An analysis of Duvalier 2.0

OBSERVER KEEN Ven 21 Jan 2011 - 21:01

Rappel du premier message :

Quite normal people can be insane politically; that is they would live by illusions and self-congratulations in the presence of no political future whatsoever by insisting that they are ever closer and closer to their ultimate political goals; and I BELIEVE that such a condition rightly fits the hard-core "Duvalieristes"
let me be state clearly that i believe that it would be in the best interest of our future for president Preval to issue an amnesty that would pardon all past political crimes and subsequently pardon their perpetrators;and that would include Jean Claude, Aristide, Cedras and others.

With that being said, I believe that Jean Claude has no political future in Haiti despite the enthusiasm of his very loyal supporters. it is worth noting that in history, many former dictators who were pushed out of office had successfully re-engineered their image to the point of regaining power via democratic means. but all these successes have three things in common:
the dictator in question is a populist, charismatic, former military man : in chaotic situations where political factions and ethnic divisions are rampant, the reappearance of a former strong man with military discipline on the scene__ with political cosmetic make-over___ can be quite welcome by a populace tired of and overwhelmed by the constancy of political chaos and conflicts.
but Jean Claude Duvalier is not charismatic, does not project an image of strength, nor has he YET undergone a political make-over.

The man does not speak the language of the tired people: his cadence and style of speech are too relaxed for young people in need of inspiration.

The man does not project an image of strength: He looks pale and even senile for his age(only 59) and therefore projects an image of sickness or morbidity. it is bad symbolically for a country in need of rejuvenation after years of death, diseases and natural calamities.

the man has not gone through a political make-over: he does not have a political party with prominent former adversaries as allies; that is a necessary political make-over because it would send an image of renewal, and of reconciliation. it would create the myth of rebirth, and therefore help blur the nefarious aspects of his past. In fact, most of his friends are of same old guard.

and there is the woman in his life: it has been argued that jean Claude's problems stemmed from his having been controlled and manipulated by an ambitious woman, namely Michelle Bennett. but compared to Veronique Roy, Michelle Bennett is a dove. this is a woman who went to Haiti, started a Duvalier center, sued the powerful Mevs family for stolen properties while still speaking creole with a heavy accent; She did all that while not officially Jean Claude's wife. And to top it all, not ONLY does she have colossal political ambitions, she has presidential connections in the past by being the grand-daughter of PRESIDENT Magloire.
so, the reality of Veronique reinforces the perception of jean clause as a manipulable leader, particularly by whomever happens to be the woman in his life. that my friend is a kiss of death in Haitian politics, particularly after we have internalized the myth of Michelle Bennett in our political psyche.

Le gros roseau Lun 24 Jan 2011 - 22:50

my rebellious son?no way ,shape and form he could have been even my adoptive son.because in my houselhold we tried to teach them : compassion,love ,charity respect,honesty.;there is no way one of them could be an admirer of jean Clown even if they were raised in haiti.Their mother and I would be ashamed if one of them were like him.

ainsi ne soit-il Mar 25 Jan 2011 - 0:18

OBSERVER KEEN a écrit:hey, you do not know me. have you ever been shot at? have you ever been in a battle zone? no!!! so strength does not mean that you have to be vindictive all the time; there are times and situations that amnesty is the best course of action. but the patriots can slowly become the tyrants as in the case of the soviet union as they become are too blood_thirsty and self-righteous. remember Robespierre during the reign of terror? people with good intentions can become villains too even if they are killing other villains; because they are too passionate about killing villains, then next thing you know they are killing perceived villains, and they are killing those who are tired of the killing of villains, and then they are killing those that do not participate in the killing of villains. do you get my point? if you are cooking food and you put too much fire in the hope of cooking it faster, you may end up burning your food to the point of making it inedible.

I did my best to understand the purpose of your analysis but I came to the conclusion that you've lost a bit of relevance. Does fatherhood have anything to do with that? (lol) I doubt it. I may not know you but one trait that hasn't changed a bit is your compliance with a certain order that's not. You like to extrapolate to prove your case.

Nobody condones violence but at the same time, we cannot pretend to be able to stop it whether we are living in the XVIII century or in the XXI century. Had you seen one of my messages you would have read that I made a sincere call to all candidates about their responsibility to prevent any bloodshed during this period of uncertainty.

Le gros roseau Mar 25 Jan 2011 - 7:44

It is amazing that some people are condoning what happened in haiti between 1957 and 1986.This discussion is closed as far as I am concerned.

Invité Mar 25 Jan 2011 - 10:05

Li bon pou ne fe yon ti rapel YON TI RALE SOU neg yo rele Aristig ak tout mouvman lavalass pa li a .Min verite ke yo vle nou blye komsi nou bwe potion So Ann konn bayo lan reyinion yo a lan Tabar .Nou pa konn bliye .Sitou le nou we yap rele lot moun volo .An swete yo ka li anngle pi byen passe franse ak kreyol.

Where did Aristide get his money?

published: Sunday | April 4, 2004
By Ken Jones, Contributor

MANY JAMAICANS understandably are concerned about the cost of keeping Mr. Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the all-inclusive comfort of the Lydford place of refuge.
Our Government has been quick to sympathise with and take care of this neighbour who has fallen out with his family. But, as we know only too well, it takes cash to care and since charity begins at home we have to be mindful of the serious difficulties being experienced by our own people who have no means by which to escape.

When the thought of offering asylum to Aristide occurred to the Central African Republic, that Government let it be known that nothing of the sort could be afforded without financial help from the international community, especially as they badly needed money to look after their own pressing problems. The Jamaican Government appears not to be shackled by such consideration, but then again it may be that there's no need to worry. This guest of the Government is a generous man who knows how to take care of those who take care of him .

The former Roman Catholic priest was once vowed to a life of poverty and service to the dwellers of slums in Haiti. In that role he was convincing, effective and revered. However, since becoming a politician things have changed considerably and pledges about penury have given way to political power, prized possessions and lavish living.

As President of Haiti, in and out of exile, Aristide has had millions and millions of dollars passing through his hands and while his critics are convinced that a sizeable share of this has stuck to his fingers, it is well-known and documented that he has been particularly generous in paying out substantial sums to people committed to serving his personal and political interests.

Take the group that has surrounded him since the Haitian rebels began pressuring him to leave office people he could call by cell phone from Africa to America. Those friends were able at a moment's notice to rush to his side by chartered jet and whisk him off to Jamaica.

On that trip from the Central African Republic, Aristide's fellow travellers included Ira J. Kurzban, a Miami lawyer whose firm, according to the United States Justice Department records, received US$3 million from the Aristide Government for legal work.

He is quoted as saying that much of the expenditure was for efforts to recover assets hidden overseas by the Duvalier family that once ruled Haiti. Also on that hurried flight to Jamaica was Mr. Randall Robinson, founder of TransAfrica Forum, long-time supporter of Mr. Aristide and a frequent visitor to the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince. The firm headed by his wife, Hazel Ross-Robinson, was paid US$367,967, part of which was for "publicising developments pertaining to the foreign principal's attempts to achieve and maintain political and economic stability."

Another passenger on the Africa-Jamaica flight was Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California, who has never missed an opportunity to represent Mr. Aristide in a positive light. She once had herself arrested while demonstrating in front of the White House, demanding that the U.S. help Aristide's return to power. Like so many other friends of the Lavalas family, Mrs. Waters has been well-entertained at the palace.

She was one of the top guests attending the celebration of Haitis 200th anniversary of independence and described it as a phenomenal, unprecedented and unsurpassed accomplishment by black people She has also served on the Board of Advisors of the Foundation for Democracy, set up by Aristide himself. On the plane and on the payroll were some bodyguards drawn from the squad hired by Aristide to take care of his security in Haiti.
WEAPONS PACKAGE

The Miami Herald reported that officials in Haiti and in Washington estimated that the California-based security firm, Steele Foundation, was paid between US$6 million and US$9 million annually for providing Aristide with some 60 bodyguards at the peak of its operation. There was also a million- dollar weapons package to assist the guards. Reports filed with the Justice Department indicate that since former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned to power in 2000, nearly US$5-million was spent by Haiti on lobbyists and lawyers in America. Observers are of the opinion that these expenditures by the western hemisphere's poorest nation, were exorbitant; and they point out that in contrast, the neighbouring Dominican Republic with a much more flourishing economy, spent substantially less for similar services.

The Congressional Black Caucus, another firm friend of Aristide, has also seen some benefits falling into the lap of its former leader, Ron Dellums. A filed report shows that his lobbying firm received US$571,326 in 2001 and 2002, for work that included discussing "legislation involving Haitian refugees with a member of Congress and congressional staff members."

OFFICIAL ADVISOR

Like Waters and Robinson, Dellums was an official advisor to the tax-exempt Foundation for Democracy, which Aristide set up to raise and administer funds for projects in Haiti.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Aristide, during his first exile, was paying a Democratic Party activist US$55,000 a month to help get U.S. backing for his return to Haiti. His ability to afford this spending was aided by the fact that although living in the United States he was regarded by the Clinton administration as the legitimate President of Haiti; and as such he had access to about US$50 million of Haitian Government assets that had once been frozen. Mary O'Grady, the Journal's editor of the Americas column, revealed that in the first year of his exile Aristide withdrew US$900,000 a month from that source and, beginning October 1992, US$1.8 million monthly. The report further stated that he also collected millions of dollars in telephone and other royalties due to the Government of Haiti.

FREE ACCESS FUNDS

The flow of money did not stop after the Americans reinstated Aristide with the help of U.S. marines. Not only did he have free access to the funds of his Foundation for Democracy, he also had control of the Haitian state-owned telephone monopoly Teleco. And he was instrumental in granting a contract for the long-distance call system, which is heavily used by Haitians calling home from overseas.

The firm getting that contract was Fusion Telecommunications International, headed then by U.S. Democratic Party activist Marvin Rosen. The governing board also included former Democratic Representative Joseph Kennedy II, who, like Rosen, was a member of the board of advisors for the Foundation for Democracy.

In Haiti the word is that no major economic deal could go through without the involvement of ex-President Aristide or some member or members of his Lavalas political party. So, whenever Jean-Bertrand en-dorsed a project people readily believed that its success was assured. That was the case of the money cooperatives, which he called the people's capitalism. Despite warnings from economists and bankers, he encouraged their formation and thousands of Haitians taking their cue from the President, invested their life savings and other assets with a view to getting the promised ten per cent interest. However, the scheme collapsed, hundreds of millions of dollars were lost and thousands of middle-class Haitians went broke.

AN ABSURDITY

President Aristide promised to bail out the losers, but a New York Times article quoted a diplomat who watched the development: "It is an absurdity. This is a government that doesn't have any money... there are schools, hospitals and 20,000 other priorities that would be more important than this."

But if Haitian citizens were losing money, the President seemed to be prospering. The publication Haiti Observateur, dated August 20, 2002, reported on the purchase of multimillion- dollar villas in Haiti and abroad and also the bank accounts reputed to total US$800 million. These reports of wealth, when they reached the ears of Aristide's spokesmen, instead of being denied, were explained as the income from books Jean-Bertrand had written.

Whatever one might think of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, it cannot be said that his style of living betrays any paucity of funds. Nor can it be said that Haiti in his time or to this day, reflects any sign of the near US$3 billion dollars poured into the country since he was reinstated by the Americans. Among western hemisphere countries receiving aid from the United States, Haiti has got the biggest share; and there is very little in Haiti to show for it. The national budget for the eight million people averages a mere US$350 million per annum.

Last month Roger Noriega, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere told a congressional hearing that between 1995 and 2003 the U.S. alone gave Haiti US$850 million in aid. Other countries and agencies demonstrating generosity include the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the United Nations and the European Community. Also, the national aid programmes of France, Canada, Holland, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Venezuela and Taiwan.

DOLLAR DIPLOMACY

During his first exile Aristide had asked the United Nations General Assembly to admit Taiwan as a member. The Taiwanese were extremely gratified by this move and has since showered the Haitians with what has become known as dollar diplomacy. They have paid for police cars, garbage trucks, roads, low-cost housing, experimental rice farms and a sports complex. In addition they gave Aristide funds for his Foundation and for the orphanage he had set up while he was a practising priest.

So we come back to the original question: Does Aristide have the resources to continue his pattern of big spending? And will Jamaica get any help to defray the all-inclusive expenses we are incurring and which we can in truth ill-afford?

Ken Jones is General Secretary of the Farquharson Institute of Public Affairs.

Mwin menm si yo mande'm kote li jwen ak kob mwin ta di se liv li ke li ekri a ki te yon best-seller a travers le monde .

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