23591: Benodin: Declaration on the Political Situation in the Country (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>

Declaration on the Political Situation in the Country
By the Committee of Sages

Since September 2004, the political situation has been continuously
deteriorating. On top of the natural disaster where thousands of our fellow
citizens lost their life in the Artibonite and the Northwest, armed gangs
are perpetrating criminal acts, mostly in the poor neighborhoods of the
capital.

In view of that situation, the Wisdom Committee concluded that all the
sectors of the population interested in the success of the Transition must
work together to reach a consensus, at least about two essential aspects:
the causes of insecurity and the actions to be taken against it. Based upon
the information received by the Committee and its review of the situation,
the Committee believes that two (2) main factors are responsible for
insecurity: the lack of political direction from the Executive Branch,
particularly the Government, and the action of supporters and thugs of the
former Lavalas regime.

The specific goal of this carefully orchestrated situation of insecurity is
to prevent a successful Transition, a process capable of helping the country
in the long run. It is also designed to impose Aristide’s return as a
mandatory condition to reach a solution. The organized groups who share our
conclusions must speak with one voice and support the Wisdom Committee on
the basis of this proposal, as much as possible, in its demand for a
specific strategy and a plan of action from the Transition Government for an
appropriate response to stop this particular violence.

Poverty is a real and dramatic problem in our society, and it has been
exacerbated during the last decade.  However, the equation "poverty =
violence" is not acceptable under any condition, since the vast majority of
the poor people have never made the choice of violence to solve their
problems. The current violence is basically of a political nature, and is
orchestrated by different groups of the Lavalas movement because they are
hungry for power and want to impose to the nation their dehumanizing
rationale. The Wisdom Committee is calling on the nation to reject
systematically any rationale mixing poverty and insecurity in order to
nurture confusion, since it can paralyze any effort to find real solutions
and because, above all, it leaves the initiative in the hands of those who
believe in violence and fear. We must never yield to fear and accept, as a
miracle solution, that certain armed groups take the initiative and act
outside any official institution or without the proper authority.

Since May, the Wisdom Committee has been conducting a series of interviews
and meetings with the Executive Branch (Offices of the President and Prime
Minister) and the Office of the High Commissioner of the National Police
(CSPN). More specifically, since the month of August, the Committee has
taken several actions, including writing and submitting a proposal to the
authorities, on September 22, to develop and implement a National Security
Plan. In that sense, the Committee tried to promote a continuous improvement
of public safety, to stop insecurity and establish an environment for
national reconstruction.

The Wisdom Committee reiterates its proposal to develop a program against
insecurity around five (5) main points:

1.       The need for the government to make a clear statement on the
framework of the current Transition. This should be a systematic statement
phrased as an indictment against the sponsors of the political violence. It
should denounce particularly, on the one hand, the demagogic exploitation of
social poverty, which has never really been addressed under the Lavalas
regime, and, on the other hand, the use of violence as a political strategy.

2.       Establish a Central Unit of Intelligence and Planning. The triple
mission of this unit would be intelligence, planning and coordination of
operations, and recruitment of information agents.

3.       Strengthen the capacity for intervention of the National Police of
Haiti (PNH) by recruiting new (male and female) police officers, upgrading
the equipment of the police (particularly weapons), and enforcing the rules
of engagement in order to avoid confusion during police operations. That
require, among other measures, taking the steps for the formal end of the
arms embargo, and regulating the sale and circulation of weapons.

4.       Clarify once and for all the mandate of the MINUSTHA (United
Nations Mission for Stabilization in Haiti) and formulate clear conditions
on the exact nature of its collaboration with the PNH, the latter remaining
the national institution with the authority to direct the operations.

5.       Implement reforms within the PNH and the Public Administration,
which had been infiltrated with Lavalas mercenaries, to make sure that the
equipment made available is used to fight insecurity instead of fuelling it,
which is still the case today. This mandatory purge will only make sense if
it distances itself from the practices of clientelism and allows, through a
pre-established screening process, to put in charge dedicated individuals
who will be held responsible for following the established rules and
enforcing them in the defense of the national interest.

It is the belief of the Wisdom Committee that such a program would help the
Transition Government progress significantly in the fight against insecurity
and, at the same time, earn the trust of the citizens by giving them new
hope and, thereby, encourage their necessary participation in the fight
against the blind violence that denies a normal life to the population.

The Wisdom Committee emphasizes the fact that a prerequisite for the success
of this program is the commitment not only of the Provisional President of
the Republic but also of the Prime Minister and all the Cabinet. In this
critical moment, the entire government must face its collective
responsibility about the problem of insecurity, which, if left unsolved,
will make it impossible to achieve any productive work otherwise. This will
also be an opportunity to work as a government team, recognizing the
absolute need to establish a Government Action Plan in light of the
political environment. The Transition Government will thus have a chance to
express itself clearly, and explain its policies to the population.

Port-au-Prince, October 14, 2004
For the Wisdom Committee
Daničle Magloire, Spokesperson