Jean-Bertrand Aristide

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Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Image:J B Aristide AP.jpg
President of Haiti
In office 1991 –  1993 - 1994 1994 - 1996 2001 - 2004
Preceded by	Ertha Pascal-Trouillot Marc Bazin Émile Jonassaint René Préval
Succeeded by	Raoul Cédras Émile Jonassaint René Préval Boniface Alexandre
Born	July 15, 1953 Port-Salut, Haiti
Political party	Lavalas

Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born July 15, 1953) is a Haitian politician and former Roman Catholic priest who was President of Haiti in 1991, again from 1994 to 1996, and then from 2001 to 2004. Aristide was the second elected leader of Haiti and was popular among its poor inhabitants. He was overthrown twice, first in a military coup d'état in September, 1991, and subsequently in a coup d'état in 2004 in which former soldiers prominently participated (February 2004). After being deposed a second time he maintained from exile in South Africa that he was still the legal and legitimate president and that United States forces had kidnapped him.^[1]

Contents 1 Education and church career 2 Aristide as President 2.1 First presidency and coup 2.2 Second presidency and second coup d'état 3 Departure from Haiti 4 Post-Coup Violence 5 Position on Globalization 6 Potential Return 7 Aristide Legacy 8 Quotes 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

Education and church career

Aristide was born in Port-Salut. He was educated at Salesian schools in Port-au-Prince and at the College Notre Dame, graduating with honors in 1974. He then took a course of novitiate studies in La Vega, Dominican Republic before returning to Haiti to study philosophy at the Grand Seminaire Notre Dame and psychology at the State University of Haiti. After completing his post-graduate studies in 1979, he traveled in Europe, studying in Italy and Israel. Aristide returned to Haiti in 1983 for his ordination as a Salesian priest.

He was appointed curate of a small parish in Port-au-Prince and then a larger one in the La Saline slums, gaining the affectionate Kréyòl nickname "Titide" or "Titid" (tiny Aristide) for being exceptionally short. An exponent of liberation theology, he became a leading figure in the more radical wing of the Catholic faith in Haiti (the ti legliz — from the Kréyòl for "little church"), and broadcast his sermons on the national Catholic radio station. In a January 1988 interview with National Catholic Reporter, Aristide said, "American Imperialism has supported the Haitian government. Elections aren't the answer, elections are a way for those in power to control people. The solution is revolution, first in the spirit of the Gospel; Jesus could not accept people going hungry. It is a conflict between classes, rich and poor. My role is to preach and organize...." Father Aristide was expelled from his Salesian order in 1988. At the time, the Salesians said the priest's political activities were an "incitement to hatred and violence" and out of line with his role as a clergyman. In 1995 Aristide left the priesthood. It enabled him the following year to marry Mildred Trouillot, a US citizen, with whom he now has two daughters.

Aristide as President

First presidency and coup

Following the violence at the abortive national elections of 1987, the 1990 polls were approached with caution. Aristide announced his candidacy for the presidency and following a six-week campaign, during which he dubbed his followers "Lavalas" — "the flood" or "torrent" in Kréyòl — the "little priest" was elected President with 67% of the vote.

Aristide took office on February 7, 1991, becoming Haiti's first democratically elected leader. The previous election held by the military dictatorship of Leslie Manigat was not democratic.^{[citation needed]}

Raoul Cédras seized power in a coup Septempter 30, 1991.^[2] There was a large-scale exodus of boat people after Aristide was overthrown. Tens of thousands attempted to flee the Cedras regime, the United States denied refugee status to these boat people.

Aristide spent his exile first in Venezuela and then in the United States, working hard to develop international support. Under U.S. and international pressure, the military regime backed down and U.S. troops were deployed in the country. On October 15, 1994, Aristide returned to Haiti to complete his term in office. The nearly ten thousand killed under the Cedras Coup Regime and the resulting embargo during Aristide's exile was a strong blow to Haiti's already weak economy. Aristide disbanded the Haitian army, including many School of the Americas trained officers who were responsible for massive human rights violations^{[citation needed]}, and established a civilian police force.

Aristide's first term ended in February 1996, and the constitution did not allow him to serve consecutive terms. There was some dispute over whether Aristide should serve the three years he had lost in exile prior to new elections, or whether his term in office should instead be counted strictly according to the date of his inauguration; under U.S. pressure, it was decided that the latter should be the case. René Préval, a prominent ally of Aristide and Prime Minister in 1991 under Aristide, ran during the 1995 presidential election and took 88% of the vote. This marked the first time in Haitian history that there was a peaceful and democratic transition of power.

Second presidency and second coup d'état

In late 1996, Aristide broke from the OPL (which had supported IMF privatization plans) and created a new political party, the Fanmi Lavalas. The OPL, holding the majority in the Sénat and the Chambre des Députés, renamed itself the Organisation du Peuple en Lutte, maintaining the OPL acronym. The 2000 and 2005 elections would show that OPL was a paper tiger once it had separated from Fanmi Lavalas. Today the OPL is largely held up by its large financing and support from foreign political parties and government aid agencies, with nearly no voting base.^{[citation needed]}

New elections in May 2000 occurred for almost the entire Assemblée Nationale. Opposition-owned radio stations reported turnout of around 10%, but election officials and international observers reported around 60% turnout. The Fanmi Lavalas won a sweeping victory, but the methods used by the Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP) in counting the votes were rejected by opposition parties, which united as the Convergence Democratique (CD) and demanded that the elections be ignored. The dispute centered on the meaning of "absolute majority" as required by the Haitian Constitution. The procedure utilized was to count only the votes for the top four candidates to decide the number which would constitute a majority. The OAS observers delegation objected that a majority of total votes cast was obtained in only a few of the seats contested. The president of the CEP fled the country and a number of members of the CEP also resigned but the remaining members agreed to validate the results.

Aristide won the presidential election in November 2000 with 91.8% of the vote. Most of the opposition parties boycotted this election, claiming that they had no fair chance with Aristide controlling the media and with the judiciary controlled by Aristide allies. After the election, the Organization of American States issued a report that the senatorial election was unfair and that the methodology for counting votes was flawed. Aristide supporters have claimed that the OAS report was engineered by the U.S. solely based on hostility to the president's policies. They also have questioned why the organization waited until after the election results to challenge the methodology, saying it was aware of the vote-counting process beforehand. Many western governments stated that the election process was flawed and thus should be rendered invalid. At this time, the Clinton administration worked with the European Union to block a $440 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to Haiti.

On February 7, 2001, Aristide was sworn in for his second term as President of Haiti. That same day, the CD swore in Gérard Gourgue as head of a new provisional government. Gourgue immediately called for the return of the disbanded military. Aristide agreed to reform the CEP and had the eight contested senators step down (they were elected before he was in office). Jean-Marie Chérestal was made the new Prime Minister in March 2001. The economy suffered as political control stalled and foreign destabilization intensified. Aristide made moves to placate the opposition — in June 2001 certain senators holding contested seats resigned — but talks between the FL and the CD repeatedly failed. In mid-December 2001 there was an attack on the National Palace which was portrayed as an attempted coup by the Fanmi Lavalas but was characterized as a staged event by the opposition. Living conditions continued to worsen and inflation soared as political disputes paralyzed the economy. The Haitian Gourde rapidly lost half of its value.

Due to the objections of the opposition, elections were not held as scheduled in late 2003, and consequently the terms of most legislators expired in January, forcing Aristide to rule by decree. He promised to organize elections within six months, but the opposition refused to accept anything less than Aristide's resignation.

In 2004, attacks and threats continued against journalists - both members of the opposition and those who supported the government. The climate of terror was sustained by the opposition-supported rebels, former members of the disbanded military. These rebels killed numerous members of Lavalas and government officials between 2001 and 2004. Nearly all of the corporate media in Haiti were controlled by a small, vehemently anti-Fanmi Lavalas elite. Aristide's opponents, heavily financed by foreign entities, continued to accuse him of corruption and of using violence against political opponents. Tens of millions of dollars were spent by "democratization" programs to fund the elite opposition to Aristide. Prior to Aristide was elected (2000 Preval), one of Haiti's most famous journalists, Jean Dominique, was assassinated. A Lavalas Senator Danny Toussaint was alleged to have had a role. While three alleged gunmen were arrested under Aristide (later escaped under Latortue) the case against Toussaint has been tied up in court ever since. Groups such as Reporters Without Borders (state dept funded) attempted to charge Aristide with having a role in the murder. Danny Toussaint, the man charged with the murder of Dominique, joined the opposition to Lavalas in late 2003.

In January 2004, political violence between Aristide supporters and supporters of the opposition escalated sharply, and on February 5, 2004, a rebel group calling itself the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front (of which the Cannibal Army formed part) seized control of Haiti's fourth-largest city, Gonaïves, marking the beginning of a major revolt against Aristide. By February 22, the rebels had captured Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Haïtien, and effectively split Haiti between a rebel-held north and a government-held south. The rebellion, led by Buteur Metayer (the brother of the murdered Amiot Metayer) and former Cap-Haïtien police chief Guy Philippe, has been referred to as a "military coup" by Aristide's lawyer, who claimed that the heavy weaponry used by the rebels was shipped in from the Dominican Republic.[1] Journalists also report that the US embassy had close contact with the death squad paramilitaries invading Haiti.

As the end of February approached, rebels continued to advance to within miles of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The rebels had meanwhile executed hundreds and burned down police stations and school buses across Haiti.

Departure from Haiti

In the early morning of February 29, 2004, after being harshly condemned by the governments of France and the United States, Aristide flew on a US-dispatched aircraft to the Central African Republic. The circumstances surrounding this flight are a matter of controversy.

According to a Washington Times, article of April, 2004^[3]

Mr. Aristide, who accuses the United States and France of conspiring to force him out of power, filed a lawsuit in Paris last week accusing unnamed French officials of "death threats, kidnapping and sequestration" in connection with his flight to Africa.

The Bush administration insists that Mr. Aristide had personally asked for help and voluntarily boarded a U.S. plane. "He drafted and signed his letter of resignation all by himself and then voluntarily departed with his wife and his own security team," Mr. Powell said.

Many media sources reported that Aristide had resigned and been refused asylum by South Africa. On March 1, 2004, US Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), along with Randall Robinson, a family friend of the Aristides, each reported that Aristide had told them using a smuggled cellular telephone that he had been forced to resign against his will by United States diplomats and Marines, and that he was abducted against his will, and continued to be held hostage by an undisclosed armed military guard.^[4] When asked whether Aristide was guarded in the Central African Republic by French officers, the French Defense Minister answered that Aristide was protected, not imprisoned, and that he would leave when he could; and that France had many officers present in the Central African Republic following the recent events in that country, but that they did not control Aristide's comings and goings.

Both Maxine Waters and United States congressman Charles Rangel who also reported talking to Aristide via cellular telephone, said that Aristide said he had not been handcuffed while being led away, while the Agence France Press reported that the caretaker at Aristide's house claimed that Aristide had been handcuffed and led away at gunpoint. Other reports of Aristide being led away by heavily armed American troops have been made by an Aristide bodyguard and an American film maker. Aristide told CNN that there were unidentified civilian Americans and Haitians who had forced him to resign and board the plane leaving Haiti. The Steele Foundation, which provided presidential protection for Aristide confirmed that their bodyguards accompanied the President on this flight.

The United States vice-president Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell both asserted that Aristide had resigned willingly. The Associated Press reported that the Central African Republic tried to get Aristide to stop repeating his charges to the press.^[5] Aristide has further alleged that the resignation statement that is being touted was altered to remove a conditional statement in which he stated, "'If I am obliged to leave in order to avoid bloodshed."; this was confirmed by a Reuters translation of Aristide's original statement, which matches up word for word except for the one line, in which the conditional has been removed. On 14 March 2004, he left the Central African Republic for Jamaica, to the dismay of the French and American governments, who felt that his presence in the area would have a destabilizing effect on Haiti. The American ambassador to Haiti, James Foley, issued a warning to Aristide to stay at least 150 miles away from Haiti at all times. Condoleezza Rice is reported to have said that she did not want him in the Western Hemisphere.^[6]

After arriving in Jamaica, Aristide gave an interview in which he claimed that: He had met with US ambassador James Foley on February 28, 2004 — the day before the rebels were supposed to attack the capital. Foley agreed that Aristide should go on national television to appeal to the nation to remain calm, as he had done the night before. When he arrived at his residence, it was surrounded by "thousands" of troops, mostly Americans, which made him feel intimidated. The Americans told him they would provide him security as they escorted him to the media; however, instead, they took him straight to a white unmarked aircraft with a US flag on the side. He was then obligated to board, followed by US troops in full gear who changed into civilian clothes once on board. On board were his wife and 19 members of Steele Foundation, a private military company. (The US has neither confirmed nor denied these details, but has insisted that Aristide left willingly.)

Aristide's account was directly backed up by two witnesses: a pilot and Aristide aide, Franz Gabriel; and an American security guard on the security detail, who told the Washington Post about the subterfuge to lure Aristide away: "That was just bogus. It's a story they fabricated".^[7]

In a report published on October 28, 2005, Granma, the official Cuban news service, alleged that United States politician Caleb McCarry engineered Aristide's overthrow.^[8]

On May 31, 2004, Aristide and his family flew to Johannesburg, South Africa, along with US Congressmen from the Congressional Black Caucus. South Africa characterized his stay as "temporary".

Post-Coup Violence

Following the ousting of Haiti's elected government, there was a massive crack down on Haiti's poor slum communities, which supported the exiled government. Thousands were murdered and thrown into prison. Human rights reports from the Quixote Center, Epica, Amnesty International, National Lawyers Guild, New York University, Miami University of Law, and the Lancet all pointed to massive violence. The National Lawyers Guild found a morgue filled with 800 bodies. The Lancet Report calculated 8,000 killings and 35,000 rapes in Port-au-Prince following Aristide's ousting, almost all committeed by anti-government and criminal groups. The Haiti Information Project, Democracy Now, and Flashpoint also documented a massive wave of violence led by UN contingents from Jordan and Brazil upon poor Haitians in the slum community of Cite Soleil. Journalist Abdias Jean was gunned down by the Haitian Interim Police, while others such as Jean Ristil and Kevin Pina were arrested and assaulted at different times.

Position on Globalization

In 2004 Aristide published a book, The Eyes of the Heart:Seeking a Path for the Poor in the Age of Globalization , which used Haiti as a case study of globalization. Aristide specifically points out problems with the World Bank, and the IMF in creating larger problems within Hatian society and economy.

Potential Return

After René Préval, a former ally of Aristide, was elected as president of Haiti, he hinted that Aristide might return to Haiti.^[9].^[10] But since then he has not provided a timeframe for him to come back and all indication show that he won't do so as not to jeopordize the stability of the country. Following Aristide's ousting in 2004 a number of nations continued to recognize Aristide as the democratically elected president of Haiti. Not one member of CARICOM (a Caribbean economic union) recognized the provisional government which replaced Aristide. They did this to protest against U.S. intervention in Haiti to remove a head of state in the region. But once Préval was elected to power, he was recognized as the Haitian head of state by CARICOM.

Aristide Legacy

Aristide remains a very controversial figure. Under his rule, the Haitian government tried to help the poor by putting in place a massive literacy program which largely failed due to mismanagement. The Aristide government refused privatization of state companies which were very inefficient. The minimum wage was doubled and the price of rice kept low due to subsidies. Though these populist measures were hailed by the lower classes, they did not help the Haitian economy and Aristide was generally unpopular among the middle and upper classes who failed to see any improvements in their lives and who criticized Aristide. Aristide was even accused of encouraging violence against his opponents. Arisitide's legacy is then one which has much potential but which crashed spectacularly. He still retains a large popularity among the poor due in part to his populist measures which brought short-term relief.

Quotes

[Stanley] Lucas was also simultaneously running IRI's Haiti program, which had been financing activities to seek removal of Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide. USAID funded IRI to the tune of more than $3 million from 1998-2003 to destabilize Haiti under the guise of 'promoting democracy', the usual term put forth by such programs. Lucas, wealthy and Haitian-born, was hired by IRI in 1992 to run their Haiti sessions for Aristide's most virulent opponents. IRI's millions and Lucas's genius applied the US intervention model formerly used in Nicaragua: unification of opposition parties.

In Haiti, IRI crafted and built the 'Democratic Convergence', a group of disparate opposition parties, social organizations, and groups in the country. The Democratic Convergence was elemental in provoking the ongoing tension and violence in the nation, eventually leading to the illegal and violent overthrow of President Aristide. IRI's role was beyond pivotal.

Eva Golinger. The Chávez Code - Cracking US Intervention in Venezuela, chapter 4.

Notes

1. ^ Aristide: US forced me to leave. BBC. Retrieved on July 21, 2006.
2. ^ (October 1 1991) "Leader Of Haiti Ousted Military Takes Over After Seizing Aristide". St. Louis Post-Dispatch: 1A. 
3. ^ Powell rejects Aristide probe. Washington Times. Retrieved on July 21, 2006.
4. ^ Aristide related articles. Democracy Now. Retrieved on July 21, 2006.
5. ^ Aristide's claims that he was forced from power in Haiti cause problems with his African host. Sign On San Diego.com/ Associated Press. Retrieved on July 21, 2006.
6. ^ Whole Show Blow-by-Blow. CBC. Retrieved on July 21, 2006.
7. ^ Aristide Back in Caribbean Heat. Washington Post. Retrieved on July 21, 2006.
8. ^ CALEB MCCARRY, Bush’s man for Cuba author of the Haitian disaster. Granma. Retrieved on July 21, 2006.
9. ^ Haiti 'to allow' Aristide return. BBC. Retrieved on July 21, 2006.
10. ^ Thousands demand Aristide return. BBC. Retrieved on July 21, 2006.

References

1. Agence Haitienne de Presse (Independent Haitian News Service) Hidden From the Headlines: The U.S. War Against Haiti, by Laura Flynn, Robert Roth and Pierre Labossiere, published by the Haiti Action Committee, September 2003, available at www.haitiaction.net.
2. Interviews and site visits conducted by the authors in Port-au-Prince in January and July 2004. L’enfant en Domesticité en Haiti, Produit D’Un Fossé Historique, Mildred Aristide, March 2003. Address of Jean-Bertrand Aristide on the occasion of the Haitian Bicentennial, January 1, 2004.
3. Haiti Information Project—reports and eyewitness accounts available at www.haitiaction.net. “Option Zero in Haiti,” by Peter Hallard in the New Left Review, May–June 2004. “Haiti’s Wretched of the Earth,” Paul Farmer, Tikkun Magazine, May–June 2004. “Concretizing Democracy” (series of reports) by Michelle Karshan, Office of the Foreign Press Liaison.
4. Haitian Government Briefing Papers issued February 7, 2003. (February 7, 2003 “The Aids Crisis and Healthcare,” “Haiti’s Police Force,” “Promoting Investment and Raising the Minimum Wage,” “Battling Corruption and Drug Trafficking,” “Justice”). L’Union (Haitian government daily paper of record).
5. HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS Report of the Center for the Study of Human Rights, University of Miami Law School, January 18, 2005. The whole report, including photographs, is available at www.ijdh.org/CSHRhaitireport.pdf. The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti has issued four reports documenting systematic, widespread attacks against Lavalas officials, grassroots activists and the press, and abuse of the judicial system for political reprisals. These reports are available www.ijdh.org. Haiti Accompaniment Project Reports, July 29, 2004, November, 2004, document human rights abuses and the reversal of Lavalas social and economic programs. (available at www.haitiaction.net)
6. Now unavailable news pieces by Yahoo News, Reuters et al.
7. Now available as well the film "Aristide and the Endless Revolution" by filmmaker Nicolas Rossier (www.aristidethefilm.com)

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