Port-au-Prince, HAITI: Haitian women sit by their

oranges for sale underneath a wall covered by

electoral posters in a street in the Delmas

neighborhood of Port-Au-Prince 17 November 2005.

AFP PHOTO/Thony BELIZAIRE (Photo credit should

read THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images)

High-resolution image (1590 x 1068 px, 300 dpi)

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Catastrophic Circumstances in Haiti

Following tumultuous past, national insecurity continues as Haitian elections repeatedly postponed

By Frederic Eger and Beth Lambert

Epoch Times Montreal and Los Angeles StaffNov 26, 2005

The international community is watching as Haiti's Provisional

Electoral Council has postponed for the fourth time its first

presidential and legislative elections since the resignation of former

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004. The newly chosen

day is Jan. 8, 2006, with a run-off on Feb. 15. A main reason given

for the postponement is security problems.

Despite being the world's oldest black republic, its independence

dating back over 200 years, Haiti does not have a good track record

when it comes to political stability or democracy. Its most recent

rulers, an interim government installed following international

pressure on Aristide to step down, have been particularly

unsuccessful in calming political violence and restoring order.

Thus, as elections remain an uncertainty, the international

community remains concerned as to what kind of future they will

outline for Haitians. If the past is any indication, whichever

candidate is elected will have his or her work cut out.

A Tumultuous Past

Since the end of World War II, the vast majority of Haitian heads of state have come to power through force, starting with

Dumarsais Estime's coup d'etat in August 1945. Four years later, Estime was himself overthrown in a coup.

This second junta's power came to an end in 1957 when Haitians elected Fran�ois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. He compensated

them with a dictatorial regime, known for its paramilitary forces that brutally suppressed any form of opposition.

At Duvalier's behest, his son, Jean-Claude, or "Baby Doc," succeeded him upon his death in 1971. Jean-Claude was 19 at the

time, but remained in office for 15 years until popular uprisings forced him to flee to southern France in 1986. By then, a

mass-exodus of refugees fleeing economic and political instability had begun, mostly headed towards Florida and the

Bahamas.

No sooner had "Baby Doc" left, but another military junta came to power, followed by several more years of coups,

counter-coups and voting. Internationally administered elections in December 1990 resulted in the victory of Jean-Bertrand

Aristide, a Catholic priest well-known for his assistance to the poor. His rise as head of state offered hope to many Haitians.

But Aristide was overthrown nine months later and fled to the United States. It took three years and American military

intervention before he returned and restored to his previous post. By then his term was almost over and according to the

Constitution, he could not run again in 1995, so he was succeeded by Ren� Pr�val. In 2000, Aristide was elected back into

power.

Recent Unrest and Intervention

Current problems began with the legislative elections of 2002 when opposition groups, accusing the government of fraud,

boycotted the elections. The government failed to satisfactorily address the issue, and discontent grew, along with the

number of disappearances, assassinations, and arbitrary arrests. In 2003, Aristide established the "chimeras," an armed

militia used to repress his opponents, bringing back memories of Duvalier's regime.

Throughout 2003 the situation continued to decline, with a student protest ending in violent confrontations and nearly all

sectors of civil society demanding Aristide's departure. In February 2004, insurgents led by Guy Philippe, former Haitian

National Police commissioner, took over the town of Cap-Haitien and slowly made their way to the capital Port-au-Prince.

Under additional pressure from France and the United States, Aristide resigned and left the country on February 29.

Just a decade after international intervention had reinstated a democratically-elected president, foreign governments found

themselves once again intimately involved in Haitian politics. Following Aristide's departure, the United Nations (UN) helped

establish an interim government, led by Supreme Court President Boniface Alexandre, whose task was to regain control and

prepare for the November 2005 elections.

Alexandre's government has been unsuccessful in achieving this aim and the past 18 months have been dominated by chaotic

violence. A multiplicity of armed gangs and police forces, some supporters of Aristide and others from among the insurgents

that ousted him, continue to run rampant, leading to a large number of civilian casualties.

One reason for this is that the number of weapons within the small country is excessive and according to Amnesty

International, "since the interim government took office�no serious efforts have been made to address the disarmament

issue."

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Also unhelpful to the unstable situation were hurricanes that swept in from the coast in 2004 and 2005, flooding the country

and creating additional difficulties and humanitarian crises.

The Elections

Given the present circumstances, the international community is not overly optimistic regarding the results of the

repeatedly postponed elections. Thierry Fagart, UN human rights representative in Haiti, last month called the situation

"catastrophic."

The UN has encouraged the interim government to do whatever is necessary to ensure that elections take place. In a

statement published October 18, the international body warned that the first round of elections needed to take place in

2005, so elected representatives could take office by February 7, 2006, the date stipulated by the constitution.

Now the constitutional deadline has been abandoned.

The current list of candidates has been revised from an original 54 candidates to a list of thirty-five. An early favorite was

Rene Pr�val, who ruled from 1995-2000 and is the only Haitian president to have been peacefully elected and succeeded

democratically.

US favorite Dumarsais M�c�ne Simeus was given trouble about his candidacy on October 18th over his dual citizenship, but

remains on the ballot. Others include former Haitian president Leslie Manigat, US businessmen and resident Charles Henri

Baker, and former police chief and 2004 rebellion leader Guy Philippe.

Some Haitian-Americans, many of them Duvalier-Era refugees with family still in Haiti, have expressed frustration that the

constitution is written in such a way that they cannot vote in the upcoming election. Their only influence is indirect, and

some have used resources in the United States to try and sway Haitians in one direction or another.

At least one candidate, Dany Toussaint, has realized the importance of the expatriates' indirect influence, and has put up

billboards promoting himself in Florida.

Those citizens within Haiti who are eligible to vote have sometimes had to wait months to complete voter registration. This

is one reason for the postponements of the elections, which were moved from the original date at the end of November to

some time in December.

In spite of the setbacks, the international community continues to push for elections to take place freely and without

interference. According to Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of Organization of American States, "The democracy that

we're trying to bring to Haiti, the political stability and the security that we want to bring," is not only important for Haiti; it

"is important for the rest of the hemisphere."

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