25326: Arthur - (web) BBC World Service on the "Haitian Crisis" (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

BBC World Service radio programme Analysis "Haitian Crisis" - 08.06.05

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/analysis.shtml

Partial transcript:

The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has hinted at the possibility of
sending US troops to Haiti in support of the UN mission stationed there.

Haiti continues to be plagued by social and political unrest following last
year's ousting of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

But where will the crisis end? And what can the international community do to
resolve it? Emma Joseph reports.
(....)

....Over US$1 billion in aid has been promised, and elections are scheduled
for October and November.

Denis Coderre is Canada's special advisor on Haiti. He says the interim
government's record so far has been impressive:

"The interim government - the beauty of it - for one, they say they will be
there until the elections but there is no one from that government who will
run, and I think that's a sign of integrity. Most of them are bureaucrats - they
are experts in their own fields, and they are trying to make some transition
and some solid foundation for the future, especially - after the report on the
finances - they have a surplus! Have you ever heard of a surplus in Haiti? So,
it means they are responsible in the way that they manage public money."

(....)

Alex Dupuy is a US-based Haitian academic and author. He says Haitian society
is very polarised:

"Haiti is a deeply divided society. On the one hand, you have the elites and
the interim government, supported by the international community - in this
case, the Americans, the French, the Canadians, the World Bank, and so on -, and
on the other, you have supporters of former President Aristide who still do
not trust the elite, who still resent the elite very much, still resent the
overthrow of Aristide and who are demanding not only his return, but for them to
be able to participate freely, for their leaders not to be persecuted, and
their members not to be persecuted by the government so that they can organise to
participate in upcoming elections. So, the country remains politically
divided, and the UN has proved fairly weak in terms of bringing about consensus among
the parties on how to go forward."

(....)

Charles Arthur is director of the UK-based Haiti Support Group and has just
returned from Port-au-Prince:

"There are parts of the capital that it is impossible to visit. There is a
lot of violence going on there - clashes between police, local residents, and
between armed gangs."

The UN mission, MINUSTAH, has been criticised for not doing enough to tackle
these armed gangs, and also for not doing enough to restrain the police during
a raid on a Port-au-Prince slum last weekend in which Aristide supporters
were killed. According to Charles Arthur, some people are beginning to wonder if
the international community has bitten off more than it can chew:

"There are some people who say that the UN should leave, because they are not
really doing anything to improve the situation, and they're also costing a
lot of money - apparently US$25 million a month is being spent on the UN
mission. This is money that is being borrowed by the Haitian government and that will
have to be paid back in the future by the Haitian people."

(....)

The International Crisis Group has just published a report on the situation
in Haiti. One of the report's authors, Mark Schneider, says the UN effort faces
limitations:

"The UN effort to gain control has been limited by its own limited numbers
and resources, and to some extent by the mandate which was to support and assist
the transitional government. But it is clear that some elements of the
transitional government are not interested in establishing an independent,
impartial, competent  police force but wanted a police force as politicised in their
favour as the former police force was politicised in Aristide's favour."

So what you are saying is that the police are trying to suppress the
opposition?

"There are elements within the police that have been clearly linked to
politicised actions against the Aristide opposition or those who oppose some aspects
of the transitional government."

(....)

According to Alex Dupuy, the main problem is the credibility of the interim
government:

"It was supported by the business elite but there is beginning to be strong
dissatisfaction with the performance of the government so far."

(....)

Dupuy says if the UN mandate is extended beyond the end of June, the priority
must be the disarming of all sides in the conflict:

"It seems to me the mandate must insist in carrying out the principal task
which is to disarm all those carrying illegal weapons, which includes not just
Aristide supporters but former members of the military....."

Some critics such as Charles Arthur go further and question the whole
election process:

"There are logistical problems in that the majority of the electorate are
probably not going to be registered to vote - only 1% of the 4.4 million electors
are registered and there are just two months to go before the registration
period ends - and are not going to take part in the elections. The second main
problem is that people don't see that any of the candidates are addressing any
of the real problems. Therefore we can expect quite a low turnout, and yet
again, a government without much credibility and without much legitimacy."