February 24, 2004
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0224i.html“The current crisis in Haiti is yet another example of Bush Administration neglect in our own hemisphere. Instead of working to support democratic institutions for the past three years, this Administration has seemed intent on bringing about regime change by encouraging the opposition and cutting off aid from the United States and international financial institutions.
“When the situation on the ground began to degenerate into violence and lawlessness over the past weeks, the Administration stubbornly refused to engage diplomatically. As a result, Haiti is now on the verge of collapsing into a failed state, potentially creating untold hardships for the Haitian people and an enormous influx of refugees on our shores.
“The Administration has now finally realized that it must work multilaterally to broker a power sharing agreement between the parties – the only question is why they didn’t do this sooner. By waiting until the 11th hour to take action, they have made a peaceful resolution that much more difficult to achieve.
“Even now, we must do more to preserve the democratic process. It is not enough for the Secretary of State to make phone calls – we should immediately bring the full weight of U.S. diplomatic pressure to bear on the parties. In 1994, President Clinton sent Colin Powell to Haiti along with President Carter and Senator Sam Nunn to resolve the crisis. This President should do no less. If he won’t send Colin Powell, then he should name another special envoy who understands the Haitian people, understands their terrible problems, and understands the vital US interest in bringing peace and stability to Haiti.
“In addition to pursuing vigorous diplomacy, the U.S. should bring real leadership to restoring order by working to ensure that a multinational force -- including police from OAS and CARICOM nations, backed up by a visible show of US military force off the coast -- is sent to Haiti as soon as possible. Once the situation is stabilized, the U.S. should provide training and equipment to Haitian police forces, lift the restrictions on our bilateral aid, at least for health and education grants, and ensure that the international financial institutions to give aid in these areas to the government.
“America has a duty to advance our best ideals abroad. If we hope to lead the nations of the world towards a more democratic future, we must act now to protect a fragile democracy in our own backyard. Failure to act in Haiti will have direct consequences on our shores. There is no excuse for allowing this to happen.”
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Statement from John Kerry Calling for Senator Bob Graham to be Named Special Envoy to Haiti
February 26, 2004
http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0226c.html“Today I call on President Bush to appoint Senator Bob Graham as a Special Envoy to attempt to resolve the crisis in Haiti. Senator Graham has long been a leader in Florida and in the US Senate on foreign affairs. He knows the situation in Haiti extremely well, and knows the cost that widespread violence will cause not only in Haiti, but on our shores.
“The Bush Administration had only one hope for resolving the crisis in Haiti – an 11th hour proposal that has now been rejected by the opposition leaders. We must take further action now to support the rule of law in Haiti and prevent a widespread humanitarian crisis.
“Appointing Senator Graham as Special Envoy would demonstrate that our commitment to bringing peace, stability and respect for the rule of law to Haiti is genuine. In 1994, President Clinton appointed Colin Powell, former President Jimmy Carter and Senator Sam Nunn to Haiti to a high level delegation to restore democracy to Haiti. Recent events in Haiti have shown that it is past time for this Administration to take similar measures.
“Any Special Envoy will have their work cut out for them. The envoy needs to get the parties to agree on ending the political violence, as well as to address long-standing issues such as the release of political prisoners, and the need to rein in the paramilitaries in order to create the context where meaningful political dialogue can occur.
“I hope the President will take this opportunity to make use of Senator Graham’s extraordinary experience and skills to help us combat the downward spiral of civic violence in Haiti to avoid further loss of human life and further collapse of the Haitian political system.”
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Democrat Kerry Blames Bush 'Neglect' for Haiti Crisis
Tue Feb 24, 2004 10:11 PM ET
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=4430566CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Democratic White House front-runner John Kerry on Tuesday blamed President Bush's "neglect" for the political instability in Haiti and called for the naming of a special envoy to help end the crisis.
The United States has sent about 50 Marines to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince to protect U.S. facilities and has pressed opposition politicians to accept a power-sharing plan meant to defuse an armed revolt against Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
"The current crisis in Haiti is yet another example of Bush administration neglect in our own hemisphere," Kerry said in a written statement. "As a result, Haiti is now on the verge of collapsing into a failed state, potentially creating untold hardships for the Haitian people and an enormous influx of refugees on our shores."
The Massachusetts senator, who is vying for the right to challenge Bush in the Nov. 2 presidential election, said despite the rise in violence and lawlessness over the past few weeks, the administration had "stubbornly refused to engage diplomatically."
"The administration has now finally realized that it must work multilaterally to broker a power-sharing agreement between the parties," he said. "By waiting until the eleventh hour to take action, they have made a peaceful resolution that much more difficult to achieve."
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Kerry says US fueled conflict in Haiti
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/8054087.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jspJohn Kerry is pointing to the worsening crisis in Haiti as an example of failed Bush administration foreign policy.
BY PETER WALLSTEN
pwallsten@herald.com
Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry accused President Bush's administration Thursday of fomenting conflict in Haiti out of ideological opposition to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Kerry called on Bush to name Florida Sen. Bob Graham, one-time rival for the Democratic nomination, to be a special envoy to the Caribbean nation to negotiate a peaceful resolution between Aristide and the rebels threatening to oust him from power.
Debating his Democratic rivals Thursday night in Los Angeles, Kerry accused the White House of withholdnig aid to Haiti until the opposition reached a power-sharing agreement with Aristide -- an approach that he said ensured the rebels would keep fighting.
''This administration has been engaged in very manipulative and wrongful ways,'' Kerry said. ``They have a theological and an ideological hatred for Aristide. They always have. They approached this so the insurgents were empowered by this administration.''
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Kerry Assails Bush on Haiti
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/24/politics/campaign/24CND-KERR.html?hp"I think the administration has missed a lot of opportunities, in fact, has exacerbated the situation over the last two years with its cutoff of humanitarian assistance and its attitude towards the Aristide administration," Mr. Kerry said. "So they sort of created the environment within which the insurgency could grow and take root, and now they're trying to manage it, I think."
Senator Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, made his comments during a wide-ranging discussion today with editors and reporters of The New York Times in advance of next Tuesday's New York presidential primary.
He said that if he were president, he would be pressing Haitian rebels to back off their goal of toppling Mr. Aristide, perhaps by threatening the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.
"I think you've got to be real and threatening," he said. His message to the rebels, he said, would be: "You're not going to take over, you're not kicking him out, this democracy is going to be sustained, we're willing to put in a new government, new prime minister, we're willing to work with you, but you're not going to succeed in your goal of exiling" Mr. Aristide. "And unless that's clear, you can't necessarily stop it in its tracks."
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Kerry had this to say about the Bush administration's Haitian agenda:
"They have a theological and a ideological hatred for Aristide. They always have."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10722-2004Feb26.html_____________________________________________________________________
From the past:
Aristide's electrifying accusations opened the floodgate of even more sinister revelations. Massachusetts senator John Kerry heads a subcommittee concerned with international terrorism and drug trafficking that turned up collusion between the CIA and drug traffickers during the late 1980s' Iran Contra hearings.
Kerry had developed detailed information on drug trafficking by Haiti's military rulers that led to the indictment in Miami in 1988, of Lt. Col. Jean Paul. The indictment was a major embarrassment to the Haitian military, especially since Paul defiantly refused to surrender to U.S. authorities. It was just a month before thousands of U.S. troops invaded Panama and arrested Manuel Noriega who, like Col. Paul, was also under indictment for drug trafficking in Florida.
The U.S. senate also heard testimony in 1988 that then interior minister, Gen. Williams Regala, and his DEA liaison officer, protected and supervised cocaine shipments. The testimony also charged the then Haitian military commander Gen. Henry Namphy with accepting bribes from Colombian traffickers in return for landing rights in the mid 1980's.
It was in 1989 that yet another military coup brought Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril to power. Under U.S. pressure Avril, the former finance chief under the 30-year Duvalier family dictatorship, fired 140 officers suspected of drug trafficking. Avril, who is currently living in Miami, is being sued by six Haitians, including Port-au-Prince mayor Evans Paul, who claim they were abducted and tortured by the Haitian military under Avril's orders in November 1989. According to a witness before Senator John Kerry's subcommittee, Avril is in fact a major player in Haiti's role as a transit point in the cocaine trade.
http://pdr.autono.net/haiti.htmlKerry Committee Report DEA's OPERATIONS IN MIAMI AND IN HAITI: http://www.webcom.com/~pinknoiz/covert/haiticoke.html
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