US deters democracy: Haiti & Aristide

[lostnfound]

Since (a wild-arsed guess here) our government is quite possibly busy stirring up a new revolution in Haiti as we speak, perhaps a GD thread is in order to discuss and research.

An article in Common Dreams a couple of years ago had some quotes from Aristide that show pretty clearly why the US government might oppose him. Here's an excerpt: http://www.commondreams.org/views/041300-104.htm

"We are not against trade," says former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, "we are not against free trade, but our fear is that the global market intends to annihilate our markets. We will be pushed to the cities, to eat food grown on factory farms in distant countries, food whose price depends on the daily numbers game" of the global marketplace.

In a new book, "Eyes of the Heart," Aristide explains that the austerity programs championed by the IMF and World Bank offer "a choice between death and death" in poor countries. For instance: "Haiti, under intense pressure from the international lending institutions, stopped protecting its domestic agriculture while subsidies to the U.S. rice industry increased. A hungry nation became hungrier."

[snoochie]

1. Wasn't there some controversy

over the way Clinton dealt with Haiti?

Does anyone remember? I seem to recall it wasn't favorable...

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

2. Clinton allowed a massacre in Haiti

I remember it quite well. Aristide had gotten the backing of all the popular groups in Haiti, neighborhood organizations and millions of regular people. So, the rich people who own the military overthrew him. It's similar to what's happening in Venezuela, except it wasn't Aristede himself that was hated, it was the democratic organizations that had supported him.

At first it seemed that Clinton was doing the right thing. He publically denounced the coup, threw on sanctions and refused to trade with them, and gave Aristide asylum in the US. We sent in the Marines to "restore democracy".

Then, the press attacked Aristede, saying that his popularity was due to gangs and communinsts, that he wasn't very democratic anyway, and the US Marines sat by while the Haitian army murdered, massacred, and destroyed every last neighborhood group, party organization, and terrorized voters. Some Marines couldn't believe what was happening, and I believe at least one officer was fired for making a public outcry.

60 minutes did a few stories about how US oil companies were selling to the Haitian Army despite the sanctions, and Clinton didn't do jack.

Aristide cut a deal, and went back to Haiti with most of the organizations that had supported him destroyed, and his voters murdered and terrified. Then Clinton declared "democracy restored" and the Marines were brought home. Aristede could be president but the Army - and the wealthy class and their corporations that own the army - was still in charge. US companies were happy again, and continued to do business with the terrorists.

One of the most truly disgusting and evil examples of American Imperialism that I've ever witnessed. Oh, and this was my first experience as a Democrat too, no less, I had just joined and had started to like Clinton.

\

[Zuni]

4. I believe the worst excess happened before Clinton

sent the Marines to Haiti. At the last minute Colin Powell and Jimmy Carter got the Haitian military junta of Raoul Cedras to step down, literally hours before the Marines hit the beach. Aristride initially did not even want to go back, but eventually did.
Aristride's supporters then went on their own rampage, and got revenge for the crimes committed against them. Like it or not, Aristride had some pretty thuggish killers on his side. He is not a humanitarian by any standards, but certainly is better than Cedras or Duvalier.

[Suspicious]

3. Clinton attacked Bush I

and his administration for sending Haitian refugees back to Haiti (in clear violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, of course, the U.S. claims to uphold), promising to change these policies once he was in office. After he was elected, he did no such thing. He imposed even harsher methods in forcing Haitian refugees back into the hell they were fleeing.

Incidentally, I've read that under the Clinton administration, Haiti (with its countless starving) was exporting food to the U.S. 35x as much as it exported under the previous administration.