Cédras a-t-il involontairement sauvé le pouvoir de Balaguer ?

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Jean Bertrand Aristide, Raul Cedras. Photo dipity.com
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Santo Domingo.- Haiti’s political crisis in October 1994, which led to general Raoul Cedrás’ exile had as a key element that Washington allowed president Joaquin Balaguer to remain in power after causing, with his control over the Central Electoral Board, an elections “which had been stolen by means of fraud.”

The revelation is in the book “The electoral crisis of 1994” by Canadian ambassador John W. Graham, then delegation chief of the Organization of American States observers and one of the main mediators in the ensuing conflict pitting then Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) candidate Jose Francisco Peña Gomez, who denounced a fraud against him in the May 16, 1994, polls.

In his book Graham gathers revealing testimonies by Michael F. Skol, then State Department deputy secretary for Latin America and assigned to the Haitian crisis which began in 1991, when Cedrás ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Skol told Graham that State Department deputy secretary Strobe Talbot, “was attracted to Balaguer’s tactics of exchanging Dominican support to cover the porous border with Haiti, thus isolating Cedrás’ military regime in Port-au-Prince even more.”

“In exchange for Dominican cooperation in the border, Talbot’s idea was to provide the tacit American willingness to allow Balaguer to consolidate his victory in the tainted elections,” according to Skol.

Washington’s then foreign policy towards Dominican Republic is reflected in editorials of The New York Times.

In May, 24, 1994, the newspaper stated that the United Nations sanctions to restore democracy in Haiti only could work if they were strong and were applied. “(…) But while smuggled gasoline flows freely through the border with the Dominican Republic, the United Nations embargo against Haiti exists only in name.”

It stressed that: “Mr. Balaguer seems to be ready to snatch as he did after the last questioned 1990 elections, and wait for the controversy to disappear. There’s no doubt that he expects that the United States, in its desire to preserve some semblance of stability in the island will not make much noise on electoral fraud.”

The New York Times had published a first editorial on May 20 to question Balaguer’s “doubtful” victory. It said the elections were watched “very closely” due to the Haitian crisis. “Both countries share the island of Hispaniola and a contraband that hasn’t been prevented to cross the common border between both countries, has resulted in that the oil embargo imposed by the United Nations against the illegal military regime in Haiti hasn’t been effective.”

Lies

Skol, who had been United States embassy commercial attaché and had direct contact with Balaguer, narrates how the Secretary of State in Bill Clinton’s administration was more “than worried” in his attempts to obtain a solution to the Haitian political crisis. He affirms, that in that context, for Talbot, the priority was Haiti and “he fell in the trap sprung by Balaguer.”

He makes it clear that he, as well as his colleagues were disappointed with the Talbot’s position which sought to construct Haiti’s democracy, jeopardizing Dominicans: “You could say that the majority of us were much more familiarized with the surprising capacity of the old blind man to exit a crisis through his enchantments and lies.”

In that context, the United States allowed Balaguer to remain in power. “We were given free reign (and for Balaguer more helicopters, money, etc. For use in the frontier),” Skol tells Graham.

In fact the El Nuevo Diario editorial of August 12, 1994, quoted by Graham, Could be a reference to the determination of Washington’s will in both crises:

“Firs the crisis forced us to move more than half our Army toward the border with Haiti. And the President ends up signing an accord which permits the American military presence in the vigilance of the frontier line.”

Fraud

Skol headed the United States delegation which met with Balaguer, who was told that the Clinton administration was aware of the fraud and which was detailed in a internal report by Jorge Tirado, a Puerto Rican computer expert of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).

SOURCE: elcaribe.com.do

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2011/10/4/41157/A-tale-of-two-crises-US-dealings-over-Dominican-Haiti-border/comment-posted#comments-note

Joel,
Mwen kwè ke meriken kite Balagè kenbe pouvwa lè li finn volè eleksyon an paske Pena Gomez te nwa epi li se yon revolisyonè gochis ki te a lenkont politik Etazini.

Si Pena Gomez ta prezidan, desandan ayisyen ou pa, karakè ak pwofil tout zile lan
ta p chanje. Misye avèk Aristid ta pral chanje vizaj toulede peyi yo.

De lidè sayo te gen menm vizyon pou pèp yo soti anba boujwazi tilolit rèstavèk meriken.

Se domaj, anko infwa, meriken mete yon po mango sou wout pèp nou yo, paske eksperyans saa bezwen fèt jiskounyea.

Balagè kom caudiyo, se te kalite gouvènman ki toujou kolabore ak meriken kom patnè
komèsyal , lan menm estil ak Somoza epi Batista.

SASAYE;

Lan opinyon pa m ;bagay lan pa t ""clear cut"" non.Gouvènman ameriken an te gen presyon pa l pou l defèt koudeta CEDRAS lan .Bagay sa a t ap vini yon pwoblèm domestik pou CLINTON.Ou te gen BLACK CAUCUS ,milye etidyan yo ,san bliye menm JWIF yo ;se te baz PATI DEMOKRAT lan.
An DOMINIKANI menm ;te gen obsèvatè ki t al wè kijan eleksyon te fèt.Pa t gen dout ke FRANCISCO PENA GOMEZ te genyen.
Ameriken te pè pou DOMINIKANI pa t eksploze e se sajès PENA GOMEZ ki te fè sa pa t fèt ,lan yon peyi ki 30 an oparavan te gen yon gè sivil.
BALAGUER te blije ekoute mande l de 2 zan e òganize lòt eleksyon.BALAGUER pa t kandida men l te mete fòs li dèyè FERNANDEZ pou yo bare AYISYEN an ,tankou yo te rele FRANCISCO PENA GOMEZ.

Joel a écrit:T-NEG;

Mwen ta pral poste atik DOMINICAN TODAY sa a ;ou fè l anvan m.
De jou an jou ,bagay yo ap vin pi klè ;sa montre w kouman KOUDETA 1991 chanje listwa tout il lan.
Se te klè ke BALAGUER te vòlò eleksyon e CLINTON te deside pou l pa kite BALAGUER fè l ,menm jan CARTER te bloke koudeta LAME DOMINIKEN an te vle fè pou bloke eleksyon GUZMAN lan.

Lan politik DOMINIKEN an ;se yon bagay enpòtan pou ""BLANCOS DE LA TIERRA"" DOMINIKEN yo anpeche PENA GOMEZ vin prezidan ,paske yo di ke li de desandans ayisyen ,men AMERIKEN yo pa t trouve ke misye se te yon menas a enterè yo

Ista jan nou konnen an ta ka trè diferan,petet pwoblem batey yo tap chanje