21551: Anonymous: Re: 21541: Dailey: The unconstitutional abolition of the Haitian Army (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Dear Bob,

Please post this anonymously.  Thanks!

____________________________________________

It's a contested point legally whether
1. The Constitution of Haiti allows the Armed Forces to be abolished, and
2. The Armed Forces as they existed when Aristide abolished them were an
unconstitutional armed group.

Please read on, this is a legal memo in process and we are hoping for
feedback.
Thanks,
NYU International Human Rights Clinic.

STATUS OF THE HAITIAN ARMED FORCES
     The Armed Forces are separate from the police, and no provision of the
Constitution outlaws their dissolution.
     The Armed Forces can assist the police at the Executive¹s request,
assist in the event of a natural disaster, and may be assigned to
development work.   The Constitution specifies that the Armed Forces are
apolitical and must observe strict political neutrality; though their
members can vote,  they cannot serve in a Government post until they have
been inactive for one year.   The Armed Forces must be separate from the
police.   No provision of the Constitution outlaws disbanding the Armed
Forces, which Aristide abolished in 1995 following the 1991-¹94 era of de
facto military rule in which the Army killed thousands of unarmed civilians.
In two centuries, the Haitian Army had never once defended the country
against a foreign threat.  Given the contrast with the rule with respect to
the legislature, which the Constitution clearly specifies cannot be
dissolved,  a strong inference can be made that the dissolution of the Armed
Forces is not unconstitutional.

     Very few Haitians who are not in the police force may legally possess
firearms today.  And no armed corps other than the Armed Forces and the
Police can legally exist in Haiti.
     While Haitian citizens have the right to ³armed self-defense,² only
³express well-founded authorization from the Chief of Police² can confer the
right to bear arms.   Statutory law makes it illegal to buy or sell guns in
Haiti and controls the licensing of guns, which was outlawed during
Aristide¹s presidency.  No armed corps other than the Armed Forces and the
Police can legally exist in Haiti.   Currently, however, 8 or 9
self-identified armed groups have assumed control of various regions of the
country.