28147: De Verteuil (opinion) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Patrick de Verteuil

The weight of years and the constant drum beat of bad news have made of me a
confirmed pessimist, particularly where Haiti is concerned. It is therefore
with great pleasure, and a large measure of surprise, that I find myself
turning into an optimist.
Since his election (itself part of an encouraging process) Mr. Preval has
said little, but that little has pushed the right buttons. Showing that he
may be that Boswellian exception, the un-scoundrelly patriot, Mr. Preval has
called for a long term MINUSTAH presence. This in turn permits him to call
for an unpoliticized Haitian police force and a rejection of the call for
the recreation of the Haitian Army.
Mr. Preval apparently recognizes that there is no purely internal solution
to Haiti's problems; that foreign help cannot be limited to showers of gold
but must include the means to change the destructive mind sets that have
become second nature.