18097: haitiinfo: Aristide's Brutal Tactics Further Inflame Haitians (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Haiti Info <hainfo@starband.net>

Wall Street Journal January 23, 2004
THE AMERICAS

Aristide's Brutal Tactics Further Inflame Haitians

 By MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY



 "You had armed, pro-government people shooting at demonstrators and so on.
I
 myself was surrounded by those individuals with the masks, their faces
covered,
 heavily armed, who were setting up positions along the city high up waiting
for
 the demonstrators to come by. So on those days there is a lot of rock
throwing,
 people driving around in pickup trucks with the guns. And it can get pretty

 scary."



 That was the Miami Herald's Michael Ottey on National Public Radio Monday

 reporting from Port-au-Prince. The shooters are called chimeres, Mr. Ottey

 explained. "That's the term that's used, but that translates to thugs
basically.
 And these are individuals who support [President Jean Bertrand] Aristide.
Some
 say that they're paid by Aristide for their support . . . you know, he
condemns
 the violence on both sides, but these guys still roam around with weapons."



 The last time a Haitian government used this kind of force against its own

 people the U.S. military intervened. The year was 1994 and Gen. Raoul
Cedras had
 forcibly removed President Aristide from power. Mr. Aristide's supporters
in
 Washington argued that Mr. Cedras was violently purging his opposition and
that
 U.S. military assistance would save Haiti's fledgling democracy. Now Mr.

 Aristide is waging his own jihad against his opponents to squelch dissent.



 Expression of that dissent has ballooned across Haiti since Dec. 5, when

 student protestors were attacked by government supporters. In that
incident, the
 university's rector who went to mediate had his legs broken with an iron
bar.
 Mr. Aristide's use of government resources to put down dissent is also
becoming
 less discreet. His opponents report that during one protest march armed

 government supporters emerged from the government-owned telephone company
and
 that they have been seen driving around in public-utility vehicles.



 This week the Catholic Church, an important mediator in the crisis,
withdrew a
 proposal it had on the table for a negotiated settlement with Mr. Aristide.
Most
 of his opposition, which now includes many groups that once supported him,
have
 also withdrawn from a negotiating stance, demanding instead his
resignation. The
 opposition wants the U.S. government to support its position on the grounds
that
 the systematic intimidation and brutality that is being employed by the

 president to achieve absolute power is flatly undemocratic.


 Opposition leaders believe that the longer the U.S. clings to the notion
that
 negotiation with Mr. Aristide is an option, the more potentially flammable
the
 situation grows and the more chaotic his eventual removal will be.



 Mr. Aristide's election victory in 2000 was notable because voter turnout
was
 under 10%. Independent international observers judged the 2000 senate
elections
 to be fraudulent, concluding that his opponents were right in their
allegation
 that his Lavalas Party openly stole seats. On Jan. 12, parliament's term
expired
 and due to the political logjam there were no new elections. Mr. Aristide
is now
 ruling by decree.



 The collapse of the democracy and the deteriorating economic conditions
have
 swelled the opposition. Far from the few "light-skinned oligarchs" whom Mr.

 Aristide's supporters once claimed were his only opponents, the democratic

 opposition now looks like, well, Haiti. Mr. Ottey described the
demonstrators he
 observed: "They're students. They're members of civil society. They're

 church-based groups."



 The Group of 184, a coalition of civic organizations hoping to promote

 democratic change, is a key opposition leader. It says waves of students,

 teachers, lawyers, doctors, churches, businesses and popular organizations
are
 fast joining the ranks of Aristide opponents. One of the country's most

 important peasant groups -- based in the Central Plateau and numbering well
over
 100,000 -- was once closely allied to Mr. Aristide. Today it is a prominent

 critic.



 "Never in our history have we had such unity across classes," Andy Apaid,
the
 titular leader of 184 told me by phone from Port-au-Prince this week. "The

 population is longing for good governance," he says, adding that estimates
of
 crowds marching for an Aristide resignation have now reached the tens of

 thousands. "But because of the intimidation this mobilization is only the
tip of
 the iceberg.



 If the U.S. would show some leadership, we could turn this boat around."



 According to Mr. Apaid, 184 worked for a solution that would have left Mr.

 Aristide in office but would have allowed for a "neutral" government chosen
by a
 mix of political interests. Mr. Aristide's response was to raise the level
of
 violence, he says. Now, as Mr. Ottey noted on NPR, protesters are "saying
that
 they want the president to resign because he's corrupt, he's trampled on
the
 constitution."



 On that count there seems to be little dispute. The U.S. State Department
has
 issued this official statement: "We call on President Aristide to act to
end the
 violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations by Haitian
government-sponsored
 gangs. President Aristide must exercise responsible leadership and respect
the
 fundamental rights of all Haitians including opposition parties and civil

 society."



 The European Union has a similar stance. It says that Haiti "cannot remain

 indifferent to the reprisals which have been carried out or announced
against
 members of civil society, the opposition, the universities and the press."



 Even Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel, a prominent member of
Washington's
 Congressional Black Caucus, seems to have lost the faith in Mr. Aristide he
once
 had. Mr. Rangel's chief of staff, George Dalley, told the newspaper The
Hill
 that his boss had met with Mr. Aristide to let him "know that his support
in
 Washington was deteriorating due to continuing reports of problems,
corruption
 and drug trafficking. He also said, "Charlie was disappointed, because
despite
 feeling in each occasion that he was heard by Aristide, he increasingly
thought
 it was a futile effort to change the course of President Aristide."



 That's the same conclusion that a majority of Haitians, victims of state

 violence and poverty-inducing corruption, have reached. A U.S. recognition
of
 Mr. Aristide's bad faith would go a long way in helping the destitute and

 troubled nation begin to find a path toward peace.



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