21957; Fenton: Caricom's challenge to OAS on Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Anthony Fenton <apfenton@ualberta.ca>

Caricom's challenge to OAS on Haiti
Wednesday, May 19th 2004

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_opinion?id=22964085

THE Caribbean Community's determination to find out the truth about the
circumstances surrounding the sudden departure from office of Haitian
President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, on February 29, has reached the
Permanent Council of the Organisation of American States (OAS).

A fierce debate is now expected Friday on Caricom's request for a Special
Session of the OAS Permanent Council to address the Haitian crisis with
the specific intention of invoking Article 20 of the Inter-American
Democratic Charter on constitutional governance and the democratic
order.

Having altered course from seeking to involve the United Nations in
sponsoring a probe into Aristide's departure from office-amid credible
reports he was ousted from power by a Washington-led initiative-
Caricom has moved to engage the OAS within the framework of Article 20
of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

One day after the letter urging this involvement by the OAS, the United
States Ambassador to the hemispheric grouping, John Maisto, went
public with an appeal for Caricom to withdraw its request.

It was insensitive of the American ambassador to have done so. He
would have known of Caricom's lingering deep disappointment with the
manoeuvrings, led by Washington and including France, that had
succeeded in frustrating the Community's initiative for a peaceful
resolution to the crisis while Aristide was still in office.


But insensitivity to initiatives even in support of constitutional governance
and the democratic order-which is at the core of the Caricom
request-is a quality that can easily surface from those accustomed
to displaying the arrogance of superpower politics.   

Current Caricom chairman, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of Antigua
and Barbuda, lost no time in reaffirming the Community's determination to
press ahead for the OAS to meet and take action on the general
assessment of democracy in Haiti that would include the circumstances
of Aristide's departure from power.

Spencer, the Community's newest head of government, had presided
over the recent meeting of the Caricom Bureau in St John's at which it
was agreed to involve the OAS in assessing the situation in Haiti in the
context of Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

On May 13, a letter on behalf of Caricom, signed by the Foreign Minister of
Antigua and Barbuda, Harold Lovell, was delivered to the current
chairman of the OAS Permanent Council, ambassador Miguel Ruiz
Cabanas of Mexico. The following day, US ambassador Maisto, was
reported as calling on Caricom to withdraw its request.

Caricom ambassadors have since informed their respective
governments of Friday's special session of the OAS Permanent
Council to consider the Community's request.



Article 20 of the Democratic Charter states: "In the event of an
unconstitutional alteration of the constitutional regime that seriously
impairs the democratic order in a member state, any member state or the
OAS Secretary General may request the immediate convocation of the
Permanent Council to undertake a collective assessment of the situation
and to take such decisions as it deems appropriate...."

The Permanent Council, in its own judgment, could exercise such
diplomatic initiatives that are designed to foster the restoration of
democracy. If the initiatives fail, the Council is obliged to speedily convene
a Special Session of the OAS General Assembly. 

The USA, France and their allies who had influenced an emergency
session of the UN Security Council to rush troops to Haiti on the very day
Aristide lost power in the face of an armed rebellion, remain in an
official denial mode that he was ousted from power.

Unless proven otherwise by an independent investigation, the prevailing
view is that there was an "unconstitutional alteration of the
constitutional regime" when Aristide was flown into exile on an American
military aircraft.

Aristide, soon to leave Jamaica for further temporary exile, now in South
Africa, maintains he was forcibly removed from office.

If he is lying and the USA and France are telling the truth, then an
independent international assessment, such as that being sought by
Caricom of the OAS, in the wider context of constitutional governance and
the democratic order, should prove most helpful.

On the other hand, if Washington is fearful of the findings of any such
enquiry, then it may wish to continue to exert behind-the-scenes
pressures on some Caricom and Latin American governments to prevent
any action on Caricom's initiative.

The OAS General Assembly- principal organ of the hemispheric body-is
scheduled to meet in Quito, Ecuador, from June 6-8. Friday's special
session of the Permanent Council as requested by Caricom, could be
very decisive for further appropriate action.

Traditionally, the OAS Permanent Council and General Assembly strive to
reach decisions by consensus. However, given its deep concern about
the "dangerous implications" the circumstances of the removal of the
Aristide presidency could have for constitutional governance in
the hemisphere, Caricom may be prepared to call for a vote in support
of its request for action under Article 20 of the Democratic Charter. 

Caricom's challenge in putting the OAS to the test on the provisions of
the Charter comes ahead of this year's General Assembly meeting
scheduled for Quito next month at which Costa Rica's former president,
Miguel Angel Rodriguez, is expected to be endorsed as the new OAS
General Secretary to succeed the outgoing Cesar Gaviria, who is
completing two consecutive terms. 

It is simply not reasonable to expect Caricom to back off from its initiative
to ascertain the truth on the sudden termination of the Aristide presidency.