Clinton and Haiti: Questions and AnswersWilliam Jefferson Clinton is in the political fight of his life. It appears to be a case of "sex, was it sex, lies about sex, and were they lies". This is bitter irony to some Haitians who remember other lies of a more serious nature, lies about the boat people and the inhumanity of returning them to their oppressors, lies about the mental state of then President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, lies about the U.S. involvement in the coup d'état, and lies about supporting a democratic movement while crushing any hope of participatory democracy in Haiti. Democratic lies, Republican lies. Mostly forgotten lies: no sex involved, no starr in sight: no tripping!
Yet, Clinton has often spoken of Haiti with greater concern than his predecessors. He also appointed an honorable man, William Gray III, as an emissary of good faith in an all-out effort to rescind the coup and restore a democratic form of government to the beleaguered country. What in truth is the legacy of Clinton's policy with respect to Haiti? While Americans obsess with impeachment, Haitians are struggling to recover some form of empowerment. It is in that light that we need to raise our sights from the turpitude of Congressional politics and examine some of the more fundamental aspects of American policy throughout the world, and Haiti much in particular. We, at Windows on Haiti, began the dialogue in our cyberspace community by asking a few simple questions.
Max Blanchet (answers)
1) Has President Clinton been a true friend to Haiti?
After reading this question, I let out a big sigh for I remember that:
- Clinton used the refugee issue to bash Bush and once elected reinforced the "cordon sanitaire" around Haiti in violation of international law and plain decency.
- Clinton remained silent in the face of that vicious campaign to destroy Jean Bertrand Aristide's reputation.
- Clinton pressured Aristide to sign the still-born Governors' Island agreement in order to preserve and protect the Haitian army under General Cedras when many thought that the army simply could not be trusted to implement the agreement while it remained under the leadership of Cedras and co.
- Elements of the Clinton Administration helped create FRAPH at the same time it was promoting democracy in Haiti
- The Clinton Administration is hell bent on promoting neo-liberal policies that are likely to compound the misery of the majority of Haitians, especially those who live in the countryside.
- The UN intervention forces under direct American control and command failed to push for the complete disarming of the forces of reaction and to support the Haitian population's quest for justice. One should simply recall the fate of FRAPH's and Haitian army's files still in American custody and the failure to extradite Emmanuel Constant.
2) What has been the impact of the Clinton Administration on Haiti's political and economic fortunes?
At this time, the impact remains ambiguous for the reasons I have outlined above. To be sure and in fairness to the Clinton Administration, Haiti has been given a breathing space. The attempt currently underway to create a state of law within a framework of social justice may be in serious jeopardy, however, in part because of American failures and constraints outlined in my answer to the previous question.
3) What have been the high points and the low points of his presidency with respect to his Haiti policy?
The low point must surely has been the Harlan County affair when the American Administration simply reneged on its obligation to honor the Governors' Island Agreement. As for the high point, the day Jean Bertrand Aristide returned. I must confess that this breach of national sovereignty will take sometime to heal. The only mitigating factor was that it was carried out under the aegis of the UN and was well received by the majority of the Haitian people. The alternative, civil war, would have been too horrible to contemplate.
4) How does his administration fare when compared to previous administrations?
The Democrats have always been somewhat more "enlightened" in their dealings with Latin America and the Caribbean than the Republicans. In this century, this goes back to Roosevelt and his Good Neighbor Policy. During the Duvalier Dynasty, one should recall that Kennedy kept Duvalier at bay. Cozy relations were resumed after Nelson Rockefeller visited François Duvalier in P-au-P. Remember that great photograph of the dictator and that North American Brahmin waiving at the crowds from the balcony of the National Palace! Relations were tightened under Reagan and Bush who bestowed upon the dictatorship the full and unquestioned diplomatic, economic, political and military support of Uncle Sam.
5) What will be the likely impact on Haiti should President Clinton be removed from office or forced to resign?
It depends who replaces him. If the US ends up with a Republican President and a Republican-controlled Congress, the Haitian democratic movement will be in for a very rough ride. For reasons implicit in my answer to the previous question.
6) What should Haitian-Americans do to have a greater say in U.S. Haitian policy, regardless of who the President of the United Sates happens to be?
We need to get our act together!
This means creating the sort of organization(s) with national scope and reach to shape US policy. There are one million plus Haitians in the US and I believe that collectively we have the intellectual and financial means to do it. What is missing seems to be the will.
Such organization(s) should also have it as their goal to help shape policy inside Haiti. I believe that it is our duty to keep the folks in power in Haiti from going astray. And lately, they have done plenty of that! And we should have the guts to challenge them publicly.
Let us be blunt about it! Had it not been for the resistance of the Tenth Department, the moral, financial and political support the Tenth Department gave Lavalas (...) . Were it not for the remittances Haitians in the Diaspora send home, for all I know the Republic would have long ago vanished under the Caribbean Sea.
Copyright © 1998 Windows on Haiti