a35: Jean Jean-Pierre opines on the latest coup attempt (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JJEANPIERRE1@aol.com

For those of you who are wondering why the most recent coup plotters have 
gone to the national palace while "everybody knows that Aristide doesn't 
sleep there",
allow me to remind you that traditionally in Haiti  the person or group who 
occupies
the palace is ipso facto in charge of the country.  Remember that's where the 
tanks used to be.  So it was both symbolic (as same as most of the coups are 
attempted on Sunday nights) and practical (because the heavy artilleries were 
there). Today things have changed.  The palace is just another governmental 
office building. And obviously those guys were counting on the recent public 
display of disapproval coming from certain sector (s) of the population.  
Surprise! They found themselves in a tight                                    
                                         spot as they spotted  from the 
palace windows a sea of angry people with machetes and yes, the dreadful 
tires…
 
As I wrote in the Village Voice back in March, the guys (Reynold George, 
Hubert de Ronceray and consorts) from the Convergence -most of whom are just 
perennial candidates, "opposants professionels", political parasites who 
never won the hearts of the people let alone an election (save for Konpè Plim 
Evans Paul who was later trounced by singer Manno Charlemagne)- are always 
waiting in the wings to benefit from some sort of coup.   It is exactly one 
of the reasons why they are part of this coalition.  "If we cannot win 
through the ballots, maybe [something] will happen and we will be in power. 
Who cares about a civil war.  We have our US visas and our houses are   well 
protected."  That is the way our mind functions. (Please save those "do not 
put all of us in the same basket" defense).  Gerard Pierre Charles and 
Professor Benoit know very well if you go to bed with dogs, you'll get up 
with flees.  At least Prof. Manigat and his wife bailed out back in November.

Lately, the Convergence has been calling for "option zero" meaning new 
elections, even presidential.  They live off of the present impasse. Solve 
this crisis and they will create another one.  What else for them to do? Most 
of them never held an honest job in their lives.  And God knows how many 
benefactors are ready to finance their brown-nosing  careers.  

Do we actually know another country where there is a parallel government 
sworn in 
the same day and in the same town with an elected president?  Yeah, Yeah the 
election was contested.  So was the last US'.         

Maybe it is just my frustration of seeing my country going down the drain, 
but I'm 
beginning to agree with Poincy (we can always learn to change, can't we?) and 
 his theory of benevolent dictatorship.  Although I understand these two 
terms to be practically contradictory , the traditional Haitian politician 
and the MRE (I want to be clear: not everyone from the bourgeoisie is morally 
repugnant) only answer to force. Most of them did not mind Duvalier too much 
after all.  When Kennedy cut off all financial aids to Haiti except for the 
Alliance For Progress  in 1963, the dictator got Elias Cassis and all those 
of his ilk to finance the country's projects.  He built DuvalierVille, the 
Lycee Petion Ville and al with their money.  None of those folks said boo. 

Today ask them to pay their share of taxes; they would rather finance another 
coup. But they'll spend their week ends in the  Dominican Republic or in 
Miami where they'll waste lots of bread.  

I do not condone the violence that ensued the latest coup attempt.  Does not 
solve a damn thing. But folks, we ain't see nuttin yet.  Imagine wandering 
aimlessly all day long and every day in the streets of Port au Prince having 
nothing do to.  Imagine having nothing to feed your kids. Imagine going back 
under military rule in Haiti.  Imagine…
Jean Jean-Pierre