21289: Marina: A Break with Haiti's Past? By Kevin Murray (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Marina <marinawus@yahoo.com>

A Break with Haiti's Past?

By Kevin Murray
http://www.grassrootsonline.org/Haiti_Crisis.html

Last week, the U.N.'s special representative returned
from an assessment trip to Haiti. Since then, Reginald
Dumas has made statements that offer a glimmer of hope
for a country in need of positive signals.

He insisted that the U.N. must make a long term
commitment if it wishes to overcome the "start-stop
cycle that has characterized relations between the
international community and Haiti." Furthermore, the
U.N. must provide "sustained assistance...that
involves the people of Haiti."

This, of course, begs the question of how the Haitian
people will be involved. Dumas remains anchored in the
U.N. idiom of building state institutions. In the case
of Haiti, it will be just as important to strengthen
nongovernmental organizations and to mend the torn
relations between the state and the Haitian nation.
Mr. Dumas's itinerary in Haiti shows too little effort
to reach nongovernmental organizations that must be
part of any success story there.

Nevertheless, the U.N. must take the initiative once
more in Haiti. Any international effort led by the
United States and U.S. Marines is going to lack
credibility with most Haitians...for good historical
reasons. Already many Haitian organizations are
calling for an immediate end to what they see as a
U.S. occupation of Haiti. The plan for Brazil to
assume command of a multinational force in Haiti must
move forward quickly.

The current crisis in Haiti certainly predated the
February 29 departure of ex-President Jean Bertrand
Aristide. The political storm around Aristide has,
however, altered the nature of Haiti's troubles.

U.S. conservatives opposed Aristide from the moment he
entered Haitian politics, and did everything they
could to undermine him. At the same time, Aristide's
leadership generated broad civil opposition to his
presidency within Haiti. In the end, he also faced a
rogue's rebellion led by urban gangs that his
government had armed, as well as disgruntled
ex-military men, including several known murderers and
torturers.

The U.S. government certainly played a determinant
role in the Aristide endgame. Many Haiti supporters
join Aristide in insisting that the ex-President left
Haiti in a U.S.-sponsored coup, and they demand an
investigation of the U.S. role. Such an investigation
should take place, regardless of the Bush
Administration's clear intent to avoid any more
embarrassing revelations in an election year. Mr.
Dumas maintains that a UN "facilitated" investigation
is still on the table due to an informal request by
Haiti's CARICOM neighbors.

While much remains unclear in Haiti today, the armed
remnants of Haiti's military and paramilitary groups
pose a clear and present danger. Reliable information
connects these people to reprisal killings and other
abuses during the current crisis. Little is being done
to disarm these groups, and it appears that the
Haitian National Police is quietly integrating many
ex-miliatary men into its ranks. This is a very
troubling trend in a country with Haiti's history of
military abuse.

The international community can prove that it is
serious about a break with the past by moving quickly
to disarm all illegal armed groups in Haiti, including
supporters of the ex-President and members of the
rebel groups. Known criminals should be arrested
immediately, and investigations of claims of abuse
during the Aristide era must go forward.

But Haiti cannot change without doing something about
the grinding poverty of its people. This will require
confronting a heritage of injustice with roots
stretching back to the days of Saint Domingue.

Aid to Haiti is an urgent priority, but so are changes
in multilateral policy toward the poorest country in
the hemisphere. Aid given with one hand amounts to
little if our other hand grasps Haiti's throat and
squeezes it with demands to lower tariffs, privatize
public services and reduce social spending. Can we not
say that IMF-imposed "structural adjustment" reform in
Haiti is a definitive failure, and seek another form
of economic cooperation? A new view of cooperation
with Haiti will not solve the country's problems-only
Haitians can do that-but it will open a door to a new
future.

We welcome the U.N.'s hopeful words on Haiti, but
await the concrete actions that will signal a true
break with the past.



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