8929: White asks question about Truth and Reconcilliation (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Krista White <librisia@earthlink.net>

Durban's long-ago questions about suggested solutions for Haiti's political and
economic stalemates spurred me into a discussion with my husband (who knows even
less about Haitian culture and politics than I do).  Rather than putting that
under informed discussion on the list, I would ask a question of list members
pertinent to my own thoughts on the matter:

How effective or appropriate would a Truth and Reconciliation Commission,
modeled on the one South Africa used, be in the Haitian context?  I am thinking
specifically of amnesty for crimes committed against the Haitian people (and
individual persons) during the Duvalier era, right up to the present moment in
exchange for full disclosure on the part of perpetrators.  My source is Desmond
Tutu's book, "No Future without Forgiveness."  What are the pitfalls and
problems with applying a solution like this in Haiti?  It seems like a good idea
to me, as an Anglo-Saxon, American outsider, but I would like to hear what the
more informed Corbetteers have to say on the matter.

Krista White