28195: Haiti-Progres (News) This Week In Haiti 24:3 3/29/2006 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Haïti Progrès <editor@haiti-progres.com>

"This Week in Haiti" is the English section of HAITI PROGRES
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and Creole, please contact the paper at (tel) 718-434-8100,
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                   HAITI PROGRES
          "Le journal qui offre une alternative"

              * THIS WEEK IN HAITI *

          March 29 - April 4, 2006
               Vol. 24, No. 3

CALLING FOR AID, INVESTMENT AND CONTINUED OCCUPATION:
PRÉVAL VISITS NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON, DC

Continuation of Haiti's foreign military occupation, promotion of
"private investment," appeals for international assistance, and
recruitment of"competent" technocrats: such is the program Haitian
President-elect René Garcia Préval articulated during a two-day visit
this week to the United States.

Trailing a large delegation of economists, businessmen, former
collaborators, and new "recruits" of the splintered Lavalas Family
party, Préval traveled to New York on March 27 and Washington, DC on
March 28. He met with United Nations and White House officials about the
continuing U.N. "peace-keeping" mission in Haiti, which Préval has
invited to remain in the country indefinitely.

In Washington, he also discussed Haiti's economic problems with
officials of various international financial institutions, such as the
World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Interamerican
Development Bank. He visited the Organization for American States (OAS)
where met with the OAS Secretary General and the body's Permanent
Council.

Préval also held large meetings with the Haitian communities in New York
and Washington.

After arriving by American Airlines at New York's JFK airport on Sunday
evening, Préval was whisked to a $100-a-plate reception for the benefit
of his Espwa platform, at the Millennium Hotel in U.N. Plaza. The hotel
suite could not hold all that clamored to attend the reception, and
several people were unable to get in.

The next morning, Préval with some of his delegation crossed First
Avenue to attend a meeting on the 38th floor of the UN headquarters with
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Immediately afterwards, Préval met with
the Security Council, which took up the situation in Haiti.

Kofi Annan opened the session by saying that Haiti "is only beginning
its long journey towards a stable and democratic future" with René
Préval's election. He called for a "vigorous partnership" between
Haiti's government and the "international community."

In his presentation to the Council, with the head of the Mission for the
Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH) Juan Gabriel ValdPs at his side,
Préval declared that "Haiti today is a country to be built. The problems
are enormous and urgency is everywhere. Poverty, massive unemployment,
the decrepit state of basic infrastructure essential for development,
chronic insecurity, all represent major challenges which the next
government must face." He said that "increased financial assistance from
the international community will be essential to consolidate the
democratic process and to provide the socio-economic foundations for
durable development in Haiti." In reality, the "international
community," at least the rich and powerful nations that adopt that
label, has been behind the coups and meddling which have derailed and
sabotaged democracy and development in Haiti in recent years. Préval was
just being diplomatic, one might venture.

Préval said that he would like international assistance for "the reform
of democratic institutions such as the Parliament, municipalities and
local authorities, the legal system and professionalization of the
police force," and, in fact, "a long-term aid program for Haiti." Préval
asked "funders to continue to honor their pledges by distributing
without delay the funding they announced" within the "Temporary
Framework of Co-operation," now extended until December 2007.

Préval also hailed the MINUSTAH "which carries out a very difficult
task. In conjunction with the Haitian National Police [PNH], it works to
improve the country's security situation." He also made an ambiguous
reference to the shameful international agreement illegally signed by
ValdPs and de facto Prime Minister Gérard Latortue on February 22 (see
HaVti ProgrPs, Vol. 23, No 52, March 8, 2006). "It is important that an
agreement which conforms to constitutional guidelines and to the
internal rules of the Police force be negotiated with mutual respect,"
he said. "I invite the MINUSTAH to work more closely with the new
Haitian authorities, to bring about the necessary changes to
professionalize the police force and justice system."

He closed his address to the Council by saying that "I currently am
undertaking talks with politicians and other components of the nation so
that we arrive finally at political and social reconciliation." Saying
that he wants to establish "a peaceful and democratic socio-political
system," Préval called on "politicians and the other components of the
civil society... to sit with the new government, in an honest and
sincere dialogue, in order to define a pact of governability" to lead to
"healthy, democratic, and participative governance."

Immediately after Préval, ValdPs spoke. He said that, for him, the
MINUSTAH must "certify all agents" of the PNH, one of the points in his
illegal agreement, to guarantee PNH's "reform and professionalization."
ValdPs also called for "reconciliation and dialogue on a national scale"
so as "to avoid a return to the past of political crisis, violence and
destabilization." This suggestion would be better addressed to U.S.
Ambassador to the UN John Bolton and French U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de
La SabliPre, whose governments actively shunned dialogue and backed
destabilization in Haiti two years ago.

After these speeches, 29 other countries spoke, among them the United
States, China, France, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Bahamas, the
Dominican Republic, Canada, South Africa, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela.
The representatives of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the
Organization of the American States (OAS), and the UN Development
Program(UNDP) also spoke.

At 1 p.m., Préval held a press conference at the United Nations
Correspondents Association (UNCA). In answering questions, Préval said
that the two "main axes" of his government were "the reinforcement, the
establishment of institutions foreseen by the Constitution" and "the
creation of conditions for private investment."

Margareth Dominique of the program "Haiti: The Struggle Continues" at
WBAI, Pacifica Radio Network's New York station, asked how Préval
intended to rule in a country under military occupation. Préval answered
that the MINUSTAH "has achieved satisfactory results and we asked that
the mission to stay on because we have a police force which is extremely
weak, corrupt and non-professional... It would be irresponsible to ask
the MINUSTAH to leave prematurely just as it would be irresponsible for
the international community to have the MINUSTAH leave prematurely. We
have lives and property that we must protect."

Answering a question about infant mortality in Haiti, Préval said that
this problem "results from the general situation of the country just as
education, just as the infrastructure, therefore we cannot isolate
health problems from other problems."

He also spoke about the "effective cooperation" of Cuba. "Approximately
750 students, of which 120 have already graduated and returned to Haiti,
and who will go to the towns where they were recruited, their
hometowns," he explained. "At the same time, we have approximately 500
[ Cuban ] medical personnel in Haiti who help us to bring health to our
populations. These Cuban doctors will be replaced gradually by Haitian
doctors. Cuba is a poor country, Haiti is a poor country: we are trying
to find a third country, a country which has much more financial
resources, for trilateral cooperation to improve the medical care for
our population."

The correspondent of Radio Verité in New Jersey asked if Préval has a
plan to release the many political prisoners illegally held in Haiti's
prisons. "I am not inaugurated yet," Préval answered. "However, I have
asked the current President, the interim Prime Minister, and the Justice
Minister to look at this problem and to see, if, as quickly as possible,
one can respond to this problem."

Kim Ives of HaVti ProgrPs, referring to a quotation which appeared in
the Feb. 20 New York Times and Préval's speech to the Security Council,
asked the president-elect why he thinks he can succeed in reconciling
Haiti's owning and dispossessed classes a project exiled President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide also undertook. Rather than accept
reconciliation, Haiti's bourgeoisie and landowning class have made two
coups d'etat in the past 15 years, Ives said, and a coup attempt against
Préval in November 2000.

"I will never succeed because I never said that," Préval answered. "I
think that reconciliation of the classes is impossible. I think that
collaboration is possible. I said that we will work with all the
politicians, all civil society, and these various components, i.e. the
owners, the workers, various associations, to take part in the
development of a common vision of Haiti." He said that the disastrous
state of Haiti's environment is "a problem which goes beyond the
question of social classes."

"The conflict between labor and capital will always exist," Préval
concluded. "I never said that I would solve the problem of the classes
in Haiti."

On Monday evening, there was a community meeting at CUNY's York College
in Queens, where nearly 2,000 haVtiens filled an auditorium. The
atmosphere in the room was very congenial and ebullient. President
Préval stood on a corner of the stage in shirt-sleeves, affecting the
relaxed style which was the hallmark of his 1996-2001 presidency. He
kept the audience giddy with jokes and anecdotes, and frequently called
upon a member of his retinue - usually an economist - to explain a point
he was trying to make. Standing in a constantly shifting semi-circle
behind him, members of the Espwa coalition, like Préval's right-hand man
Robert Manuel, former KOZEPEP peasant leader Charles Souffrant, and
François Pierre-Louis, secretary general of the Parti Louvri BaryP
(PLB), stood shoulder to shoulder with leading members of the New York
branch of the Fanmi Lavalas, who helped organize the event: Alina Sixto,
Pierre Florestal, Yvon Kernizan, Jacques Dossous and others. Those on
the stage moved around constantly, shaking hands with each other and
with audience members, going on and off stage, lending an impromptu and
anarchic feel to the encounter.

While constantly reminding the audience that he promised nothing and was
not even yet sure how he was going to tackle a number of problems,
Préval's message was very traditional, and one had a sense of déjB vu in
hearing the same themes which have been so often repeated over the past
15 years: we must increase private investment, we must improve security,
we must build infrastructure, etc., etc.

In fact, two themes stand out from Préval's long and rambling discourse.
First, he kept hammering that Haiti's problems needed "competence" to
resolve.

"We don't have people in Haiti," Préval said. Then he corrected himself.
"We don't have enough people in Haiti." What he meant was that there are
not enough competent and educated cadre in Haiti, many brains having
been drained away due to the political and economic troubles of the past
20 years.

Of course, Haiti needs competent officials to run its government and
public institutions. But putting the emphasis on competence (one is
reminded of the slogan of Haiti's 19th century Liberal Party "power to
the most capable") smacks of a technocratic vision, which accounts for
the arrogance and utter failure of classic technocrat Gérard Latortue
and his clique. Never have "experts" in "development" led Haiti so
deeply into poverty and misery.

Haiti's problems are not primarily technical, not matters of competence,
but political. They are the result of the irresponsibility, cynicism,
and greed of Haiti's ruling class and until their power and leadership
are truly, and not just nominally, overcome, Haiti's problems will
continue.

Secondly, Préval constantly referred to the Dominican Republic as a
model. "Last year, the Dominican Republic had one billion dollars in
private investment," Préval said. "Haiti had only seven million. It is
no wonder we are so far behind."

On this track, he touted the Dominican Republic, with its checker-board
of Free Trade Zones, as a model for Haiti's development. His remarks and
enthusiasm were reminiscent of his embrace of neo-liberal Bolivia as a
model for development in 1996. Bolivia has since suffered an economic
meltdown and a popular uprising which has brought the fiercely
anti-neoliberal Evo Morales to the presidency. One might ask why Préval
doesn't now hold up revolutionary Bolivia as a model or look to the
West, to revolutionary Cuba.

Instead, Préval seemed to be looking for a third way. "I would like to
find some kind of formula to get private investment into state companies
like Teleco," he said. He said he would like to see "popular
capitalism." It sounded rather like the "democratization" campaign that
was briefly put forward as a euphemism for privatization when
businessman Smarck Michel was President Aristide's Prime Minister in
1995.

Préval also repeated often that his government would be "inclusive," in
other words have members of his bourgeois and Macoute rivals, a feature
which U.S. Ambassador John Bolton insisted on in his Security Council
intervention. "The door is open to all except thieves, criminals and
drug-dealers," he said.

Finally, it is worth asking why President Préval felt so compelled to
make his visit to New York and Washington before his inauguration, now
announced for May 14, when he had to rely on the de facto authorities in
Haiti's Consulates and Embassies, putschists like Ray Joseph, who
mingled at Sunday's reception and facilitated all of Washington's
meetings.

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Please credit Haiti Progres.

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