#4391:. Driver back to Morse (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Tom F. Driver <tfd3@columbia.edu>

Richard says:
> The Lavalas movement, even with its
> overwhelming majority, is not permitting other political movements to
> express themselves.

I think Hyppolyte Pierre answered this the other day.  It's certainly my 
impression that the "other political movements" DO express themselves.

> They [Lavalas] are using a blend of mob violence, backed up by the new 
> police
> force, to do their work. These tactics are being used by the party with
> an overwhelming majority. Whats the point? Its not necessary. Aristide
> has the majority AND the law on his side. 

Well, if these tactics are not necessary to the Aristide/Lavalas cause, then 
why are they being used?  I can think of the following possible logical 
explanations:
	1) They are being used because Aristide/Lavalas cannot think straight.
	2) They are being used because Aristide/Lavalas are very bad at heart 
and like to do vicious things.
	3) They are being used by people other than Aristide/Lavalas, perhaps 
infiltrators into its ranks or perhaps provocateurs posing as A/L supporters.
	4) They are being used because the forces opposed to A/L in 2000 are 
just as ruthless and unprincipled as they were in 1991, so that fighting them 
by fair means is a losing game, as the events of 1990-91 proved.  Aristide's 
winning a free and fair election in 1990 did not prevent his overthrow a few 
months later.

I hope everyone will stop and think about WHY there's so much trouble in 
Haiti.  My opinion is that explanations 1 and 2 above are too simplistic.

Morse asks:  "If [Aristide] can't take the high road, who can?"  Although it's 
not yet clear to me how much, if any, of the recent political violence is 
encouraged or planned by Aristide, it is possible that if he is not taking the 
high road that is because of the trouble that road got him into before.  We 
may be seeing the very stiff price that Haiti's struggles toward democracy are 
having to pay for acts of deception and violence directed against them since 
they began to be effective in the 1980's.


-------------
Tom F. Driver
Sheffield, MA
<tfd3@columbia.edu>