20790: Esser: The Day after Tomorrow (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

Africana
http://www.africana.com

March 24, 20004

Haiti Update V: The Day after Tomorrow
By Avi Steinberg

As the multinational force in Haiti increased this week to 3,330
troops, US Southern Command announced the name for its mission:
Operation Secure Tomorrow. Indeed, security seems to be the name of
the game these days in Haiti. US-based group Human Rights Watch has
demanded that the international military forces undertake a more
thorough policing effort in Haiti, particularly in the
rebel-dominated north. Security details have in fact been beefed up
in many cities, and despite a few outbreaks of violence — both
internal and directed at international troops — a measure of quiet
seems to have arrived in Haiti this week.

Armed factions don't go away, they simply wait for their turn.

This calm is largely chimerical. Although the US had once said that
disarmament was essential to the future of democracy in Haiti, the
complexities of achieving this goal have resulted in a policy
about-face. Around Haiti armed factions have made useless "symbolic"
gestures of disarmament, handing over their rustiest firearms to the
Americans. Nobody is fooled by this. In light of Haiti's deep
socio-economic and political divisions and its universally-armed
populace, the US has taken a pragmatic route. In an interview with
Reuters, US General Ronald Coleman claimed that a "secure tomorrow"
for Haiti must be distinguished from disarmament. He explained that
Haiti "is a country with a lot of weapons and disarmament is not our
mission. Our mission is to stabilize the country."

What does Coleman mean by "stabilize"? If every Haitian faction with
political and/or criminal aspirations and a cache keeps its weapons,
what type of stability will result from Operation Secure Tomorrow? As
the past months have (once again) proven, armed factions and a not
entirely-dissolved army can and will outgun rivals; when larger guns
— in this case, those held by US and French troops — enter the
picture, the small guns stay quiet. But these armed factions don't go
away, they simply wait their turn. Perhaps this international
presence will bring an ounce of security tomorrow, but what about the
day after tomorrow? What about a year, a decade from now?
Stabilization appears to be a code word for temporary military
solution. Actually, it's worse than that.

To understand what General Coleman might mean by "stabilization" we
might look at the US-backed interim government. This government,
after all, carries Haiti's hope for security and freedom after the
international troops leave. Returning to his native Gonaïves — a
rebel stronghold known for its politically radical history — Haiti's
new Prime Minister Gerard Latortue lauded the gangs who ousted the
"dictator Aristide." To an adoring crowd of thousands he said,
"people [around the world] said the people of Gonaïves were thugs and
bandits. But I know you are freedom fighters." Sharing the stage with
self-appointed police chief Wilfort (T-Will) Ferdinand and his
23-year-old deputy, a former Florida discount chain clerk, the elder
premier presided over a moment of silence for slain gangster Amiot
Metayer.

If Haiti's democracy has been placed in the grasping hands of these
freedom fighters, then the vision of US-backed stability comes into
sharper focus. Stability here appears to be synonymous with
suppression of dissent and, in this case, suppression of Aristide's
Lavalas Family party. This party, which still commands the loyalty of
millions of Haiti's poor and disenfranchised, has been excluded from
the rising thugocracy; there appears to be evidence that members of
the party are in hiding, fearing for their lives. Regardless of the
problems of Aristide's leadership, the Lavalas party continues to
represent the hopes for democracy and empowerment of Haiti's
impoverished majority. The US-backed government's attack on this
party is an attack on the electorate. This is stability through
tyranny.

At the moment, the US conceives this crisis purely in military terms,
but Haiti ultimately needs a civil solution. When the US disregards
fundamental issues such as disarmament, when the new government
openly flouts its commitment to democracy and reconciliation and
instead sows the seeds for a regime of brutal repression, then we
must shudder to think of the future for Haiti. This week Haiti's
defiant leaders harshly criticized their neighbors in the Caribbean
Community (Caricom), sparking division and dissent across the region.
This was done in order to appease the most radical elements at home.
As Haiti's new leaders continue to isolate themselves from their
neighbors and from the majority of their countrymen, they will need
greater and sharper tools of political repression. These tools and
the confidence to wield these tools will come, as it often does, from
the US. A secure tomorrow in Haiti is the same as it was in
yesteryear — security through oppression, not freedom.


About the Author:
Avi Steinberg is a freelance writer living in Boston. After studying
American foreign policy at Harvard, he received a fellowship in
2002-3 to live in Jerusalem and study international conflict. He is
on staff at Transition Magazine.
.