8744: Negotiations issues (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>


Negotiation’s issues

The protagonists, the mediators and the observers commented optimistically
on the latest negotiations. They are evidently aware of the frustration and
fatigue created by the protracted negotiations. The net result is, nothing
has been signed. The democratic convergence contested all the year 2000
elections: May 21st and November 26th. However, the issue of the November
26th elections was dropped since the July 3rd 17 hours marathon. It
coincided with a rumor that the US Senate had allocated $6,000,000 to
finance the opposition electoral campaign.

The May 21st elections were contested on the basis of frauds, irregularities
and illegalities. The November 26th elections were contested on the basis of
political legitimacy. Despite the fortune spent during a prolong period
exceeding those prescribed by law for the presidential electoral campaign;
the participation was marginal. This substantial investment was to prove
Aristide’s popularity and legitimacy. The participation was evaluated by
three distinct and separated groups of observers. The CARICOM with Sir John
Campton evaluated the participation at 20 to 15%, the State Department at
less than 10% and the opposition at les than 5%.

These evaluations had proven simply that the fanmi lavalas party has the
power of money, weapons and politics but it has not the power of
convocation. This was exactly what the democratic convergence was contesting
by appointing Gerard Gourgue as a provisional president of a parallel
government. The legitimacy issue is as fundamental as the issues of frauds,
irregularities and illegalities.

IF this issue was dropped by the convergence because of the promises of the
$6,000,000 allocated by the Senate for the opposition electoral campaign
financing; the convergence’s responsibility to itself and to the people of
Haiti is to make sure that the promise is real. I have thoroughly searched
the following databases in the congressional records: the Daily Digest, the
House of Representative records, the Senate records, the Extension & Remarks
and the Lobby List. I searched the database records from July 1st 2000 to
July 16th 2001. I can say without any hesitation, that I did not find any
record of an allocation of $6,000,000 by the US Senate for Haiti. If someone
has any other addresses that I should search please advise.

I invite anyone having access to the congressional records, to search for
the information, to bring it out for anyone to see. The public right to know
is protected in the US.
Regards
Robert Benodin