6743: Pina comments: [6704: Bombs Explode in Port-au-Prince (fwd)] (fwd (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Martine Jean <alix3@hotmail.com>


"Evans Paul has certainly come a long way since he was Mayor of Port au 
Prince
and I saw him beat into a coma on October 7, 1991 by the Haitian military.
Then he was standing on the principle of democracy and the need for the
military to negotiate for the return of President Aristide. Having 
interviewed
him several times, the only explanation I can offer for his change in
direction is a variant of the Stockholm syndrome whereby the abused takes on
attributes of the abuser."

Another explanation I can find for the behavior of Evans Paul is that most 
likely he was never truly on the side of Democracy. I think what happened in 
Haiti since 1986 is a continuous polarization of the country into two groups 
(not totally monolithic; and don't necessarily identify them as pro or 
against lavalas): those who were always fighting for themselves and those 
who were fighting for the establishment of democracy in Haiti. After 
Duvalier's fall in 1986, a bunch of people exiled by the Duvaliers came back 
to Haiti. The haitian people immediately identified them as "friends" or 
"pro-people and pro-democratic" because they were anti-Duvalier. I'm not 
sure Evans Paul was in exile but he was probably anti-Duvalier even though 
living in Haiti. He was thus immediately identified as Pro-people. However, 
with Aristide's popularity in the political arena (for better or worse) we 
are witnessing a near total polarization of the Haitian political scene 
(Again for better or worse; I personally think for the better)where some 
people are finally revealing their true colors in their desperation to grab 
power. THat's how one may explain Evans Paul "change" of behavior.




"My concern is with the position of my own government towards these events. 
It
is time for the US government and international human right organizations to
condemn this latest round of violence and send a clear statement to the
Convergence that these acts of terrorism against an unarmed population will
not be tolerated. It is the moral thing to do."


I hate to be right when it comes to the US government and the international 
human right organizations policies toward Haiti. But, even though condemning 
the opposition in Haiti would be the "moral thing to do," I am quasi sure 
that it's not what's gonna happen especially with Bush in power and the 
Republican in the congress.

The jugdment is already made and the verdict pronounced.

That reminds me of a quote by Lafontaine: "selon que vous soyez puissant ou 
miserable, les jugements de cour vous rendrons blanc ou noir" (Depending on 
whether you are powerful or weak,  the court will condemn you as white or 
black)
P.S. I don't know if the translation is well done. But I think I got the 
idea of the quote.

Martine

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