By Avi Steinberg *
AfricanaMarch 24, 2004
The US government says it hopes to give Haiti a "secure tomorrow." But what about the day after that?
As the multinational force in Haiti increased this week to 3,330 troops, US Southern Command announced the name for its mission: Operation Secure Tomorrow. Indeed, security seems to be the name of the game these days in Haiti. US-based group Human Rights Watch has demanded that the international military forces undertake a more thorough policing effort in Haiti, particularly in the rebel-dominated north. Security details have in fact been beefed up in many cities, and despite a few outbreaks of violence — both internal and directed at international troops — a measure of quiet seems to have arrived in Haiti this week.
This calm is largely chimerical. Although the US had once said that disarmament was essential to the future of democracy in Haiti, the complexities of achieving this goal have resulted in a policy about-face. Around Haiti armed factions have made useless "symbolic" gestures of disarmament, handing over their rustiest firearms to the Americans. Nobody is fooled by this. In light of Haiti's deep socio-economic and political divisions and its universally-armed populace, the US has taken a pragmatic route. In an interview with Reuters, US General Ronald Coleman claimed that a "secure tomorrow" for Haiti must be distinguished from disarmament. He explained that Haiti "is a country with a lot of weapons and disarmament is not our mission. Our mission is to stabilize the country."
What does Coleman mean by "stabilize"? If every Haitian faction with political and/or criminal aspirations and a cache keeps its weapons, what type of stability will result from Operation Secure Tomorrow? As the past months have (once again) proven, armed factions and a not entirely-dissolved army can and will outgun rivals; when larger guns — in this case, those held by US and French troops — enter the picture, the small guns stay quiet. But these armed factions don't go away, they simply wait their turn. Perhaps this international presence will bring an ounce of security tomorrow, but what about the day after tomorrow? What about a year, a decade from now? Stabilization appears to be a code word for temporary military solution. Actually, it's worse than that.
To understand what General Coleman might mean by "stabilization" we might look at the US-backed interim government. This government, after all, carries Haiti's hope for security and freedom after the international troops leave. Returning to his native Gonaí¯ves — a rebel stronghold known for its politically radical history — Haiti's new Prime Minister Gerard Latortue lauded the gangs who ousted the "dictator Aristide." To an adoring crowd of thousands he said, "people [around the world] said the people of Gonaí¯ves were thugs and bandits. But I know you are freedom fighters." Sharing the stage with self-appointed police chief Wilfort (T-Will) Ferdinand and his 23-year-old deputy, a former Florida discount chain clerk, the elder premier presided over a moment of silence for slain gangster Amiot Metayer.
If Haiti's democracy has been placed in the grasping hands of these freedom fighters, then the vision of US-backed stability comes into sharper focus. Stability here appears to be synonymous with suppression of dissent and, in this case, suppression of Aristide's Lavalas Family party. This party, which still commands the loyalty of millions of Haiti's poor and disenfranchised, has been excluded from the rising thugocracy; there appears to be evidence that members of the party are in hiding, fearing for their lives. Regardless of the problems of Aristide's leadership, the Lavalas party continues to represent the hopes for democracy and empowerment of Haiti's impoverished majority. The US-backed government's attack on this party is an attack on the electorate. This is stability through tyranny.
At the moment, the US conceives this crisis purely in military terms, but Haiti ultimately needs a civil solution. When the US disregards fundamental issues such as disarmament, when the new government openly flouts its commitment to democracy and reconciliation and instead sows the seeds for a regime of brutal repression, then we must shudder to think of the future for Haiti. This week Haiti's defiant leaders harshly criticized their neighbors in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), sparking division and dissent across the region. This was done in order to appease the most radical elements at home. As Haiti's new leaders continue to isolate themselves from their neighbors and from the majority of their countrymen, they will need greater and sharper tools of political repression. These tools and the confidence to wield these tools will come, as it often does, from the US. A secure tomorrow in Haiti is the same as it was in yesteryear — security through oppression, not freedom.
About the author: Avi Steinberg is a freelance writer living in Boston. After studying American foreign policy at Harvard, he received a fellowship in 2002-3 to live in Jerusalem and study international conflict. He is on staff at Transition Magazine.
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