Thanks for the good article.

The problems have largely stemmed from action taken by nations outside of the UN forum. The manner in which a coalition of North American, Latin American and French governments came together to decide for themselves the illegitimacy of the Aristide government, involving no Haitian actors in the process, was despicable.

Equally so the actions of the US government in coercing Aristide’s resignation, although this is hardly unprecedented in global history.

Certainly there were some irregularities in the 2000 election, but these pale in comparison with the severe malpractice that plagued the 2006 election, with the banning of Gérard Jean-Juste from running for office, the deliberate failure to mount a single polling station in Cité Soleil (disenfranchising at least the poorest 10% of Port-au-Prince’s residents), and ballots burned en-masse and dumped in landfill.

Even if Rene Préval was the majority choice in 2006, his single-minded commitment to following US policy in Haiti has clearly alienated most of those who voted for him three years ago, especially as it has become clear just how wide the gulf between Fwon Lespwa and Fanmi Lavalas policy really is.

So we arrive at the current situation, with essentially valueless senatorial elections taking place, awaiting a run-off in June that, if it swings in the President’s favour will allow for alteration of the constitution to entrench an increasingly unrepresentative government in power.

Meanwhile, France and the USA use their position of power on the UN Security Council to block the organisation from conducting any official investigation into events that have taken place in Haiti. Caricom, which vigorously opposed the ousting of Aristide, cannot make its voice heard in the international forum where it matters. Whilst the Préval government remains in office, there is no official pressure from inside Haiti for the UN role in the country to be reconsidered.

So in a sense, the UN’s hands are tied (like on so many issues) by the fact that Security Council members have a vested interest in preventing reappraisal of the situation on the ground. It is unclear what is to be done to turn things around, but my hope is that the explicitly shambolic nature of these most recent elections may be a black mark too far on the way foreign actors have undermined democracy in Haiti. Hopefully we will reach a tipping point whereby abuse of the political process is so blatant that the international community can no longer stomach it.

Do I think there is much chance that this will happen? Sadly, no. For who will stand up against American and France to save a country so small, so weak, so severely crippled as Haiti? It falls to the Haitian people, or to no-one at all. Yet perhaps there is a little hope. The nation has precedent in casting off imperialist shackles for the good of its people, after all.

In that regard they are ahead of us. As BaWreck O’Bushma proves.

RG the LG