. Meanwhile, questions remain about how a
new government will be formed and which elements of the opposition
will be allowed at the table. Adding fuel to the fire are the shadows
of uncertainty surrounding how Aristide left the country; questions
about whether he jumped or was pushed; and ambiguities about his
future role. These doubts will cast a specter of illegitimacy on the
already difficult process of stabilizing Haiti and re-establishing
the rule of law and democracy.

Second, while U.S. actions may have prevented the rebels from staging
a coup against Aristide, this was only because the U.S. in essence
engineered a change of Government before the rebels had a chance to
carry out a coup. In other words, the United States and its allies
did the rebels' bidding for them.

This story comes special to NNPA from the Carribean News.
Copyright © 2004 Sacramento Observer
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