[News] The National Endowment for Democracy's Role In Undermining Democracy In Haiti

[Anti-Imperialist News]

popularresistance.org
<https://popularresistance.org/the-neds-role-in-undermining-democracy-in-haiti/>
The NED's Role In Undermining Democracy In Haiti
By Travis Ross, Black Agenda Report.
October 27, 2022
------------------------------
[image: image.png]
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is the soft power arm of the CIA.

*Its operations in Haiti have played a large role in undermining
sovereignty.*

Haiti is awash in money from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

The NED had a direct role in funding opposition forces and paramilitary
forces leading up to the 2004 coup against democratically elected President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It is crucial, therefore, to explore how the NED is
currently influencing Haiti by funding “Haitian-led” organization inside
the country.

The NED is overt regarding the grants it provides and funding it delivers
on – you can simply visit their website and search. The organization is
rarely analyzed, however, and their grantees are seldom scrutinized.
The National Endowment for Democracy

The NED was founded in 1983. The NED’s co-founder, Allan Weinstein,
was described
by the Washington post
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/innocence-abroad-the-new-world-of-spyless-coups/92bb989a-de6e-4bb8-99b9-462c76b59a16/>as
the “sugar daddy of overt operations”.

According to its website, the NED  <https://www.ned.org/about/>is
“dedicated to fostering the growth of a wide range of democratic
institutions abroad” including political parties, business organizations,
human rights organizations, and “independent” media.

Weinstein was more honest is describing the purpose of the NED while
speaking to the WaPo reporter: “A lot of what we do today was done covertly
25 years ago by the CIA”, he explained.

In *Rogue State*, author William Blum points out
<https://williamblum.org/chapters/rogue-state/trojan-horse-the-national-endowment-for-democracy>that
while the NED was supposedly set up to “support democratic institutions
throughout the world through private, nongovernmental efforts”, the US
Congress provides nearly all its funding.

Blum argues that while the NED claims to promote democracy
<https://countercurrents.org/2022/05/the-national-endowment-for-democracy-a-second-cia/>abroad,
it actually promotes U.S. foreign policy, often at the *expense* of
democracy. The NED finances, nurtures, and supplies right-wing political
groups, civic organizations, labor unions, student groups, book publishers,
and “independent” media to further U.S. interests abroad.

These NED-funded organizations seek to destabilize left-wing governments
whose policies oppose U.S. interests or, prevent left-wing movements from
successfully achieving power in the first place.

One cannot assume that a recipient of NED funding is somehow beholden to,
or ideologically committed to, US foreign policy. One can assume, however,
that the goals and methods of organizations and individuals the NED funds *do
not oppose* that of US foreign policy. The U.S. government does not provide
funding to individuals or organizations who oppose U.S. interests.
The NED’s History of Supporting Reactionaries in Haiti

The NED funded “civil society groups” to undermine President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide in the years leading up to the 2004 coup d’états
<http://www.dominionpaper.ca/foreign_policy/2006/12/05/no_time_fo.html>that
removed him and thousands of others from elected office.

Aristide won an overwhelming majority
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h2MYoWBidc>of 92% of the vote in the 2000
Presidential elections. His party, Lavalas also won 80% of the seats in the
House Assembly. It was then that the NED began funding opposition groups
inside Haiti.

In Damming the Flood  <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nykhj4oeH8>, author
Peter Hallward describes how the NED, through its subsidiary the
International Republican Institute (IRI), helped fund a destabilization
campaign against Aristide.

This destabilization campaign included funding “civil society groups”. One
such anti-Aristide group was Democratic Convergence (CD).
<https://www.coha.org/the-international-republican-institute-promulgating-democracy-of-another-variety/>
Founded
months after Aristide’s election victory in 2000, the NED funded this
coalition of 200 political organizations who wanted his government
overthrown. Led by former Port-au-Prince mayor Evans Paul, CD included
industrialists, bankers, importers, media, and intellectuals among their
members.

Many members of CD went on to become part of another US-funded anti-Lavalas
organization – the Group of 184  <https://canada-haiti.ca/node/286>, headed
by industrialist Andy Apaid Jr  <https://canada-haiti.ca/node/286>. Apaid
funded Paramilitary gangs
<https://upsidedownworld.org/news-briefs/news-briefs-news-briefs/indicted-paramilitary-leader-holds-meeting-in-haiti/>who
terrorized and murdered Lavalas supporters, while CD founder Stanley Lucas
openly talked about assassinating Aristide in radio interviews.

Among these intellectuals  was Ariel Henry, the current de facto Prime
Minster of Haiti.
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/09/28/four-straight-years-of-nonstop-street-protest-in-haiti/>Establishing
early on his compliance with Washington’s imperial rule over Haiti. Magalie
Comeau Denis
<https://haitiliberte.com/daniel-foote-imperial-agent-courting-the-montana-accords-solicitous-petit-bourgeoisie/>,
one of the leaders behind the Montana group, was also associated with CD.
Who is the NED Currently Funding in Haiti?

There are several “local civil society groups” and “human rights
organizations” directly funded by the NED in Haiti right now.

Haiti-based Human Rights Organizations the RNDDH (Reseau National de
Defense des Droits Humains), Defenseurs Plus, Initiative de la Société
Civile, and OCAPH (Observatoire Citoyen de l’Action des Pouvoirs Publics et
des ONGs) are all funded
<https://www.ned.org/region/latin-america-and-caribbean/haiti-2021/>by the
NED.

The RNDDH and its director, Pierre Espérance, were instrumental in the
propaganda campaign that framed Aristide as a dictator, despite having won
92% of the popular vote in 2000. In addition, the RNDDH manufactured reports
  <https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/justice-denied>that framed
Lavalas Prime-Minister Yvon Neptune
<https://canada-haiti.ca/content/faking-genocide-canada%E2%80%99s-role-persecution-prime-minister-yvon-neptune>as
having led an alleged massacre in La Scierie,
<https://canada-haiti.ca/content/alleged-massacre-la-scierie-interview-uns-thierry-fagart>near
Saint-Marc in Haiti.

Espérance and the RNDDH worked closely with the LaTortue dictatorship to
target and jail thousands of Lavalas supporters. Before and after the 2004
coup, the NCHR-Haiti (the RNDDH’s former name) had an agreement with the
head prosecutor in Port-au-Prince, by which any individual accused by
Espérance and the NCHR-Haiti would be subject to prosecution. According to a
Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) report
<https://www.coha.org/the-search-for-justice-for-haiti%E2%80%99s-yvon-neptune-and-his-fellow-inmates-all-political-prisoners/>,
“Countless individuals, many whose only crime was a loose affiliation with
Aristide’s Fanmi Lavalas party, were arrested by the interim government
based on false accusations entered by the NCHR-Haiti.”

Brian Concannon, director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in
Haiti, remarked at the time
<https://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/61/NCHR.htm>in an interview with
The *Jurist* that that NCHR-Haiti was a “ferocious critic” of Aristide’s
government and an “ally” of the illegal regime.

He explained that “the persecution became so flagrant that NCHR-Haiti’s
former parent organization, New York-based NCHR, publicly repudiated the
Haitian group and asked it to change its name. [It then] changed its name
RNDDH.”

Espérance and NCHR-Haiti received funding
<https://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/61/NCHR.htm>from the USAID, the
NED, the French government, and the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA) at the time.

The NED also funds several media organizations in Haiti such as AyiboPost
<https://www.ned.org/region/latin-america-and-caribbean/haiti-2021/>and
Jurimedia  <https://www.ned.org/fellows/abdonel-doudou/>. Jurimedia
<https://www.jurimedia.org/>’s executive director is Abdonel Doudou, a fellow
at the NED  <https://www.ned.org/fellows/abdonel-doudou/>. He is also a
co-founder of the Citizen Observatory for the Institutionalization of
Democracy (OCID  <https://www.ocidhaiti.org/index.php?url=a-propos>),
another organization funded by the NED
<https://www.ned.org/region/latin-america-and-caribbean/haiti-2021/>.

OCID uses its NED funding to offer a training program
<https://rezonodwes.com/?p=260004>in “the monitoring and evaluation of
public policies for executives of political parties and civil society
organizations in Haiti”. According to OCID’s website, this program also
aims to “strengthen the capacities of 500 actors from civil society and the
Haitian political class” in public policies.”

Furthermore, OCID aims to “mobilize the commitment of at least 30 political
parties and 200 civil society organizations to advocate for the
optimization of public policies and programs, particularly in the sectors
of energy, corruption, and security.”

The NED also continues to fund the IRI’s programs in Haiti. The IRI’s
website
<https://www.iri.org/iri-around-the-world/latin-america-and-caribbean/haiti/>
claims
they are “laying the groundwork for a new community radio program” in
“target areas of the country.”

In short, the U.S. government is influencing organizations on multiple
fronts in Haiti. Including the Human Rights sector, the media, political
parties, and civil society.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The NED Conference: Peace and Democracy Building in Haiti

In July of 2022, the NED hosted a conference
<https://www.demdigest.org/gangsterization-scars-haiti-amid-political-gridlock/>where
speakers shared their opinions on the crises facing Haiti. The speakers
included Guy Serge Pompilus and Pierre-Antoine Louis of OCAPH, Carl
Alexandre, the ex-head of MINUSTAH, Fabiola Cordova, the Associate Director
for Latin America and Caribbean at the NED, and Charles Clermont, the
co-founder of Kafou Lespwa  <https://www.kafoulespwa.org/>(Crossroads of
Hope).

Like OCAPH, Kafou Lespwa is a “partner” of the NED, according to the
moderators introductory remarks.

Fabiola Cordova  <https://socialistproject.ca/2012/10/b718/>had a direct
role in funding numerous anti-Lavalas opposition-affiliated groups
<https://www.coha.org/the-international-republican-institute-promulgating-democracy-of-another-variety/>like
Group 184 and CD.

Carl Alexandre led the disastrous MINUSTAH military occupation force
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QRXv_x2BUI>for the last four years of its
mandate (2013 – 2016).

Guy Serge Pompilus, the Senior Advisor for OCAPH, introduced the
organizations “Manifesto for an Inclusive Dialogue”
<https://www.ocaph.net/>at the conference. The NED describe this manifesto
as the result “of their collective efforts in devising innovative solutions
for a peaceful and democratic transition in Haiti.”

The *Manifesto* itself is vague and offers no concrete strategies or
solutions. It does, however, point to two “orientations” it promotes for
Haiti: Kafou Lespwa and the American Global Fragility Act.
<https://haitiliberte.com/the-global-fragility-act-washingtons-new-tool-for-controlling-an-unruly-haiti/>

Kafou Lespwa  <https://www.kafoulespwa.org/>(KL) is headed by co-founder
Charles Clermont, a millionaire venture capitalist who has held high
ranking posts  <https://epowerhaiti.com/about-us/board/>at various
financial institutions in Haiti.

The organizations team includes a wide array of actors from Haiti’s
political class, including members of PHTK, Lavalas, MTVayiti, & the
Montana group.

Two notable members are Danielle Saint-Lôt, Haitian Minister of Commerce,
Industry and Tourism under the LaTortue regime, and Clifford Apaid, son of
Andy Apaid Jr. Andy Apaid Jr. led the Group 184
<https://canada-haiti.ca/node/286>, who armed paramilitary groups who
terrorized Haiti in the lead up to the 2004 coup against Aristide. Other
prominent team members include Fritz Alphone Jean, the Montana groups
candidate for Provisional President of Haiti, and Joel Edouard Vorbe, a
member of Fanmi Lavalas’ executive committee.

Let’s review: The NED chose to bring together a Haitian millionaire venture
capitalist partnered with the NED, two representatives of an NED-funded
Haitian Human Rights organization that promotes US intervention, the
ex-Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General
for MINUSTAH, a director at the NED who organized the funding – with U.S.
tax dollars – of opposition groups who executed a coup d’état against
Aristide, and thousands of other elected representatives.

The conference was organized in part to launch the *Manifesto* that
promotes the American Global Fragility Act. The representatives of these
Haitian-led organizations promoting U.S. intervention stood on the same
stage as imperial agents like Fabiola Cordova and Carl Alexandre who have
directly contributed to the destruction of Haitian democracy and
sovereignty.

NED-funded “Haitian-led” organizations like KL and OCAPH serve the purpose
of creating consensus among Haiti’s political class for US government Haiti
foreign policy: another American-led intervention in Haiti.

This intervention will be applied under the American Global Fragility Act.
Enter the Global Fragility Act

The American 2019 Global Fragility Act
<https://haitiliberte.com/the-global-fragility-act-washingtons-new-tool-for-controlling-an-unruly-haiti/>(GFA)
outlines a “peacebuilding” strategy to “stabilize conflict-affected areas
and prevent violence and fragility”.  The Biden administration hopes the
GFA will establish the United States as a “trusted partner — a force for
peace and stability in the world.” The GFA emphasizes building
relationships with “local civil society” by “strengthen[ing] the capacity
of the United States to be an effective leader of international efforts to
prevent extremism and violent conflict.” This “capacity” also includes
“planned security assistance” over periods of ten years.

The GFA has full bipartisan support in the United States government, and
among virtually all of the American think-tanks who’ve written on the Act.
The Act also has the support of the Canadian government
<https://connect2canada.com/2020/02/partners-in-peace-and-stability-the-global-fragility-act/>
.
“Partnering” with Haiti under the Global Fragility Act

The Biden administration recently announced that Haiti is the first
<https://www.cfr.org/report/smarter-us-assistance-strategy-haiti>“partner”
under the GFA.

Before this announcement, articles supporting the GFA
<https://www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org/globalfragilityact>focused on it
as a vital tool for preventing “adversaries such as China and Russia
<https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/fragility-and-failure-a-better-foreign-policy-to-counter-new-threats/>to
expand their influence”.

The GFA has less to do with “preventing violence and fragility”, and more
to do with keeping Chinese investment out
<https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/fragility-and-failure-a-better-foreign-policy-to-counter-new-threats/>of
so-called fragile states. The U.S. government is open about their desire to
prevent China – and Russia – from securing access to raw materials
<https://ca.news.yahoo.com/rpt-u-allies-cannot-allow-234847872.html>and
developing diplomatic relations and trade with nations under Washington’s
sphere of influence. Specifically, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

The push to implement the GFA is the U.S. government’s attempt to develop
bilateral relations with so-called fragile states to gain access to key raw
materials and prevent China
<https://ca.news.yahoo.com/rpt-u-allies-cannot-allow-234847872.html?guccounter=1>from
gaining “unwanted political leverage.” The Biden administration wants to
ensure that the U.S. maintains “geopolitical leverage”
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/01/letter-from-the-president-on-the-implementation-of-the-global-fragility-act/>in
its sphere of influence, including Haiti, which has been reduced to
neo-colony status since the 2004 coup.

Haiti is now caught in the US government’s Cold War with China.

The intent of the prolonged, brutal depravation and cruelty the U.S. has
imposed on Haiti since Jovenel Moise’s assassination is to create the
necessary conditions for a U.S. intervention under the GFA. This 10-year
intervention will prevent Chinese trade and investment from entering Haiti,
while also blocking historical allies like Venezuela and Cuba from offering
aid and support.

The NED’s role in funding these various “Haitian-led civil society groups”
and “human rights organizations” is to manufacture a consensus among the
political class to accept the GFA, which will lead to a ten-year plan
including “security assistance” as defined under the GFA. This security
assistance will be managed by the Department of Defense under the
supervision of the U.S. State Department and USAID.

In other words, an occupation of Haiti.

The terms “Haitian led” and “local civil society groups” are emphasized by
the various American government-funded think-tanks
<https://www.usip.org/blog/2022/10/ask-experts-what-drives-haitis-fragility>who
promote the GFA.

NED-funded organizations such as Initiative de la Société Civile, and OCAPH
have already endorsed the GFA
<https://www.ned.org/events/peace-and-democracy-building-in-haiti-a-civil-society-perspective/>.
As momentum builds, more US-funded “civil society” groups in Haiti are
likely to endorse the GFA as part of a “Haitian-led” solution to the crisis
in Haiti.
Creating Consensus for a Future “Partnership” with the United States

In early October 2022, Ariel Henry requested military assistance from the
US, UN, and CORE group governments to supress the citizen revolt against
his unelected government.

The Montana group leaders responded, describing “his request as an act of
treason” and said that” foreign troops would only make things worse” according
to a Reuters report.
<https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-reviewing-haitis-request-international-security-assistance-2022-10-08/>After
meeting with Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols when he and his
delegation visited Haiti, Ted Saint-Dic called for the resignation of PM
Ariel Henry. Saint-Dic is a spokesperson for Montana, in addition to being
one of the coalitions leaders.

“History teaches us that no foreign force has ever solved the problems of
any people on earth,” the Montana group leaders said in a statement, adding
that Haiti instead needs support for its police force. “It is our Haitian
police force that will have the ability to once and for all solve the
insecurity problems that Haitians are experiencing.”

Montana leaders clearly do not want a military occupation force inside
Haiti under Henry’s rule. The leaders were happy, however, to take part in
a photo op after meeting with Nichols. Pictures of Nichols, Comeau, and
Saint-Dic smiling and shaking
<https://twitter.com/WHAAsstSecty/status/1580309083672154112>hands were
shared on Twitter after their meeting. Blinken urged them to “urgently
develop consensus on an accord”.

The Montana leaderships statement may seem at odds with a recent article by
Saint-Dic for Just Security
<https://www.justsecurity.org/82968/as-haitis-henry-refuses-checks-on-power-the-us-should-aid-efforts-to-build-true-democracy/>.
In the article, Ted Saint-Dic argues that the “U.S. officials should do
everything in their power to seize this fragile opportunity to support and
create space for Haitians engaged in an extraordinary effort to rebuild
democracy.”

While not referring to the GFA directly, Saint-Dic says the U.S. has a
“powerful and important role in helping get democracy back on track in
Haiti”.

Saint-Dic goes further, however, seemingly requesting a military
intervention on behalf of the Montana group. He states later in the article
that the “United States should use creative and aggressive tactics to
intercept criminal activity in Haiti.”

One can surmise that from the perspective of Montana leadership, the
problem isn’t U.S. and CORE group interference in Haiti’s affairs. The
problem is that it is happening under Henry.

The “powerful and important role” the U.S. government has, in Saint-Dic’s
view, is to “get democracy on track in Haiti” by recognizing the Montana
groups chosen interim President Fritz Alphonse Jean and interim
Prime-Minster Steven Benoit. Saint-Dic’s invitation to the United States to
“use creative and aggressive tactics to intercept criminal activity in
Haiti” is a clear sign to the Biden administration that if they recognize
Montana’s interim leaders, they would allow for some sort of “planned
security assistance”.
Montana and the GFA

Henry is becoming increasingly unviable as a representative for the U.S.
and CORE group in Haiti.

The various crises imposed on Haitians by the Washington and their CORE
group allies over the past year have weakened the Montana coalition. This
was likely the intent of the U.S. government’s support of Henry. The
worsening situation in Haiti has also been used as a justification by Henry
for requesting a military intervention.

The leaders behind Montana, however, have done nothing to mobilize support
for Montana and force Henry from office since the Accord was first
published.

Instead, Montana’s leaders have looked to Washington for legitimacy and
support. Meanwhile, the public support Montana once enjoyed is crumbling.

In January 2022, Fanmi Lavalas withdrew its support
<https://canada-haiti.ca/content/fanmi-lavalas-closes-door-montana-accord>from
the leadership behind the Montana coalition. FL’s leadership stated
<https://canada-haiti.ca/content/fanmi-lavalas-closes-door-montana-accord>its
concerns that Montana leadership were “continuing with the election
calendar without waiting to reach a broader and more solid consensus of
civil society”.

In May 2022, MOLEGHAF
<https://haitiliberte.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-fighting-dictatorship-and-neocolonialism/>,
a Communist party, also withdrew support
<https://haitiliberte.com/montana-accord-coalition-fracturing-as-its-leader-resumes-talks-with-pm-henry/>
. In a recent interview
<https://haitiliberte.com/moleghafs-oxygene-david-on-the-shooting-of-domini-resain-the-montana-accord-and-the-current-political-situation/>,
MOLEGHAF’s leader David Oxygène said that “after MOLEGHAF left the Montana
coalition, the union CNOH (National Confederation of Haitian Workers) left,
and many popular organizations no longer recognize the Montana Accord”.

Oxygène argues that Magalie Comeau Denis, and other leaders in the Montana
coalition have been more interested in “holding meetings at the U.S.
Embassy and even in the United States, so they could crush the popular
movement.”

A weakened, compliant Montana coalition meets the criteria as a
“Haitian-led civil society group” as defined in the GFA. If Montana
leadership accepts a ten-year plan of U.S. “planned security assistance” on
behalf of Haitians, this outcome is virtually guaranteed.
Montana and the GFA are Connected

Many of Montana’s leaders have already displayed a compliance for
Washington’s dictates. This past compliance makes them ideal candidates as
subordinates
<https://haitiliberte.com/is-washington-preparing-to-change-horses-in-haiti/>for
Washington’s continued imperial domination of Haiti once Henry outlives his
usefulness and is removed from power.

The NED-funded organizations in Haiti are creating a consensus among
sectors of Haiti’s political class. This apparent consensus will be
sufficient to convince foreign leaders – some of whom may be sympathetic to
the plight of everyday Haitians – that Haitians truly want assistance under
the GFA. The addition of support from “Human Rights” organizations like the
RNDDH, OCAPH, the Bureau des Droits Humains en Haiti, and Defenseurs Plus
will further cement this illusion of consensus.

The U.S. government does not fund organizations whose interests oppose
their foreign policy goals. And one of the U.S. governments primary current
foreign policy goals in Haiti is to form a partnership under the Global
Fragility Act.

Those who advocate for Haiti ought to recognize that organization in and
outside Haiti who receive funding from the U.S. government via the NED or
other imperialist organizations must be viewed as captured. Their interests
either correspond with, or do not challenge U.S. interests.

With this in mind, we discover that very little has changed among Haiti’s
small middle and intellectual class since Aristide’s time in power. Or the
methods organizations like the NED implement to capture sectors of Haiti’s
middle and intellectual classes.

In a 2008 article, Nik Barry-Shaw described the consequences
<https://upsidedownworld.org/news-briefs/news-briefs-news-briefs/haitis-new-pm-and-the-power-of-ngos/>western-backed
NGOs had on Haiti’s middle and intellectual class in Haiti leading up to
the 2004 coup against Aristide:

“The tremendous resources disposed of by these organization cannot but have
a massive impact on the political         scene, operating as they are
amidst such extreme deprivation. If you want to get your daily bread, why
bother building a powerful socio-political movement to press your demands
on an impotent state?

The waning desire for transformative social change competed with other,
more particularistic interests for the heart of the middle class. As Robert
Fatton Jr. explains: “In a country where destitution is the norm and
private avenues to wealth are rare, politics becomes an entrepreneurial
vocation, virtually the sole means of material and social advancement for
those not born into wealth and prestige.” Ironically, the political
representatives of the middle class ultimately did the most to advance the
neoliberal compromises forced on Aristide.

These sectors subsequently turned to … generous funders of “civil society”
from the North.”

We must also scrutinize the claims of the middle and intellectual class who
receive funds from the NED and other Foundations based in the United States
and other CORE group countries. We must also be prepared to reconsider the
narratives that the leaders and representatives of these NED-funded
institutions present regarding marginalized or villainized individuals or
organizations inside Haiti.

We must interrogate these NED-funded institutions and their various
reports, Manifesto, and plans for Haiti because they in some way serve the
interests of U.S. imperialist policies in Haiti.
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