26128: Holmstead: (comment)Re: 28109: Sontaine (comment) Full disclosure (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

FROM: John Holmstead

I don't think it's a question of ideological purity or
even whether you accept money. That just seems silly
to me. Instead I think it's a matter of what you
accepted the funds for, under what conditions and how
you ultimately use the funds.

Amazing amounts of money found its way into the hands
of NGOs in Haiti that helped to "sensitize" the
Haitian people to throw their own constitution in the
trash and set democracy back by 20 years. I doubt
NCHR, Famn Yo La, and the GNB movement in general
would have gotten very far without the largess and
backing of IFES, IRI and Co. I think that's more to
the point.

Now whether organizations like Batay Ouvire, PAPDA and
 MPP received monies as a quid pro quo for their role
in completing the campaign against Aristide from the
left.....that may be a stretch. Certainly Chavanne was
rewarded by his cozy relationship with Latortue and
worked in the cabinet and, according to some, managed
to do nicely during the past two years lining his own
pockets(I know some folks are looking into that now).
MPP along with the others have been the recipients of
USAID and EU funding according to "technical advisors"
on the ground. IT would be wonderful to see a graph
drawn for specific Haitian organizations receiving
that sort of foreign aid covering, let's say...the
past five year period.

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