Haiti's fight for democracy

When we hear talk about democracy in Haiti, we often hear Jean-Bertrand Aristide won "flawed" elections in 2000. How exactly were these elections flawed? Aristide won by a landslide (92 percent of the vote) in which voter turnout at 65 percent of the population was greater than it was in the United States' 2000 presidential elections. The opposition -- who garnered under 10 percent of the popular vote -- contested the results for seven parliamentary seats from the 7,500 seats filled during the elections. Those seven members of parliament resigned, and their legitimacy was confirmed when they were all re-elected in run-off elections. Yet, the opposition, with millions of dollars in aid from the International Republican Institute, founded by Ronald Reagan, uses these "flaws" to contend Aristide is some type of dictator (www.haitireborn.org, www.haitiaction.net). \nBut much worse than simply name calling (there have also been propaganda campaigns aimed at portraying Aristide as mentally deranged), the United States has used these "flaws" to withhold humanitarian aid to Haiti. This withholding of humanitarian aid is the precise reason Aristide has been forced to break his promise to move Haiti forward. According to the Inter-American Development Bank, "Overall, the major factor behind economic stagnation is the withholding of both foreign grants and loans, associated with the international community's response to the critical political impasse. These funds are estimated at over U.S. $500 million."\nAnd now, instead of supporting Aristide's efforts to move Haiti forward, the U.S. is supporting the opposition and rebels who are taking Haiti backward. Consider what the opposition-supported rebels have done in the context of our democracy in the United States. You don't like the president? Don't wait until the next elections, but rather seek foreign financial sponsors, grab some guns and use violence to overthrow him. \nWho are these rebels? They are members of the old Haitian military disbanded by Bill Clinton and Aristide because it used its guns primarily to kill innocent Haitian civilians. Two rebel leaders serve as examples -- Emmanuel "Toto" Constant was convicted for murder in the Raboteau slum massacre, and Jodel Chamblain was convicted of assassinating a prominent pro-democracy businessman (www.amnesty.org). These men have dark pasts, and there is no indication their futures will be any brighter. \nTo worsen the outlook for Haiti, the brutal former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier already wants to return to Haiti. It unfortunately appears we are siding with the bad guys in Haiti, as more evidence indicates we helped to forcefully oust Aristide in a coup d'etat. However, there are many ways we can help the people of Haiti. Besides changing our government's policy toward Haiti by contacting our elected officials, we can begin by educating ourselves. Read books such as Eyes of the Heart by Jean Bertrand Aristide, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, or The Uses of Haiti by Paul Farmer. Or, get involved with a local church, synagogue, temple or nonprofit organization such as the Timmy Foundation (www.iub.edu/~timmyfc or www.timmyfoundation.org) that works with the people of Haiti.\nCondoning the violent overthrow of Haiti's democratically elected government not only contradicts our most sacred democratic principles, but also injures our moral integrity. The worldwide fight for democracy is entering an important period in its history -- be it in Iraq, here at home or anywhere else in the world. Haiti is a great place for us to show exactly where we stand.