30745: Durban (comment): re. 30743: Roebling; 30699: Kondrat re Lancet (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Lance Durban <lpdurban@yahoo.com> comments:

The Lancet article drew well-deserved fire because it was a political
effort to clean up the Aristide legacy by slamming the successor
Latortue Government, call it "de facto" government or whatever you
wish.

Kondrat (Corbett #30699) suspects I have an opinion about "those who
refuse to demonize (my) little bogeyman, Titid".  Well, my opinion of
those who continue to support Aristide today is akin to those who
continue to support President Bush in the USA... one of amazement that
anyone could fail to see the obvious...  ie. both men were/are an
absolute disaster for their respective countries.

No one needs to demonize Titid, Peter, but one has to feel sorrow for
the tragedy that he represents.  To have attained his position and then
proceed to make such a hash of it... well, it is sad.  There are
countless people who were rooting for the guy, believing that with his
popular support he could effect a real change in Haiti.  I recall a
private meeting with U.S. Ambassador Adams (Bourik Chargé) back in 1991
where Adams emphatically stated to the Haitian businessmen assembled
that the U.S. looked forward to working with the new President
Aristide, and post-coup years when, in effect, the U.S. helped bring
Titid back.

Fact is, Aristide never did understand the need to build bridges, the
need to work with all segments of the Haitian population as well as the
international community.  He ruled by creating enemies.  Maybe he
thought this would elevate his own stature?  Who knows, but in any case
he created unnecessary enemies that subsequently were not inclined to
support him.  Not only the wealthy people in Haiti, who began to
distrust him, but the international community, which he lambasted quite
regularly (recall the $21 billion French reparation demands).

I would agree with Roebling (Corbett #30743) that the only people still
supporting an Aristide return are some loyal leftwing followers outside
the country and the gangs in Haiti who got their arms from Aristide's
government.  Most poor people realized long ago that Aristide was not
going to be able to help them, and that was the main reason they
deserted him.  This does not necessarily mean they didn't like his
message, nor that people have gotten smarter since he first appeared on
the Haitian scene.   Another politician/demagogue could certainly come
in again and promise things that would appeal to the masses.

With such a young population, an older Aristide could be that same
politician/demagogue simply preaching to new generation.  One would
like to think that maybe Titid would have had some time to reflect on
personal mistakes he made the first and second times around, but that
level of introspection was certainly not evident while he was in Haiti.
 The thing that makes a return unlikely is Aristide's security concerns
and the fear of legal prosecution were he to return.

Lance Durban