21415: Hyppolite Pierre Re: Human Rights and the matter of presence (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Hyppolite Pierre <hpierre@irsp.org>

For all the talks that we've been having on the list about Human Rights,
there are valid worrying reasons for anyone interested in seeing that Haiti
truly evolve into a democratic nation. I will not jump in front of Du Tuyau
here:-):-):-), to express my thoughts on the issue, although I am sure he
can hold his own if he hadn't already done so. But still, certain things
must be said.

Although Janet Higbie has tried in her previous post, to clarify for us all
the meaning of "genocide", something remains quite clear in this debate. A
country like Haiti, that is so polarized, cannot afford the blatantly poor
use of such words by a reputable human rights organization. This proves it
to be even more crucial to lay the cards on the table, especially when
considering what had happened in Haiti in February of this year, every time
the rebels took office in a town. There have been reports for instance, of
bodies of policemen and former government's sympathizers dumped into the sea
in containers in Cap-Haitien, and eventually floating above water to the
view of anyone nearby. Police stations were looted, destroyed. There were
also reports, still not confirmed, of summary executions by those rebels.
Yet if true, no one single individual had been arrested for such, since
there seems to have been little or no investigation of those reports. That
lack of comprehensive investigation of those reports can only perpetuate at
least the perception of bias against partisans of the former regime. But
still, at least to my knowledge, no Haitian or foreign Human Rights
organization has used the term "genocide" when referring to those recent
allegations of nasty occurrences. Should they have investigated, reported
and identified these incidents as "genocide", I would have considered the
use of the term inappropriate as well.

Perhaps the most troublesome in all is this. There are other Haitian Human
Rights organizations, although they seem to be to the left of NCHR 2002
through most of 2003. But they have yet to establish their presence outside
of Haiti in mainstream circles, just like NCHR has, although these HR
organizations can and definitely should have done so by now.

If for instance, they have their representatives on the Corbett list, those
reps. never post anything on human rights issues. It is not clear either,
whether they even have a website in this day and age. Why such timidity?

One of such groups which seems to have sprung up is CARLI, a Human Rights
Coalition group that had recently expressed its dismay about the
above-mentioned rights abuses cases in Haiti. Yet, those reports come in
forms of "news clips", and apparently, only from Agence Haitienne de Presse.

Those HR organizations seem to believe, in the sort of attitude that
liberals have been accused of, that the truth is on their side and therefore
they don't have to aggressively expose the facts. If this is their modus
operandi, they will not be acknowledged, let along gain the kind of
mainstream credibility they could or perhaps even do deserve. They may also
die out as fast as they had birthed.

Perhaps some might think that in the short term, this would cause further
polarization. But I am of the idea that when it comes to that issue in
Haiti, the more the merrier. This would not discount in any way, the work of
arguably the better known Haitian rights organization in the Diaspora, NCHR.
It would just compensate for something that is or is simply perceived to be
lacking thus far: a more comprehensive representation of Haiti's human
rights situation.

After all, this is perhaps one of the ways that I for one, will have my
rights protected when and if I am in Haiti, as someone who works in that
capacity had very recently called me "Petit Pierre", which means "Little
Pierre", or the more appropriate cultural Haitian meaning of the word, "Ti
Pierre" or even better, "Ti Pič". I took it as a warning from that
individual that since my political points of views probably differ from his,
that my physical integrity could be violated in Haiti without them raising
their voice to protect me. That is typical of how the human rights of all
the Haitian "Ti" had been either ignored or simply trampled upon for most of
two centuries. But I also know that "it is all the dots that draw the
painting". I am but one of those dots, albeit small, "ti Pič", but will
continue on carrying my moral duty as a Haitian national.

Best regards,
Hyppolite