We could see this one coming, could we not?
Bush accused of supporting Haitian rebels
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Haitian activists Friday accused the Bush administration of covertly supporting opposition forces to oust President Aristide from power."The Bush administration is again engaged in regime change by armed aggression," former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark said. "This time, the armed aggression is against the administration of the democratically elected president of Haiti."
Activists at a Friday press briefing outlined what they believe to be a well-crafted plan by the Bush administration to overthrow Aristide. Former Haitian military members, drug dealers and militants were armed and trained in the Dominican Republic thanks to military support from the United States. They have now crossed the border into Haiti, activists said.
Although the writer seems a little confused:
The crisis in Haiti has been looming since flawed legislative elections were held in 2000 during which Aristide's party claimed victory with an overwhelming majority of votes.In response, international donors froze millions of dollars in aid, cutting off a vital lifeline for one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.
In addition, Aristide, who became Haiti's first freely elected leader in 1990, has been accused of not doing enough to alleviate poverty, condoning corruption, and using violence to quell political opposition.
Activists blamed the American government for the failure of Aristide's social programs.
"The U.S. brought this about by keeping an embargo on the country since 1994. How could Aristide have succeeded?" former attorney general Clark asked. "His goal has always been to move the people of Haiti from a state of poverty to a state of dignity."
Clark trots out his usual hate-America script. A brief history and timeline from the Federation of American Scientists.(FAS.org)
In December 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a charismatic Roman Catholic priest, won 67% of the vote in a presidential election that international observers deemed largely free and fair. Aristide took office in February 1991, but was overthrown by dissatisfied elements of the army and forced to leave the country in September of the same year. From October 1991 to June 1992, Joseph Nerette, as president, led an unconstitutional de facto regime and governed with a parliamentary majority and the armed forces. In June 1992, he resigned and Parliament approved Marc Bazin as prime minister of a de facto government with no replacement named for president. In June 1993, Bazin resigned and the UN imposed an oil and arms embargo, bringing the Haitian military to the negotiating table. President Aristide and Gen. Raoul Cedras, head of the Haitian armed forces, signed the UN-brokered Governors Island Agreement on July 3, 1993, establishing a 10-step process for the restoration of constitutional government and the return of President Aristide by October 30, 1993. The military derailed the process and the UN reimposed economic sanctions. The political and human rights climate continued to deteriorate as the military and the de facto government sanctioned repression, assassination, torture, and rape in open defiance of the international community's condemnation.In May 1994, the military selected Supreme Court Justice Emile Jonassaint to be provisional president of its third de facto regime. The UN and the U.S. reacted to this extraconstitutional move by tightening economic sanctions (UN Resolution 917). On July 31, 1994, the UN adopted Resolution 940 authorizing member states to use all necessary means to facilitate the departure of Haiti's military leadership and restore constitutional rule and Aristide's presidency.
In the weeks that followed, the United States took the lead in forming a multinational force (MNF) to carry out the UN's mandate by means of a military intervention. In Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY US objectives were fostering democratic institutions and reducing the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States. Despite the pledges of a military-backed regime in Haiti to return power to the democratically elected government it had ousted, the regime did not relinquish authority but became increasingly repressive and presided over a deteriorating economy. As the result of deteriorating conditions, tens of thousands of impoverished Haitians fled the country, many attempting to enter the United States.
The United States responded with Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, the movement of forces to Haiti to support the return of Haitian democracy. The U.S.-led Multinational Force for Haiti (MNF) began on September 19, 1994 with the approval of the Security Council, which, at the same time, approved the follow-on U.N. operation. In preparation for this contingency, DOD simultaneously planned for an invasion and for the peaceful entry of forces into Haiti, and executed portions of both scenarios. For the invasion, an airdrop was planned involving 3,900 paratroopers. Most of this force was airborne when Haitian officials agreed to a peaceful transition of government and permissive entry of American forces. With U.S. troops prepared to enter Haiti in a matter of hours, President Clinton dispatched a negotiating team led by former President Jimmy Carter to discuss with the de facto Haitian leadership the terms of their departure. As a result, the MNF deployed peacefully, Cedras and other top military leaders left Haiti, and restoration of the legitimate government began, leading to Aristide's return on October 15.
UPHOLD DEMOCRACY succeeded both in restoring the democratically elected government of Haiti and in stemming emigration, thanks to well-executed political, military, diplomatic, and humanitarian activities.
On March 31, 1995 the United States transferred the peacekeeping responsibilities to United Nations functions.
A news timeline since the UN assumed control in Haiti:
-CONGRESS / HAITI Voice of America 09 November 1999 -- Members of the U-S Congress are keeping a close watch on preparations for next year's Haitian elections. Views on Capitol Hill range from outright skepticism to a defense of those engaged in the political process in Haiti.
--HAITI / U-S / FILES Voice of America 05 November 1999 -- A leading human rights organization says the United States is impeding efforts to prosecute alleged human rights abusers in Haiti.
--U.S. Support of Haiti Continues, Despite Change American Forces Press Service 23 September 1999 -- The last active duty U.S. support troops are leaving Haiti, but this does not mean the end of U.S. interest in and concern for the Caribbean island nation.
--DoD News Briefing January 20, 2000 -- We are down to four people left in the permanent support group in Haiti, and they will go on January 31st. We made a decision some months ago to pull out the permanent support group in -- or to pull out the support group in Haiti -- it was based mainly in Port-au-Prince -- and to replace that with a series of intermittent military exercises called New Horizons.
You may note that the dates preceed the Bush Administration.