#5336: #5290: Haiti may rue Aristide win (fwd), Grey comments (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Racine125@aol.com

Canute James wrote:

<<Mr Aristide, arguably Haiti's most popular politician, is likely to be a 
comfortable winner of next month's presidential election... his rivals will 
be weak, unknown candidates with little popular support... The vote is being 
boycotted by the main opposition parties..."

Now, without taking things out of context, let's look at this.  No one 
suggests that Aristide will not win in free and fair elections.  The "main 
opposition parties" aren't very "main", since they can't muster a significant 
challenge.  So if the "main opposition" isn't much of an opposition and the 
other candidates on the ballot are "weak, unknown... with little popular 
support", then I guess it is reasonable, right and normal for Aristide to 
win, huh?

"But the US has been one of the countries frustrated at the failure of Mr 
Aristide and Rene Preval, the outgoing president, to implement economic and 
institutional reforms... including the privatisation of several state 
enterprises...the electricity, water and telecommunications companies, 
airports and seaports."

WOW!  Imagine what the American people would say if they were asked to sell 
ABC-TV, General Motors, and Mount Rushmore to Saudi investors!  And the first 
two aren't even state enterprises, although all three are subsidized.

"The known problems of the economy and political volatility have been 
compounded by a more recent difficulty for the country. It has become a 
favoured entrepot for cocaine being smuggled from South America to North 
America."

So what does the American government think, that airplanes from Haiti fly 
over the USA dropping parachute loads of coke, and little kids just come 
gather it up in baskets and take it home to Mom?  If Haiti is a big 
transhipper, it's because the USA is a big CONSUMER!  For every nasty 
Colombian or Haitian coke runner, there is some nasty American on the other 
end waiting to receive the shipment.

I wonder if the US government knows what they look like, hissing and pissing 
and getting the OAS to send envoys like Einaudi because, as was reported in 
another article, "The OAS and Haiti's biggest direct donors, the European 
Union and the United States, have urged the government to resolve disputed 
results of legislative elections this year before going ahead with the 
presidential vote."

What the heck difference do they think it is going to make?  Aristide is 
still going to be President, Haiti is NOT going to sell her airports and 
seaports, and the USA and the greedy "investors" are going to have to live 
with the facts.  Cutting off aid programs won't work, they more they starve 
Haitians by withholding aid, the more Haitians are going to hold on to 
Aristide!

Peace and love,

Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen

"Se bon ki ra", 
     Good is rare - Haitian Proverb

The VODOU Page - http://members.aol.com/racine125/index.html

(Posting from Jacmel, Haiti)