Hti: A Haitian solution wanted

The writer of this editorial takes a dispassionate look at the issue and concludes that Haitians need to solve their own problems. I would counter that Haiti needs to be a military governorate for about twenty years. Within that context, then, Haitians can dialogue with each other, acquire the skills of self-governance, and with a rebuilt infrastructure, go on to rule themselves. Right now, Haitian solutions only result in blood and death.

Paris has said that it has about 4,000 troops in Martinique and Guadeloupe trained in humanitarian assistance that can be deployed relatively soon to come to Aristide’s rescue.

It is the same French government from whom Aristide was demanding reparation because Haiti paid a large sum of money after defeating Napoleon’s army in 1804. It seems almost like a fait accompli that some kind of foreign force will have to come to Haiti to restore order.

This chaos is partly the result of Arisitide. He armed these so-called rebels to protect his autocratic rule and now the chickens have come home to roost. They have been joined by former soldiers who are still smarting about the disbandment of the army. But we warned the opposition to be flexible and allow Aristide a way out, albeit small. A cornered dog can be lethal.

So now with both sides standing on a zero sum game, the country once again will be the losers. We went through a similar process more than a decade ago. The Army, having staged a coup, refused to allow the return of Aristide. All sorts of international bodies got involved in a string of failed mediation. Gen. Raoul Cedras refused to budge and in the end, all diplomatic efforts failed. Haiti found itself being invaded by 20,000 foreign troops, consisting largely of American soldiers.

The intention may have been good, but the execution was poor. Less than four years later, everyone packed their bag and called Haiti a success, thinking that we had been given a chance and we should be en route to becoming a working republic.

The effort was not even half way done at the time the United Nations left Haiti.

There were institutions to be built and infrastructure to help developed. Every institution in the country has been weakened or badly functioning. Now if France is seriously thinking about coming to the rescue so that food aid can reach the starving poor, it needs to think this through carefully.

Unless France wants to come in for more than a decade and spend some of the reparation money that Aristide was claiming, it would be wise for Paris to stay out. Otherwise, let the cancer that is eating away at the Haitian society take its course. There are some things that have to be settled and just like the United States had to undergo its own Civil War before it became a united nation, Haiti needs its own score settling to work its problems.

In the past, foreign meddling has hastened this process. This problem demands a Haitian solution. The Haitians themselves have to be willing to sit at the table in good faith and act out on their promises.