17239: Benodin: Haiti's Government Deserves Condemnation (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

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

Haiti's Government Deserves Condemnation
By Raoul Peck
Raoul Peck has made "Lumumba" and other films. He served as Haiti's minister
of culture from 1996 to 1997. He is currently directing a film for HBO on
the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

November 13, 2003

Too many African-American leaders seem to have a two-faced approach when it
comes to human rights violations, repression and corruption in Africa and
the Caribbean.

Last June, the TransAfrica Forum, a progressive African-American
organization, released a letter condemning the ongoing repression
orchestrated by President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, arguing that "Black
American(s) cannot afford to romanticize African leaders if they hope to
remain relevant to the struggles on the continent. They must be willing to
condemn wrongdoing, even if that means criticizing some revered leaders."
That was very well put, but what about Haiti?

In its May 16, 2003 report, TransAfrica argued for the release of frozen
foreign aid to Haiti. But it was silent about the deteriorating state of the
government. How can Bill Fletcher Jr., president of TransAfrica, explain his
organization's unquestioning support for the regime of Jean-Bertrand
Aristide while taking on Mugabe? These facts about Haiti must not be
ignored:

Aristide's return to power in February 2001 was preceded by intimidation and
massive electoral fraud that guaranteed the lowest voter turnout since the
1990 elections, with barely 15 percent of potential voters going to the
polls.

The Aristide regime's human rights violations are drastically increasing as
loyal paramilitary forces threaten opposition leaders, grassroots activists
and dissidents, as they impose the president's will on the Haitian people.

The Haitian police are neither neutral nor independent. Two weeks in office
were enough to convince newly appointed police chief Jean-Robert Faveur that
refuge in the United States was his only salvation once he refused to
compromise his force's independence and bend to Aristide's will.

Scores of Haitian journalists have fled Haiti recently because they fear for
their lives. Those who remain are subjected to daily threats as the
political climate for the press continues to deteriorate.

And, last but not least, corruption at the highest level of the current
administration is rampant. Evidence of collusion between Aristide's inner
circle and those controlling the flourishing drug business in the country
abounds.

How can the Congressional Black Caucus, TransAfrica and other groups like
these ignore the murder of Haiti's most prominent journalist, Jean
Dominique, the lack of cooperation by the government in investigating the
murder, the ensuing silencing of Radio Haiti Inter, his radio station, and
the fact that his widow, like the police chief, has had to flee to the
United States after she shut the station down?

When Jean Bertrand Aristide was ousted in a coup, only a few months after
his election in 1991, supporters of democracy in Haiti from around the world
rallied to his cause. The Congressional Black Caucus, along with
TransAfrica, were in the forefront of the efforts that led to Aristide's
return three years later.

Since then Aristide's performance as a leader has fallen far short of
expectations.

Today, Haitians across the socioeconomic spectrum are turning their backs in
disgust on "the Prophet" and his cronies. Why aren't the traditional allies
of Haiti's democratic struggle among African-Americans standing alongside
the Haitian people? Why aren't they showing the honesty to acknowledge that
Aristide has not delivered for his people?

Haiti will celebrate its bicentennial in 2004. Many prominent
African-American organizations are jumping head first on the Haitian
government's celebratory bandwagon, without any questioning of the worsening
social, economic and moral quagmire that is Aristide's Haiti.

Don't get me wrong. As a Haitian, I am proud of my heritage. We will
celebrate and honor the memory of our forefathers, but we will not do so
with a despotic regime.

Soon enough, the whole truth about the assassination of Jean Dominique and
so many others will be revealed. Soon enough, the details of lucrative
telecommunication deals, of money transfers to overseas bank accounts, of
scandalous private security and lobbying arrangements - all imprints of the
Aristide reign - will come to light.

African-American leaders are doing neither themselves nor their constituency
any favors by papering over these embarrassing truths. Worse, it is morally
wrong. Aristide is neither a Nelson Mandela nor a Martin Luther King Jr.
TransAfrica condemned the repressive government of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.
The sooner African-American leaders distance themselves from Aristide's
failed government, the sooner peace, justice, freedom, democracy and simple
decency will no longer be a dream denied in Haiti.