6591: Morse responds to Backer (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: OLOFFSONRAM@aol.com

1) I don't remember any significant addressing of the issues during the 
parliamentary  campaign season. I didn't watch the candidates address their 
concerns on Telemax.  There were no televised debates. I never watch Tele 
National. What I did notice however was that a few of the opposition rallies 
were broken up by mobs throwing urine, feces and rocks. This is what caught 
my attention. This happened on Champ de Mars, when the commercants were 
having a rally and I believe it happened to Evans Paul in Leogane. When these 
episodes took place the police kept their distance permitting it to happen. 
This disturbed me. Some candidates started pulling out before the elections 
because of the violence being inflicted on opposition party members. This 
also caught my attention. Politicians getting killed. At one point we 
Corbeters were discussing whether there were five or twelve political murders.
Jean Dominique was killed during this period. 

2) I don't believe the parties were permitted to give it their best shot. I 
think the ruling party wants a one party system and sees opposition as a 
threat to their existence.

3) To be honest with you, I don't remember what I expected. I didn't expect 
much once I saw the May 28th 1999 commercants/Champ de Mars fiasco.I think 
some of my main concerns at the time were the politicizing of the police. To 
have a police force that defends one party rather than a society as a whole 
with a set of laws can be a dangerous thing. I think I was also concerned at 
the time that a government which refused to cooperate with the international 
community might have to establish questionable relations with cartels and 
underground economies.
When we did discuss the elections, I think we debated mostly as to whether 
the people were going to register to vote(they did) and whether they were 
going to actually vote(they did) in the parliamentary elections. The heavy 
participation of voters during the parliamentary elections has never been 
argued. The people voted en masse.

Richard Morse