21182: Esser: Haiti Update VII: Powell's Travels (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

Africana
http://www.africana.com

April 7, 2004

Haiti Update VII: Powell's Travels

Colin Powell's visit to Haiti was meant to bestow an aura of
legitimacy on the well-fed new government. But what of the starving
Haitians?

By Avi Steinberg

Haiti's interim government is weak in a variety of ways. It rose to
power thanks to a bloody revolt conducted largely by criminals and
ex-military men. Regardless of democratic trappings such as
constitutional transfers of power, the fact remains that this
government owes its existence in large part to the armed rebellion.
Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue offered his gratitude to these
criminal elements in his now-infamous "freedom fighters" speech and
has expressed his defiance through a counter-shunning of the
Caribbean Community (Caricom). He has so far reneged on his promise
to include Aristide's widely popular Lavalas party in the new ruling
establishment and has in fact "called for justice," a wink to
anti-Aristidist vigilantism. Latortue knows that the rebels put him
in power and that they continue to dominate the northern region; he
must pander to these factions.

Latortue, of course, must also pander to the US. This week's visit by
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell — the highest ranking US
official to visit Haiti since the violence erupted in February — was
intended to strengthen Latortue's position. Powell's call to
investigate and possibly charge Aristide for "wrong-doing" echoes
Latortue's recent rhetoric. This is not an accident. Powell's
statements, made at a joint press conference, give Latortue's
government the weight of US authority. It's unlikely Powell would
really push for a trial; he knows that this would only re-ignite the
violence. Indeed a standoff over Aristide was precisely what the US
didn't want in late February, when Aristide was spirited out of the
country. Powell's statement, his promise of $55 million for the
upcoming fiscal year and his promise for new elections within the
next two years are attempts to solidify Latortue's power ahead of the
US's exit from Haiti.

This might well be the Bush administration's major action in Haiti —
when it pulls out, the US is probably going to disengage from the
problems facing the country. Reginald Dumas, the UN envoy to Haiti,
said this week that nothing short of a 20 year commitment to Haiti
would suffice; he pointed to the failure of 10 international missions
in as many years that have failed as the result of a truncated
commitment. It appears that the US is going down this road once again.

In exchange for this pre-fab legitimacy, Latortue has backed off his
harsh criticism of Caricom. Powell is also pressuring him to exclude
criminals from participating in the new government. Powell's visit
might momentarily quell the political squabbles in Caricom; Jamaica,
which has been a harsh critic of Haiti's new government, is already
falling in line. As usual, once the Americans have exerted their
authority, no small country wants to find itself on the wrong side.
Once the US leaves and turns its attention elsewhere, the squabbles
and the corruption will continue in earnest.

Haiti's neighbors have every reason to be nervous. Refugees, unable
to enter the US, are looking to neighboring countries for shelter.
The official policy of the US is that these refugees are not eligible
for political asylum. Apparently, having a well-fed prime minister —
and Gerard Latortue is definitely that — is a substitution for food.
Whether or not the current government is an oppressive regime (the
jury's still out on that question) is, in any case, a red herring.
The Haitian people are oppressed by starvation; escalating hunger and
the politics of starvation will further destabilize the region and
this has all of Haiti's Caribbean neighbors nervous.

Haitians would be heartened to see the US follow Powell's visit with
a sustained and significant commitment to the core issues facing
Haiti. The money and programs that Powell has promised might be a
good start, were they implemented in good faith. By all indications,
however, Powell's visit does not mark, in the Secretary's words, a
"new beginning" but rather the beginning of the end of the US's
commitment to Haiti. If political legitimacy is merely conferred by
Powell and not cultivated in Haiti's cities and villages, then this
regime will become yet another full-bodied tyranny. There are already
signs that this is occurring.

The other option is chaos. Powell's attempt to empower the current
government indicates a degree of concern regarding who, within the
anti-Aristide camp, really runs the show. Is it the armed men up
north and in the capital who are sitting patiently, waiting to feel
which way the wind blows? Or is it the UN-types who give joint press
conferences? The US is trying build up the prestige of the latter,
but this might prove to be an impossible task. For better or worse,
the promise of an election in 2005 means that power is up for grabs
in the up-coming year. The rebels already know this and might well
find their way into the government one way or the other.

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.
.