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24268: Morse: (discuss) three week rebellion that ousted.....
(mailto:oloffsonram@aol.com)
I've seen many articles (AP, Reuters, Miami Herald) written about the
situation in Haiti, referring to a three week rebellion led by the former
military,
which ousted President Aristide. Does anyone else have trouble with this
assessment? What about the peaceful demonstrations which started in Cap
Haitian
a year or two earlier. Not being a journalist or historian, I don't write
down Haiti's daily activities, but does anyone else remember demonstrations
numbering 100,000 to 200,000 people working their way through the streets of
Port-au-Prince? Was it a three week rebellion or did the foreign press spend
three weeks in Haiti before Aristide called the American Embassy and asked to
be
picked up and taken to the airport? How can I trust the foreign press on
stories coming from Iraq or Afghanistan if what I witness here in Haiti is so
contrary to what the press reports. I'm not saying that the army had no impact
on Aristide's departure date but if the army was really as strong as they are
pretending to be, they would have gotten rid of Aristide when the United
Nations originally left back in 1996 or '97.
Personally, though I have yet to see signs of it, I believe that Haiti will
rise above its current divisions, black against mulatto, Arab isolationists
and monopolists versus everyone else, schooled versus unschooled, Protestants
attacking Catholics attacking Vodouisants, French speakers versus Creole
speakers, military versus anyone who wants a different system, and of course
rich
versus poor.
I came back after being away from Carnival and people were saying things
like, <yeah, we're going to kill people who don't agree with us, pick your
sides!!> and the Nouvelliste was talking about the success of Carnival.
Associating killing with success is not the road we should be on.
Richard Morse