[News] Aristide Must Be Restored To Power In Haiti

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Posted: 03.23.04 @ 1:40 p.m.
Aristide Must Be Restored To Power In Haiti



By 
<mailto:webmaster at sacobserver.com?Subject=%20%5BNEWS/COMM%5D%20Aristide%20Must%20Be%20Restored%20To%20Power%20In%20Haiti%20&body=This%20%20reader%20%20inquiry%20%20is%20%20referring%20%20to%20%20the%20%20article%20%20located%20%20here:%20%20http://www.sacobserver.com/news/commentary/032304/aristide_restored_power_haiti.shtml>Bill 
Fletcher Jr. | SACOBSERVER.COM WIRE SERVICES

(NNPA) - In the midst of the current crisis in Haiti, an issue has emerged 
among many people of conscience in the U.S. concerned about the future of 
that country. The question facing pro-democracy forces is whether, in 
addition to demanding an investigation of the U.S. role in the 
destabilization of President Aristide, and in addition to calling for the 
disarming of the thugs, that it is correct to call for the restoration of 
President Aristide to office.

The arguments against making such a call seem to come down to the fact that 
President Aristide remains a lightning rod in Haiti and that there are many 
Haitian progressives on the ground in Haiti who oppose the president. Those 
who are against calling for the restoration of President Aristide are often 
concerned that supporting such a demand will color U.S. progressives as 
pro-Aristide,' leaving us little room to reach out to the broad Haitian 
progressive movement.

In looking at this matter, one must keep in mind that fundamentally there 
is a question of democracy and constitutional rule at stake. Specifically, 
a duly elected president was removed from office through the combination of 
a civilian opposition movement that chose not to use legal means to 
challenge him; through the military intervention of thugs from the old 
regime; and, according to President Aristide, the connivance of the U.S. 
and the French, resulting in a kidnapping.

A demand for the restoration of President Aristide is not a comment on 
Aristide himself. It is a demand for the restoration of constitutional 
democracy, albeit with its deficiencies. In demanding the restoration of 
President Aristide we are saying that an illegal action(s) was taken that 
disrupted the agreed upon process along which Haiti was to function. In 
fact, the failure to demand the restoration of President Aristide amounts 
to the acceptance of the results of a coup, albeit in subtle terms.

Taking a pass on the demand for the restoration of President Aristide 
because of criticisms of his performance as Haitian president is saying 
that legal process can be trumped by political disagreements. Insofar as 
legal instruments exist to address concerns about the performance of an 
elected leader, they should not be disregarded. To do so is to fall into 
the law of the survival of the fittest.

The argument against the demand is sometimes phrased in terms of how 
President Aristide is divisive. Such an argument is, in point of fact, 
irrelevant, since, as noted above, the matter is constitutional rather than 
personal.

Yet, there is a deeper problem here that should be explored. There are 
bitter divisions in Haiti that include skin color, class, gender, and human 
rights. There are no angels in Haitian politics, so there is no simplicity 
to the political situation. What Aristide represented for many people, 
irrespective of whether he was able to fulfill the promises he made, was an 
attempt at politics that addressed the conditions of Haiti's majority, 
i.e., of the poor. Tackling this question was and will be divisive. There 
is no consensus candidate when it comes to addressing the vast disparity of 
wealth, income and privilege in Haiti. The fact of division alone cannot be 
interpreted as condemnation.

It is also the case that the Haitian people will have to settle their own 
accounts with President Aristide. As we have earlier said, President 
Aristide lost sections of his base due to what we believe to have been some 
significant political errors. Some of those errors may have been 
unavoidable, while others certainly were. This situation, no matter what 
one thinks about the relative merits or demerits of President Aristide 
cannot be settled through the de facto acceptance of the result of a coup.

What makes it essential that people of conscience speak clearly and 
unambiguously in favor of the restoration of President Aristide are the 
circumstances that followed his exit. In a manner reminiscent of the exile 
of Toussaint L'Ouverture more than 200 years ago, President Aristide was 
spirited out of Haiti and dumped in near isolation thousands of miles away 
from home. While the Bush administration enjoyed ridiculing the notion that 
President Aristide was kidnapped, the fact that he found himself sitting in 
the Central African Republic under the intense scrutiny of the 
French-backed government, unable to have regular and open communications 
with the media, let alone his supporters, renders less than credible the 
rhetoric of Bush, Powell, et. al., to the effect that President Aristide 
left on his own volition. In fact, the circumstances of President and Mrs. 
Aristide (the latter being a U.S. citizen) seemed fairly close to what was 
once called "preventive detention." The Bush administration has failed to 
give a straight answer to anyone as to how one can explain the Central 
African Republic interlude.

The exit of President and Mrs. Aristide from the Central African Republic 
and their return to the Caribbean has been interesting in terms of the 
reaction that it has garnered from the Bush administration. The arrogance 
of the administration on the matter of the status of President Aristide is 
almost unbelievable, but also compounds the credibility problem that Bush, 
et. al., have on the matter of their role in Aristide's exit. The Bush 
administration's insistence as to the alleged inappropriateness of Aristide 
being in the Caribbean could lead an observer to infer that their 
suggestion that President Aristide voluntarily left Haiti and the Caribbean 
was less than truthful.

Try as many may, there is no getting around a basic fact: if there was a 
coup against a legitimately elected leader, the remedy is not passing 
blindly forward in the hope of creating a better day. The remedy is full 
restitution, in this case meaning, restoration to office and the completion 
of his elected term unless he is removed through constitutional steps. It 
would be equally acceptable, constitutionally, should President Aristide 
choose to step down voluntarily, but not under duress and against his will.

TransAfrica Forum and many other groups have demanded a full Congressional 
investigation of the role of the U.S. government in the overthrow of 
President Aristide. This is about more than whether he was literally 
kidnapped. It involves an investigation into the destabilization efforts 
that have unfolded over the last several years.

Pressure must be put on the administration to account for its actions, but 
pressure must be placed on international bodies such as the United Nations, 
the Organization of American States and CARICOM (the Caribbean Community) 
to conduct their own investigations. President Aristide, for example, 
should be invited to the United Nations to address that body. He should be 
provided a means and opportunity to explain publicly what happened to him 
and to his government. Additionally, troops from other nations not 
associated with a vile policy toward Haiti should replace the current 
occupation force, disarm the so-called military opposition and help with 
the return to constitutional democracy.

That said, as long as the world ignores the need to restore President 
Aristide to office, the crisis will not be terminated. In fact, any 
successor government will lack legitimacy. At best the burner will have 
been turned down a bit, while the stew simmers awaiting a change in 
pressure before it boils over.

Bill Fletcher Jr. is president of TransAfrica Forum, a Washington, 
D.C.-based non-profit educational and organizing center formed to raise 
awareness in the United States about issues facing the nations and peoples 
of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. He also is co-chair of the 
antiwar coalition, United for Peace and Justice. He can be reached at 
<mailto:bfletcher at transafricaforum.org>bfletcher at transafricaforum.org.




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