25314: Holmstead: (news) Fwd: Guy Phillipe - Radio Netherlands (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: John Holmstead <cyberkismet5@yahoo.com>

The presidential ambitions of Haiti's 'Little Rebel'

Hans Jaap Melissen, 6 June 2005

Guy Philippe (Haiti flag) For a short while last year,
Guy Philippe was the big hero in Haiti, when he led a
rebel army intent on running then-president
Jean-Bertrand Aristide out of office.

Mr Aristide - also known as the 'little priest' was
indeed toppled, and now lives in exile in South
Africa. But things have not improved for Haiti since
he went, so now Guy Philippe is offering his services
once again, this time as saviour of his nation.

Guy Philippe, the 'little rebel', has now exchanged
his camouflage uniform for a smart suit. "Yes, it's a
different life now, a civilian one. I now lead a
political party."

His life certainly has changed quite dramatically: in
February 2004 his temporary home was a slum-dwelling
in Gonaïves, a coastal town to the north of
Port-au-Prince, which he and his rebel forces had
seized. They were planning to move on the capital to
remove President Aristide on their own, but the
Americans got there first. On the morning of 29
February 2004 - Guy Philippe's birthday - US marines
ordered the president to go before a bloodbath took
place.

"That was a shame, because if we'd been able to put
Aristide on trial, Haiti would have been much more
stable now," is how Guy Philippe sees it. Supporters
of the ousted president are still the cause of much
violence because they want 'their' leader back in
power.

The elections must go ahead
The interim government, which is meant to lead the
country up to new elections, is not capable of ending
the divisions among the population. Although the
elections - planned for November this year - look as
if they will suffer considerably from the chaos and
everyday violence affecting the country, Guy Philippe
believes they must go ahead: "If it's possible in
Afghanistan or Iraq, then it can be here, too."

He's still working on his plans for Haiti: "The most
important thing is to tackle poverty, because that's
also a cause of a lot of violence. My government will
support the farmers; Haiti needs to be able to meet
its own food needs again." However, aid from the
outside world will still be needed.

Guy Philippe
Guy Philippe - rebel turned politician
Mr Philippe can easily see himself as the new
president, but he's never wanted a seat in the current
interim government: "In Haiti, it usually doesn't end
well if you seize power by force. It's the people who
need to elect me." Too young?
But people in the streets of Port-au-Prince Philippe
appear not to be totally convinced about his political
future: "He's done a lot for the country, but at 37
he's extremely young to be president," is the reaction
from a group of students. Mr Philippe himself
maintains that he is precisely the right age: "Look at
Ghana and other countries, it's often people between
the ages of 30 and 40 who bring about changes in their
nation." Guy Philippe also regards his country as
'young'. The slaves here fought their way to
liberation from French rule and independence 200 years
ago: "Other countries have taken much longer to get
themselves organised."

As he's now entering the political field, he would
rather not talk too much about his past. As a police
commander, he fell out of favour with Mr Aristide and
fled to the neighbouring Dominican Republic. It was
there that he set up a small rebel army with -
according to some sources - the help of US Special
Forces. But Mr Philippe dismisses this suggestion: "My
driving force is love of my country. No one helped
us."

Bad apples
There's also been much criticism from human rights
organisations of his fellow rebels, some of whom were
convicted murderers and drug dealers, but Guy Philippe
says: "Were they bad or did they just want to do
something good for their country?" Despite this
remark, he is well aware that such figures could
jeopardise his political career. Therefore, his party
ranks now include only a few 'untainted' rebels, and
he says there won't be any jobs waiting for the
others:

"I don't think they'd be suitable for a job as
minister. Any way, I am not in politics to do good
turns for friends."

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