Fall of a Pseudo-Democrat

[windansea]

Wednesday, March 17, 2004; Page A25
Washington Post

On the surface, the ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide appears sadly familiar: an elected leader driven from power in a de facto coup, and a terribly poor country beset by violence and anarchy. Yet, despite first appearances and regrettable violence and chaos in the streets, Aristide's resignation is hardly a setback for democracy or the rule of law. Rather, Haiti's murky revolution represents a trend in international life: the defeat of a leader who squandered his democratic mandate by tampering with elections, intimidating the opposition and tolerating widespread corruption.

As he resigned on Feb. 29, Aristide was no longer the democratically elected leader of his country. Rather, in recent years, Aristide and his supporters had resorted to a systematic campaign of authoritarian intimidation that had transformed Haiti into a pseudo-democracy riddled with corruption. The Organization of American States has indicated as much, by urging all parties to work toward the "development of a fully inclusive democratic process in the common interest."

The erosion of Haiti's fragile democracy began soon after the Clinton administration restored Aristide to power in 1994. It reached a turning point in July 2000, when Leon Manus, the head of Haiti's election commission, refused to certify the country's parliamentary elections because of evidence of widespread fraud, illegal tabulations and voter intimidation. Manus was forced to flee the country amid death threats emanating from Aristide supporters and a manhunt by police.

The campaign was so corrupted by gross violations that the United States, the European Union and Canada -- the main forces that had restored Aristide to power in 1994 -- refused to send election monitors to observe the presidential vote. In July 2000 the U.S. Senate passed a resolution calling for a cutoff of aid to Haiti until it held free and fair elections. In November 2000 Aristide won the presidential election, which was boycotted by the opposition, receiving 92 percent of the vote amid widespread ballot stuffing that inflated a much lower voter turnout.

more..
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64805-2004Mar16.html

[sadiesworld]

1. Do I recognize you from a picture on another website's...

milk carton.

[tinanator]

5. ahahhahahahahahahah

congratulations. well done.

[AP]

2. It's easier to post lies from the neoliberal press than engage in a real

debate on these issues, eh?

In case you haven't noticed, Aristide has been winning the DU debate over who's the liberal and who are the fascits in Haiti.

Why don't you engage on that level? Because it's easier to regurgitate BS than to debate ideas?

[Sandpiper]

3. You wouldn't happen to be Otto Reich

by any chance, would you?

[tinanator]

6. get serious

Isnt it good to know Barbara has something to do in her spare time besides protect Jenna from Internet photographers?

[Redleg]

26. Hey, that's what I asked him yesterday.

LOL

[dpbrown]

4. What a crock

The "violations" that are complained about happened when Aristide was not in power, and the US rejected every resolution offered.

Haiti was a democracy, but President War Hardon can't stand people actually having a say in who governs them, so he supported death squad leaders and convicted murderers over the democratically elected President of Haiti.

The WP piece is a complete and utter crock.

[Bandit]

7. So much BS it isn't worthy of Comment.

:shrug: It has absolutely nothing to do with Aristide. It has everything to do with Democracy. Was he replaced in a Democratic manner is the question and if the answer is no then what did the US do to assist the Democratic Process

[AP]

8. How can you run a government when the only people who have any money

aren't willing to pay into the system so that the government can do anything?

And, notice, when Aristide said enough was enough, it was time to have a property tax, that's when the got rid of him.

They were afraid that he was finally going to get some money, and, in the course, create an equitable system, and then have a record of accomplishment.

Nope. Can't have that. Must defend wealth and privilege. Need cheap labor for corporate profits. Levis doesn't want to give up the denim business (even if fashions are changing). Better to guarantee profits and protect large corporations from competition and failure.

[noiretextatique]

9. hey...this line works for 'murika

with a slight alteration:

Bush's murky revolution represents a trend in international life: the defeat of a leader who squandered his democratic mandate by tampering with elections, intimidating the opposition and tolerating widespread corruption.

:toast: to the (end of) the coup in america

[lutherj]

10. There were observers, and here is part of their report

Elections 2000: Participatory Democracy in Haiti
http://www.quixote.org/haiti/elections/

February 2001
Prepared By:
Melinda Miles, Coordinator, Haiti Reborn/Quixote Center

with

Moira Feeney, Haiti Program Coordinator, Global Exchange

"Free, fair and peaceful elections were held despite neglect from the UN, OAS, and the United States. Haitian voter participation was largely misrepresented in the international press."

(snip)

"Despite substantial barriers such as scrutiny, rather than support, from the international community – particularly the United States – that was often unreasonable, and challenges presented by severe illiteracy, poverty and substandard infrastructure, two elections were successfully held, both with a large voter turn out rate. It remains to be seen if the newly elected government will fulfill the hopes of those who voted it into place. The sophisticated political actors that the people of Haiti are becoming are the only true judges this new government will have."

If you read the report, it appears that most of the difficulties were procedural (getting people registered, getting ballots prepared, etc.) due to lack funds, which were withheld by the likes of Jesse Helms.

Aristide offered to hold new elections for the disputed parliamentary seats, but the opposition declined. And somehow boycotting an election and then complaining about the landside victory of your opponent afterwards seems a little disingenuous.

[noiretextatique]

11. seemed to go better than our own election

that very same year.

[lutherj]

14. good point

How many Haitians were observing our elections?

[noiretextatique]

16. maybe we should ask them to come in november?

i know fidel already offered to send observers.

[Zorra]

21. Pinko Commie liars. Just like all you unmurican libruls.

Standing in the way of the PNAC quest for glorious one world government fascist totalitarianism.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. If you're not Otto Reich you're Eliot Abrams

In any case, I'd love to see what Tinoire has to say about this. She's an actual Haitian immigrant.

[Tinoire]

28. Can't resist. Here's what I have to say about the fall of a pseudo Dem

The Fall of a Pseudo Democrat, Part 2:



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=user_profiles&u_id=135441


How fitting.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

30. I haven't stopped laughing since yesterday.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. Compared to your posts in GD 04 when you first began posting..the title

actually looks appropriate next to your handle

[kimchi]

15. Lies, lies, lies.

And here I was thinking the WP was one of the more even handed rags.

I have a feeling you are hitting your head against a brick wall, windansea. Not many here will be swayed by the propoganda and misinformation in these types of articles.

[windansea]

22. so why did USA, EU & Canada

cut off funds?? and Congress too....

[rman]

29. because

Aristide puts the interests of Haitians before the interests of the globalist nations. So they have reason to make Aristide look bad.

Would you say these 'civilized', 'developed' nations could not possibly lie?
There's this guy named "Bush", you know...

[Vladimir]

27. Give the boy some credit

this article isn't 2 years old.

V

[Media_Lies_Daily]

17. Please stop...

...you're making me laugh too hard.

[ConsAreLiars]

18. Gee. You bring yet another right-wing ideologue funded by Scaife to DU

The writer is counselor and senior scholar at Freedom House, and co-editor of "Freedom in the World 2003."

Freedom House:
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Freedom_House

The chairman of Freedom House is none other than R. James Woolsey of PNAC fame.

The author you quote here is a regular writer for The National Review
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/PI/search.jhtml?key=%22Adrian%20Karatnycky%22

Where do you keep getting all these neo-fascist propaganda pieces, and why do you post them here?

[ConsAreLiars]

25. Still waiting... Why do you post neo-fascist propaganda here without

any sort of warning that the content comes from the PNAC/neo-con propaganda machine?

Are you unaware of the funding behind the sources you copy onto the board? The disinfopedia site is very helpful. You might want to check out the organizations behind the words you echo on DU before repeating them here. Sometimes ideological blinders lead folks to accept any sort of hokum as fact without first asking if the source of the info might have some agenda other than truth and progress.

Next time you come across something like the stuff you post from Hajer or Freedom house, check the source out. That will help you avoid being
simply a puppet of the neocon-fundie propaganda machine. By the way, did you notice that first publication by the author you cite here by the CFR was on the (alleged) dependence of Democracy on Christianity?

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[windansea]

20. too easy

this is more fun...if the facts are wrong in the article disprove them...

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

23. Hey, can you tell us what country you're from.

Hopefully we can send the CIA to fuck it up and install a nice neo fascist regime. You know? Do our part to help.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Octafish]

31. BFEE likes the Generals and Elites because they're good for BUSINESS.

Drug business.
Money laundering business.
Landlord business.
Slave trade.

[DFLforever]

32. Oops !

Message deleted. (I thought the poster was talking about himself!)