This week in HaitiHaïti Progrès
February 14-20 2001
Aristide Picks Premier for an
"Open Door Government"
"I am the president of all Haitians," said Jean-Bertrand Aristide in his inaugural speech on Feb. 7, "and I will be the president of all, without exception."
The line was as much an invitation as a warning to the Democratic Convergence (CD), a front of 15 small opposition parties which named school principal and former presidential candidate Gerard Gourgue "president" of their otherwise nonexistent "parallel government" on Feb. 6 (see Haïti Progrès, Vol. 18, No. 47, Feb. 7, 2001).
While Aristide was being sworn in at the Parliament on Feb. 7, Gourgue delivered an "address to the nation" in which he reinstated the Haitian Army (disbanded by Aristide in 1995) and invited exiles to return to Haiti (implicitly the likes of Haitian death-squad leader Emmanuel "Toto" Constant and 1991 coup leader Michel François).
When asked by a reporter how he intended to issue his directives, Gourgue responded straight-faced that he would use such means as "the Internet," prompting Radio Haiti to dub him Haiti's first "virtual president." Haiti has about 600 people for every phone line (not to mention computers), the most dismal ratio in the Western Hemisphere, which would make Gourgue's governance cumbersome, to say the least.
But nobody really takes the CD's antics seriously, except their foreign backers, whose backing is considerable. "This past year, our [U.S.] government overtly provided to the International Republican Institute $3,000,000 in funds not simply to help opposition parties in Haiti but to 'develop' opposition parties," pointed out Haiti's general counsel Ira Kurzban in a Jan. 26 speech at the University of Miami. "In light of the outrage in the United States following the revelations that the Chinese government may have attempted to provide contributions to U.S. candidates, it is nothing short of bizarre that our government would spend money in a foreign country to create an opposition to the government we are supposed to be supporting. This, of course, does not include covert funds spent in Haiti to accomplish the same ends."
So, as comic as it appears, Gourgue's "virtual presidency" cannot be dismissed as a joke, and many have begun to call for an end to the comedy. "The parallel government is subversive, an infraction of the Constitution, and an infraction of the Penal Code," pointed out Ben Dupuy, secretary general of the National Popular Party (PPN), in a Feb. 8 interview on Haitian National Television. Dupuy recalled that Gourgue, a law professor, had been dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier's teacher. "Under Duvalier, would Mr. Gourgue have allowed himself to say that he is president?" he asked. "Today he feels he can do it. I think it is time for the government to take legal action."
"The government representative, as the guarantor of public order, should intervene whenever an individual or a group of individuals threatens public order," echoed Yvon Chéry, a former independent parliamentary candidate for the city of Cayes. On Feb. 12, he called for Gourgue's arrest.
In private, some Lavalas officials argue that the CD poses no threat and that moving against them would only provide grist for Washington and the mainstream media to further demonize Aristide. "There are many people who say it's not the right moment, that they'll say we're establishing a dictatorship," Dupuy remarked, recalling the Creole proverb equivalent of damned if you do, damned if you don't. "But say good morning to the Devil or not, he is still going to eat you. If you don't apply the law, the people will become so frustrated that they will take the law into their own hands. Then they will accuse you of 'mob rule,' as they like to say."
Despite such calls for action, President Aristide has continued to be only conciliatory during his first week in office. On Feb. 9, he picked close advisor Jean Marie Cherestal to be prime minister of what he dubbed an "open door government" in his inaugural address.
Born like Aristide in the southern town of Port Salut, Cherestal, 54, is an economist who studied in Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, and Chili. He has acted previously as Aristide's Planning Minister and Finance Minister, and most recently as Haiti's representative to the Lomé Convention.
"The political context is particularly difficult," Cherestal said. "I am very conscious of the complexity of the situation and of the burden that has fallen on my shoulders." Nonetheless Cherestal continues to remain upbeat about the possibility that the opposition will lay down their arms and work with his government. "Perhaps the opposition has a position today but all political positions are supposed to be able to change," he said. "It must be called upon to change its position, and I very sincerely believe that we will sit down and find a path out of this situation together because the Convergence has no interest for the country to be in this ruinous condition."
But there is no sign that the opposition shares Cherestal's optimism. "We are sure that any dialogue with the Lavalas is just dialogue to put us kneeling at Aristide's feet," said Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, the leader of the Peasant Movement of Papaye (MPP), a Central Plateau based component of the CD. "We don't believe a word that comes out of Aristide's mouth, nor any other word that the Lavalas says to try to put the people to sleep. Everybody knows it's just lies."
Playwright/economist Hervé Denis, another former Lavalas ally but now CD confederate, called Aristide's and Cherestal's calls for negotiations "a farce." Victor Benoit, leader of the CD's Konakom party, called Aristide's nomination of Cherestal as PM "a continuation of a policy of fait accompli."
On top of the CD's intransigence, Aristide was stung by the no-show of Dominican President Hipolito Mejia to the inauguration. Under pressure from the Dominican army, Mejia announced the night before that he was not coming for "security reasons." Most suspect, however, that the Dominican generals vetoed Mejia's visit because they dislike Aristide for his dissolution of their Haitian counterparts and his leftist reputation. Dominican Foreign Minister Hugo Tolentino Dipp arrived late at the inauguration by jeep via Jimani in Mejia's place.
Also troubling was the absence of the eight members of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus who had been scheduled to attend. The delegation was to have been led by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). A spokesman from Congressman Charles Rangel's office told Haïti Progrès that his absence was due to scheduling conflicts. Only former Congressman Joe Kennedy (D-MA) showed up. Aristide recognized Kennedy in his speech.
Said Musa, the Prime Minister of Belize also attended the inauguration, as did the vice presidents of Nicaragua and Guatemala.
Despite international trepidation, the Haitian people turned out to
the inauguration en masse. About 75,000 massed in the streets and trees
outside the the Palace fence, while 3,500 invited guests overflowed stands
inside. Before Aristide appeared on stage, the Carnaval float of Gwo Lobo
moved slowly through the dense throng surging under a blistering sun. "We
don't stick our noses into foreigners' business," Gwo Lobo sang in
a refrain which will surely be a favorite during Carnaval at the end of
this month. "They should not stick there nose into our business."
Legende: President Jean-Bertrand Aristide takes the oath of office at the Haitian Parliament on Feb. 7. To his right is former President René Préval, to his left, Senate President Yvon Neptune.
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