20877: (Hermantin)Sun-Sentinel-Tension over Aristide ouster forces black diaspora to ta (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>


Tension over Aristide ouster forces black diaspora to take sides

By Alva James-Johnson
Staff Writer
Posted March 27 2004

>From academic halls to radio airwaves to restaurants and shops in the
Caribbean community, Haiti is sparking heated debate within the black
diaspora.

Much of the controversy is centered on the ouster of former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who many feel the United States forced out. Just as
passionate are those who say Aristide was corrupt and the will of the
Haitian people prevailed.

The situation has pitted the interim government of Haiti against the
government of Jamaica; Haitian-American Democrats against members of the
Congressional Black Caucus, and other Caribbean leaders against the
leadership in Haiti.

On Thursday and Friday, the polarization worsened as the 15-nation Caribbean
Community known as Caricom announced it won't recognize Haiti's new
U.S.-backed government partly because of concerns over the departure of
Aristide. Aristide claims the United States kidnapped him and forcefully
removed him from Haiti. Some Caricom members said they were under pressure
from the United States to recognize Haiti's new government.

Meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis, Caricom refused to invite Haiti's interim
Prime Minister Gerard Latortue -- who left his home in Boca Raton to help
rebuild his native country -- after he criticized Caricom for allowing
Aristide to take temporary exile in Jamaica last week. At the same time,
Latortue said he was suspending Haiti's participation in Caricom.

U.S. and Haiti officials criticized Prime Minister P.J. Patterson for
allowing Aristide in Jamaica, saying Aristide's presence could ignite more
violence in Haiti.

In Haiti, meanwhile, the interim government announced it will block dozens
of ex-members of Aristide's government from leaving the country, including
former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune.

New Justice Minister Bernard Gousse told The Associated Press the move was
"an insurance policy" that will make the officials available for
investigations into embezzlement and other alleged crimes.

"This does not mean that they are guilty. It will be for the justice system
to decide," Gousse said.

Neptune has said he intends to remain and is in hiding due to threats
against his life.

The fallout comes on the 200th anniversary of Haiti's birth as the world's
first black republic. And some experts think passionate feelings about the
country have a lot to do with its significance in black history.

In 1804, Haiti became independent when a group of former slaves defeated the
French Army. After the victory, the United States and Europe isolated the
country, fearing the slave revolt would spread.

French troops now occupy the country with those from the United States, and
many in the black diaspora, defined as a scattering of people with a common
origin, think the international community is still making Haiti pay for its
revolution.

"Haiti is not just Haiti, it has symbolic resonance as far as African
diaspora identity," said Carol Boyce-Davies, director of African New World
Studies at Florida International University. "It was the first place in the
New World that said it was not going to take enslavement. I'm not surprised
that it has this resonance in the year 2004."

Tired of a bully

Bill Fletcher Jr., president of the TransAfrica Forum in Washington, D.C.,
said there is division in the black diaspora because countries are tired of
being bullied by America.

His organization, which educates the public about the ramifications of U.S.
foreign policy on Caribbean and Latin American countries, has called for an
international investigation into Aristide's departure.

"I do think there is a question of self-determination and national
sovereignty," Fletcher said. "I think these countries are tired of being
pushed around. They're tired of being told it has to be the way of the White
House, or no way at all. And we in the United States have to become far more
sensitive of that."

Still, few black countries have come forward to grant Aristide permanent
exile. Jamaican officials said South Africa had agreed, but didn't want
Aristide to come until after the country's general elections next month.
President Thabo Mbeki's government feared it would be "politically
unsettling."

Meanwhile, Congressional Black Caucus members have been among Aristide's
strongest supporters, angering many Haitian-Americans who fought for his
overthrow.

South Florida division

Winston Barnes, a talk show host on WAVS Radio (1170 AM), a Caribbean
station in Davie, said Haiti has been the main topic of discussion since
Aristide's Feb. 29 departure. "It might have nothing to do with Haiti, but
something to do with the perceived need to rebel against the United States
because of the fear that the U.S. can do the same to any small Caribbean
country," Barnes said.

Haitian-American Kathy Holley, of Pembroke Pines, argues that Aristide's
government used armed gangs to terrorize opponents, and allegedly turned a
blind eye to drug trafficking. She said black politicians who support him
are misinformed and have their own agendas.

"I have voted for Democrats since I've been able to vote in this country,"
she said. "But I have a big problem voting for a Democrat this year. I feel
a Democratic president will [return Aristide to office], and we can't have
that."

Views are mixed throughout the rest of South Florida's Caribbean-American
community.

Richard Delpino, a 23-year-old Trinidadian American, sat at Joy's Roti
Delight in Lauderhill Mall. A visitor from Brooklyn, he said Haiti is a hot
topic among Caribbean Americans in New York. "The United States should not
have removed him," he said. "It should be up to Caricom to take care of it."

Neville McInnis, 71, said Aristide would still be in office if he paid more
attention to his people. But the Jamaican government did the right thing by
accommodating him.

"I feel they should reach out to him as a black man and help him," he said.
"He's a West Indian, and everybody makes mistakes."



The Jamaica debate

The debate is just as passionate in Jamaica.

Last week, Aristide's visit set off debates on Jamaican radio and at the
University of the West Indies, where people gathered to express their
feelings.

Matthew Smith, a history professor who coordinated the forums, said some
participants strongly disagreed with Patterson's decision to accommodate
Aristide. They consider Aristide's presence a distraction from Jamaica's
economic and social problems, and some feared the United States might
retaliate.

Others praised the Jamaican government for hosting Aristide. And some even
criticized Jamaican leaders for not taking a stronger stand against the
United States.

"There's an anti-American sentiment that has clouded the thinking of many
Jamaicans," Smith said. "They feel the government has an obligation to
support and protect Aristide because [he] is a leader of a black country."

He said people with that point of view are disregarding the fact that many
people in Haiti wanted Aristide out.

"They're missing the point that Aristide has considerable opposition in
Haiti right now, and that Haiti is in a fragile state and needs our help,"
he said. "This tension developing between Jamaica and Haiti is a very
dangerous thing."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





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