24973L Hyppolite Pierre: (Comment) Politics on the fringe (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Hyppolite Pierre <hpierre@irsp.org>

Okay. The first song I sing in the morning is Aerosmith's "Living on the
edge". The reason? Simple. Some edgy email about Haiti will pop-up on my
computer screen once I log on. This means simply, that Haiti is still
fighting to move away from its state of nature, to a state of law where
civil society will finally emerge, eventually that is, and become a rational
and reasonable place to live in.

Yesteryear, the few of us who had the courage to state that keeping Prosper
Avril in prison by Lavalas was extrajudicial were considered traitors to
"the cause of the people". Translation: Haitian politics.

Today, for those in power and their Maoist/leftist-gauchist/gochis friends,
it has become an even mortal sin for those of us who dare say that the
continuing incarceration of Yvon Neptune is extrajudicial and weakens the
establishment of the rule of law in Haiti. Translation again: Haitian
politics.

No wonder many among my good friends from the Left of Haitian politics call
me an enlightened right-winger; and my acquaintances from the Right call me
a depraved left-winger. To them all I say: sorry, my heart and soul is with
Haiti.

Haitian politics is indeed, politics on the fringe. There's no middle.
You're either right, or wrong. I guess it's a good time indeed, to fight
against the modern world's supposed "dictatorship of relativism", wouldn't
you say?

But in truth and in fact, let me once more commit a mortal sin. Politics is
supposed to be boring. Only the initiated and the passionate of that field
should and must find it exciting. It's that simple.

Every time in any society, people get so excited on a daily basis about
political issues, this means that something is very deeply wrong. Haiti is
the perfect sign of it.

We no longer hear much for instance, something exciting or gut-wrenching
about Nicaragua since after the election of Mrs. Chamorro in 1990. Nor do we
hear or read much about El Salvador since after the peace deal there between
the government and the FMLN in January 1992. Translation: however difficult
things are for people today in these societies, politics is thought of and
debated heatedly mostly at times of elections. In other words, civil society
in those countries is beginning to function as it should. The middle ground
is being approached at least faster than in Haiti, by politicians from the
Right and the Left.

In Haiti however, civil society is just a name: they help overthrow
government after all.

Politics is of course, not boring because there are causes to get excited
about. Neptune for instance, having made his point clear, prefers to die or
so it seems when reason should have dictated those close to him by now that
his death may resolve very little. Even when his death would cause the
current government to go, Haiti would and will still remain on the fringe
and in fact, his death may polarize the nation even further. But who am I to
say this? That's quite heretic to say at this point, isn't it?

The basic problem is, that no one is willing to let go. There is a
fundamental refusal in Haitian politics for the actors and their consorts to
agree to doing the business they were hired to do: administration of the
affairs of the State. It makes one wonder whether this is because they
simply do not know, how to do it or just where to begin. But let's try to
illustrate once more, about this very issue. Let's consider Greg
Chamberlain's points yesterday.

Greg yesterday alluded to some very important issues regarding the killing
of two Haitian journalists, one prominent in life and death (Jean
Dominique), and the other prominent in death alone (Brignol Lindor). Had he
not been killed by Lavalas partisans, the latter would have perhaps never
had his name written on the Corbett list. But let's be honest here.

The problem is not just with the previous Lavalas regime. The facts again,
speak quite loud indeed.

Now that it is no longer a Lavalas government in power, assuming that the
impending charges will be against some former Lavalas political operative,
nothing has been done to resolve the Jean Dominique murder. In fact there
had been unsubstantiated reports that someone, under the very watch of
rather zealous Minister of Justice Gousse, had tried to tamper with the
Dominique investigation. Moreover, it is not clear to none of us that the
current government had done much either, about the death of journalist
Brignol Lindor. Meanwhile Abdias Jean, a young Haitian journalist, was
allegedly assassinated by the Haitian police earlier this year. However or
so it seems, since Lavalas is no longer in power, it is no longer necessary
to add his name to the list of those murdered in the line of duty, trying to
report on the daily battlefield that every Haitian journalist walks and runs
through daily. Still and fortunately, some international organizations had
taken notes of it and the general director of UNESCO had condemned the
killing of Abdias Jean. You can click on the link below to read it:
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=24855&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECT
ION=201.html

How then will we render politics, in that country of ours, Haiti, to be
"boring"? Whether one agrees or not, it is only when we begin working
through consensus, through healthy compromise that Haitian politics will
become boring. Boring politics means that: civil society is functionning;
there is a functionning government with a reasonable opposition in
Parliament and elsewhere that questions that government's policy decision in
non-violent forum; elections take place regularly in the time alloted by
law, and the results are not delegitimized because the other side or sides
have lost; people can come and go and express their opinion without fear;
the Maoists and right-wing zealots can keep on ranting to the powerless
delight of their peers; violent OP's from the right and the left are a thing
of the past; investments are being made by government in infrastructures,
and businesses in industries that provide real job.

But who am I to say these things? I'm just a confused Haitian who's been
living for too long in the United States. Maybe I need to take a vacation,
in either Ti Tanyen or Belleville or Petionville, to better understand the
thrill that is associated with being on the fringe.

I think I need a drink. Better not be Kleren, or Barbancourt, or even
Cognac. Let me toast instead, with some fresh water. That'll calm my nerves.

Best regards,
Hyppolite Pierre
IRSP
http://www.irsp.org