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Democracy Undone in Haiti

by sybil
Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 10:31:16 AM EST

[Promoted by susanhu -- As rough as we've got it in our own country's political struggle, seemingly crawling up Denali without support equipment or oxygen, there is a country so near us whose people are falling into a horrible abyss. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! never forgets Haiti's horrific conditions, and it was good to finally see the NYT do a major story on the crisis in this country that no one in D.C. -- except a few like Rep. Maxine Waters, who Amy interviews regularly on Haiti -- pays any attention to. Here are the search results for Amy's shows about Haiti, including her interview yesterday for the hour of Harry Belafonte, in which he said the U.S. has undermined "a legitimate democracy." We worry about the fate of many countries, but Haiti is rarely on our radar. Sybil has written an excellent diary on Haiti. Per usual, the Canadians -- ironically, further away geographically and and not as implicated politically -- are much more aware than we:]

The Bush/Cheney administration is causing untold harm in the world "spreading democracy" while keeping its people so busy with a multitude of domestic scandals, heads are spinning. Here's a summary from an excellent CBC documentary (that US audiences are unlikely to see) on how the US changed regimes in Haiti. It's eerily similar to US regime change in Iraq where the leadership of a small country is destroyed with no plan in place for the resulting chaos and human suffering.

Bush/Cheney did not like this man:

Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Why?

President Aristide promised not only to give voice to the poor in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, but also to raise the minimum wage and force businesses to pay taxes. NYT

Why Haiti is in the news recently.
From the CBC Documentary, Haiti: Democracy Undone:

After four postponements, voters in Haiti are once again scheduled to go to the polls. The February 7 vote follows a coup almost two years ago.
In early 2004, when the government of Haiti faced a serious threat from armed rebels who had crossed the border from the Dominican Republic, the US government made it clear they supported the elected president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. "The policy of this Administration is not regime change," Colin Powell, then US Secretary of State, said in testimony before a Congressional committee. A fews weeks later Aristide was overthrown.
Haiti: Democracy Undone presents new evidence that in fact the US played a role in the coup that overthrew Aristide; that it had one foreign policy on Haiti but secretly carried out a very different policy.

From the New York Times, January 29, 2006.

Mixed U.S. messages helped send Haiti over the edge

[...] Curran accused the democracy-building group, the International Republican Institute, of trying to undermine the reconciliation process after disputed 2000 Senate elections threw Haiti into a violent political crisis. The group's leader in Haiti, Stanley Lucas, an avowed Aristide opponent from the Haitian elite, counseled the opposition to stand firm, and not work with Aristide, as a way to cripple his government and drive him from power, said Curran, whose account is supported in crucial parts by other diplomats and opposition figures. Many of these people spoke publicly about the events for the first time.
[Former Ambassador Brian Dean] Curran, a 30-year Foreign Service veteran and a Clinton appointee retained by President Bush, also accused Lucas of telling the opposition that he, not the ambassador, represented the Bush administration's true intentions.

In the documentary, Curran explains his farewell statement to the Haitians where he blamed the chaos in Haiti on a "Chimere from Washington." A chimere "is a shadow -- illusive, impossible to pin down" who comes in the night and commits crimes and atrocities against the people. It is quite a condemnation, especially from a diplomat. The Ambassador asked Washington for tighter controls on the IRI because it was working against him.

The International Republican Institute is one of several prominent nonprofit groups that receive federal funds to help countries develop the mechanisms of democracy, like campaigning and election monitoring. Of all the groups, though, the I.R.I. is closest to the administration. President Bush picked its president, Lorne W. Craner, to run his administration's democracy-building efforts. The institute, which works in more than 60 countries, has seen its federal financing nearly triple in three years, from $26 million in 2003 to $75 million in 2005. Last spring, at an I.R.I. fund-raiser, Bush called democracy-building "a growth industry."
These groups walk a fine line. Under federal guidelines, they are supposed to nurture democracy in a nonpartisan way, lest they be accused of meddling in the affairs of sovereign nations. But in Haiti, according to diplomats, Lucas actively worked against President Aristide.
Several months later, the rebels marched on Port-au-Prince and Aristide left Haiti on a plane provided by the American government. Since then, Haiti has become even more chaotic, said Marc L. Bazin, an elder statesman of Haitian politics.
[...]
As the rebels took more towns and cities in February 2004, Aristide turned to the international community for help. The US sent in the Marines -- to protect the US embassy. By the end of the month Aristide had fled Haiti on an airplane chartered by the US government. An interim government backed by Canada, the US and France took over in Haiti. In the months since, life has been marked by widespread violence, chaos and economic collapse.

Bush/Cheney like this man:

Louis Jodel Chamblain, [former death squad leader]

For your entertainment, IRI has posted a response to the New York Times article on their website in a PDF file.

Democracy Undone in Haiti | 17 comments (17 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

More Belafonte (4.00 / 3)

AMY GOODMAN: What about in Haiti? President Aristide is now in South Africa, ousted from Haiti. In February 29, 2004, he was taken out of the country in a U.S. plane, out of his own country, sent to the Central African Republic. And he said, he was the victim of a kidnapping in the service of a coup d'etat backed by the United States. Your response?
HARRY BELAFONTE: My response is that I believe his story to be so. I believe that is exactly what happened. I've talked to many people who have far more information than I do, because I don't live within the womb of government, but those who do have attested to the fact that what took place historically, that we described as an undermining of a legitimate democracy, was the case. And as a matter of fact, I think the story that you alluded to at the beginning of this broadcast in the New York Times does not say that fully. But it certainly has taken a big slice of that period to show America's complicity in helping to undermine that government and destabilize that beleaguered country.
That's not unusual for us. We've done that with many places. While we talk about having democracy for the world, we undermine the democracy of Chile, where we murdered and participated fully in the murder of Allende. We have now talked about another legally existing president in Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. We sought to do everything to diminish and demonize that president. We're speaking about other democracies in the region. It is not unusual for us to be duplicitous when it comes to talk.
We admit and accept democracies according to how we think they serve our most selfish and our most arrogant and our most oppressive needs. That's what we do, especially in the developing world. ...

Wonderful interview you can listen to/watch/ or read

Hickok: "You know the sound of thunder. Can you imagine that sound if I ask you to? Ma'am, listen to the thunder."

by susanhu (susanhuatearthlinkdotnet) on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 11:03:46 AM EST

Thanks Susan (4.00 / 2)

I remember vaguely Belafonte saying something really mean about Bush. Il a raison.

Will check out that interview after my coffee.

My diary looks so much more crisp and well-formatted. There must be some kind of formatting angel around here. hmmmm...

To thine own self be true. W.S.

by sybil on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 11:50:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: More Belafonte (4.00 / 2)

He was great; I'm looking fwd to part 3. Especially appreciated his talking about Nelson Mandela. Mandela, Arafat, Allende, Malcolm X, MLK -- names demonized, feared & hated -- yet we recognize the justice of their struggle & celebrate it today.

I can't tell you all how -- well, "happy" doesn't seem quite the right word, pleased (?) -- grateful ()!) I am to see some nterst in Haiti being stirred up here. It's one hellashish "laboratory experiment" we're running down there. I et discouraged talking to people opposewd to the war i Iraq who think what's happening isn't important, or that the US has anything to do with it.

". . . the more educated you are, the more indoctrinated you are. After all, propaganda is largely directed towards the privileged." -Noam Chomsky

by Arcturus on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 02:50:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Democracy Undone in Haiti (4.00 / 4)

I think that this documentary is playing, possibly on cable as part of the Oscar drive. Like the Sundance Channel or IFC.

Before I went to teach yesterday, I saw this teaser while channel surfing and thought, hummm, I think that I'll see this one later.

Check your listings.

An untypical Negro

by blksista (gab1954@gmail.com) on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 11:32:29 AM EST

Re: Democracy Undone in Haiti (none / 0)

Blksista, I searched Sundance and IFC's sites ... and I searched TV Guide's site. Not showing. At least now.

Let's keep our eyes out ... I bet you saw a promo for it, and it's just not listed on the schedules at the moment.

Hickok: "You know the sound of thunder. Can you imagine that sound if I ask you to? Ma'am, listen to the thunder."

by susanhu (susanhuatearthlinkdotnet) on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 02:19:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Democracy Undone in Haiti (none / 0)

Did we see an excerpt on Amy's show one morning?

Hickok: "You know the sound of thunder. Can you imagine that sound if I ask you to? Ma'am, listen to the thunder."

by susanhu (susanhuatearthlinkdotnet) on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 02:20:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Democracy Undone in Haiti (none / 1)

FOUND IT! The info is in the fine print from Sybil's link to the CBC documentary:

Haiti: Democracy Undone is a co-production by CBC News: Correspondent, The New York Times and Discovery Times Television. The January 29 broadcast will be the world premiere.

The NYT/Discovery has a channel -- it's on DISH satellite -- called Discovery Times. But I don't get it anymore because I went to a less-expensive line-up, but I've wished many times I hadn't done that ... it'd be worth the extra $5-10/month or whatever it cost.

AND HERE IT IS: The Haiti documentary is FEATURED on the Times/Discovery channel HOME PAGE!

I'm going to all DISH and see what it would cost me to add that channel, and some others, back.

Hickok: "You know the sound of thunder. Can you imagine that sound if I ask you to? Ma'am, listen to the thunder."

by susanhu (susanhuatearthlinkdotnet) on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 02:27:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

It is showing again in Canada (none / 0)

Thursday, February 2 at 10:00 PM ET and 10:00 PM PT - which makes taping possible.

To thine own self be true. W.S.

by sybil on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 04:32:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Democracy Undone in Haiti (4.00 / 2)

Thank you so much for diarying this! I saw & rec'd it late last night before turning in to bed, but couldn't reply then. For the NY Times, this was a pretty good article, but it did get my blood pressure going a few times.

I posted yesterday that Father Gerard Jean-Juste, an Aristide supporter who was expected to run for the presidency until his arrest on bogus charges last summer, was just released from jail & will be allowed to travel to the US for leukemia treatments, though he still faces charges. This was a direct result of international pressure being brought to bear on the Haitian & US governments & a decided victory showing that dissident voices can make a difference.

from Reuters AlertNet:

Roman Catholic priest Gerard Jean-Juste, jailed on charges his supporters say are politically motivated, left Port-au-Prince and flew to Miami, where he was to be treated for leukemia at the Jackson Memorial hospital, said Michel Brunache, chief of staff of interim President Boniface Alexandre.
His release followed weeks of pressure from U.S. lawmakers and human rights groups on Haiti's unelected interim authorities to free Jean-Juste, who is considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.

Brian Concannon, Director, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, an analyst with IRC's Americas Program and former OAS Elections Observer and UN Human Rights Observer in Haiti writes:

Today's victory proves the Haitian proverb, "men anpil, chay pa lou-: many hands makes the load light. This mobilization has been by far the strongest and most persistent Haiti advocacy effort in the ten years that I have been involved in Haiti work. Everyone who called, faxed, wrote or emailed Haitian and US officials, everyone who signed a petition, everyone who forwarded information about Fr. Gerry to their church, their friends, and their family, should be proud. Close to a dozen human rights groups, over 50 members of the US Congress, and hundreds of religious, political and human rights leaders from all over the world joined together to make this moment possible.
Together we demonstrated that the world does care, that justice is possible, and that collective action does work. No small accomplishment.
Fr. Gerry said in a letter from prison on Friday: "understand that I wish you all to extend your support not only to me but to as many political prisoners as possible wherever on planet earth. Probably, you are aware that there are quite a number of political prisoners around the world. Think of them and keep them in your heart.... I am very grateful to Amnesty International and to all of you for helping fight for the human rights of all political prisoners, here in Haiti and across the world. Let's keep the momentum on for justice, peace, love, and sharing to prevail all over the world as God wants it."

Dennis Bernstein of KPFA's Flashpoints Radio spoke briefly yesterday with Father Jean-Juste, along with reporter Kevin Pina, whose work in Haiti is outstanding.

Concannon has good piece on the elections, Haiti’s Flawed Electoral Process Bodes Ill for Future Stability:

Haitian voters may decide that the best thing they can do in the face of a deeply flawed process rubber-stamped by the international community is to participate anyway. They may find a candidate they can support enthusiastically, and be happy with the end result. But this will not mean Haiti is any closer to escaping its centuries-old cycles of violence. The shortcomings of the process will inevitably detract from the victor's legitimacy, making a tough job even harder. The precedents of extending a presidential mandate, keeping opponents off the ballot, and deploying electoral terror will soon come back to once again deprive the Haitian people of the stability and democracy they deserve.

Some other Haiti diaries:

AP severs ties w/ NED consultant in Haiti

Amy Goodman, Col. Wilkerson & Maxine Waters on Haiti -- Powell Sidelined Again?: Was the State Dept. sidelined during the Haitian coup, just as they were in the lead-up to the Iraq war?

Crisis in Haiti

Two important articles:

The Sorrow of Haiti, By Stephen Lendman:

Sometime this fall the US plans to hold supposedly "democratic" elections to be run by Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council {CEP]. The process is hopelessly fraudulent and flawed, and precise information on all that's happening is unclear. What is known is that voter eligibility roles are being "electorally cleansed" of all "political dissidents" [meaning Lavalas/Aristide members and supporters], and no anti-government activity is being allowed in the streets. Any occurring is being put down violently. Also, the number of polling stations have been reduced from 12,000 in earlier elections all across the country to 800 this time, eliminating those in rural areas where most of the poor are. In addition, the puppet government designated "political dissidents" have been prohibited from running for office [again with the obvious meaning}. Furthermore, expected voter registration totals at election time range from about 7% of pre-"electorally cleansed" eligible voters to about 50% of eligible voters post "cleansing." This will be another example of what economist and media and social critic Edward Herman calls a "Demonstration Election." Professor Herman wrote a book in the 1980s documenting sham elections in Nicaragua and other countries, controlled and "rigged" by the US to be sure their "acceptable" candidate won. The process has been repeated many times, most recently in Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq and soon in Haiti.

The Friendly Face of US Imperialism: USAID and Haiti
By Sasha Kramer:

Despite its beneficent name, USAID is doing what it was designed to do, play off the hunger of the starving, and the boredom of the unemployed, to further US policy interests. In Haiti this means propping up and illegitimate foreign government in the face of massive resistance, a difficult task best carried out through a combination of violent repression and foreign aid, the friendly face of US imperialism.

One last link:
Half Hour a Week for Haiti: Make a Difference for Haiti in Half an Hour A Week

". . . the more educated you are, the more indoctrinated you are. After all, propaganda is largely directed towards the privileged." -Noam Chomsky

by Arcturus on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 01:53:16 PM EST

Presidents Chavez, Aristide and Castro (4.00 / 2)

Haiti as Target Practice :: How the US Press Missed the Story
.
Venezuelan News (CounterPunch) March 1, 2004 -- Finally, no one has asked questions about the wildly partisan officials in U.S. State Department now running U.S. policy in the Caribbean and Latin America. These include such Blast-from-the-Past supporters of Reagan era highjinks in Central America as Otto Reich, John Negroponte, Elliot Abrams, and (before his ignominious departure last summer) John Poindexter.

The most visible in recent weeks on Haiti has been Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega, a man who has had Aristide in his gunsights for over a decade. As senior staff member for the Committee on Foreign Relations of the U.S. Senate, and advisor to Senator Jesse Helms and John Burton, he was party to a three-year campaign to defame Aristide and to prevent his return to power; all the while CIA-backed thugs left carnage in the streets daily in Port Au Prince.

In his capacity in the State Department since 2003, and for two years before that as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the OAS, he has aggressively advertised his intention to oust Aristide a second time. For example, in April of last year, speaking at the Council of the Americas conference in Washington, he linked U.S. policies in Haiti to those in Venezuela and Cuba. He congratulated the OAS for overcoming "irrelevance in the past years" by adopting the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Article 20, he said, lays out a series of actions to be takenin the event that a member state should fail to uphold the essential elements of democratic life. He added the "President Chavez and President Aristide have contributed willfully to a polarized and confrontational environment. It is my fervent hope," he added ominously, "that the good people of Cuba are studying the Democratic Charter."

[Links added - Oui]

● Return of the Condor - A Rebuttal ◊ by Soj

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

by Oui on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 02:34:11 PM EST

Re: Democracy Undone in Haiti (none / 1)

And as you remember, the Repubs were giving Clinton a rash of shit for sending our troops to help save Democracy in Haiti. Our next door nieghbor! "Nation building" is not our job," Bush famously said in his debates with Al Gore. Our troops in Haiti was where that line came from.

What he obviously meant was, "Nation building is not our job unless they have a bunch of oil. Or are black."

The reason his escapade to build "democracy" in Iraq was a joke? These guys so obviously don't care about democracy.

by dinsf on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 04:02:15 AM EST

It shld be called Republican building (4.00 / 2)

Here is the board of Directors of IRI

U.S. Senator John McCain Chairman
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

Peter T. Madigan Vice - Chairman
Principal, Johnson, Madigan and Peck
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs

J. William Middendorf, II Secretary - Treasurer
Chairman, Middendorf & Associates, Inc.
Former Secretary of the Navy
Former U.S. Ambassador to the European Community, Organization of American States and the Netherlands

Gahl Hodges Burt
Vice Chairman, American Academy in Berlin
Former White House Social Secretary

U.S. Representative David Dreier
Chairman of the House Committee on the Rules
Chairman of the California Republican Congressional Delegation

Lawrence S. Eagleburger
Former U.S. Secretary of State
Former U.S. Ambassador to Yugoslavia

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
President and CEO of the American Gaming Association
Former Chairman of the Republican Party

Alison B. Fortier
Director, Lockheed Martin Missile Defense Programs
Former Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

Mayor James A. Garner
Mayor, Incorporated Village of Hempstead, New York

Susan Golding
President and CEO, The Golding Group, Inc.
Former Mayor, City of San Diego

U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel
Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Economic Policy, Export, and Trade Promotion

Cheryl F. Halpern
Member, Broadcasting Board of Governors
Executive Board Member, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

William J. Hybl
Chairman and CEO of El Pomar Foundation
President Emeritus of the U.S. Olympic Committee
Former Special Counsel to the President of the United States

Dr. Jeane J. Kirkpatrick
Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

U.S. Representative Jim Kolbe
Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Finances and Related Programs

Janet G. Mullins Grissom
Partner, Johnson, Madigan and Peck
Former Assistant Secretary of State, Legislative Affairs

Alec L. Poitevint, II
Chairman, Southeastern Minerals, Inc.
National Committeeman, Georgia Republican National Committee

Randy Scheunemann
President and Owner, Orion Strategies LLC

Joseph R. Schmuckler
Chief Operating Officer Nomura Holdings, America, Inc.
Board Member, Securities Industry Association and Empower America

Brent Scowcroft
President, The Scowcroft Group, Inc.
Former Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force (retired)

Marilyn Ware
Chairman Emeritus, American Water Company
Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Committee
Board of Trustees, American Enterprise Institute

Richard Williamson
Partner, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP

Nice to see Lockheed Martin Missile Defense Programs are represented. How can the US teach democracy without them? LOL!

To thine own self be true. W.S.

by sybil on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 04:23:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Clinton & Democracy in Haiti (4.00 / 2)

Let's not put the Clinton administration on too high a pedestal. They were willing to put up with Aristide so long as he towed the line. From the Lendemann article cited below in my comment:

The Clinton administration finally struck a deal with Aristide in 1994, and used a vote by the UN Security Council it engineered to send a UN [largely US] international contingent to Haiti ending military dominance and restoring constitutional rule. One month later President Aristide and other elected officials returned to Haiti. The "peacekeeper" contingent entered and remained in Haiti until 1999 not to restore democracy but to insure political and economic continuity as dictated by IMF instituted neo-liberal structural adjustment policies of privatizations, debt servicing and cuts in vital domestic social programs. The US struck deal allowed Aristide to return to nominal power as long as the policies of the ousted military junta remained essentially unchanged. As mentioned earlier, Aristide tried to do it both ways and failed [by US standards]. He demobilized the army, pursued human rights violators, respected human rights and freedoms and tried to raise the disgracefully low minimum wage. In short, he governed like a "democrat."
When the full and true story of Jean-Bertrand Aristide is finally told, it will portray a noble and humble man who gave of himself honorably to serve the interests of all the people of Haiti. His only failure was his inability to overcome the brutal and corrupt power of the US and its determination to see him fail. And that determination never diminished even though, hard as it was to do, his government complied with its obligation to service its debt with its external creditors in hopes of being granted new loans by the World Bank, IMF and Inter-American Development Bank to do so. This new and earlier funding [intermittently frozen and then cut off completely after the 2000 election] led to a spiraling of Haiti's overall debt and debt servicing obligation forcing the country to cut back its already insufficient attention to basic social services for the people in desperate need of them. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and in 2000 had a shocking estimated unemployment rate of between 60 - 80%. Today with the extreme level of violence and turmoil it may be even higher, and the country is a total economic and social disaster.

". . . the more educated you are, the more indoctrinated you are. After all, propaganda is largely directed towards the privileged." -Noam Chomsky

by Arcturus on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 03:06:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Clinton & Democracy in Haiti (none / 0)

Thank you for the background.

He demobilized the army, pursued human rights violators, respected human rights and freedoms and tried to raise the disgracefully low minimum wage

The documentary shows images of the majority of Haitians living a stone-age existence while a few live in vast wealth.

Why does Bush need to go overseas to "build democracy" when Haiti exists on his doorstep.

To thine own self be true. W.S.

by sybil on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 04:40:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Clinton &amp; Democracy in Haiti (none / 0)

Well, according to Rice, the NED, IRI (btw, check out the democrat's correspondong NGO under M Albright, I think -- in a rush right now & don't recall the name) et al, democracy building is what we're doing down there now.

Can you imagine reducing the number of polls by 1/30???

Thanks gain for putting up the diary; someday I hope to get to see the documentary.

". . . the more educated you are, the more indoctrinated you are. After all, propaganda is largely directed towards the privileged." -Noam Chomsky

by Arcturus on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 04:55:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Everything Cheney touches smells like a corpse (none / 1)

PMS Purchase More Shoes

by Militarytracy on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 10:38:41 AM EST

Re: Everything Cheney touches smells like a corpse (none / 1)

I like those two 'c' words put together.

To thine own self be true. W.S.

by sybil on Tue Jan 31st, 2006 at 11:52:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Democracy Undone in Haiti | 17 comments (17 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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