You say this: "A regime that caused the death of about 20, 000 Haitians, kidnappings, raping, murder, garbage piling, blackout, out-of-control inflation, drug trafficking, false accusation and arrestation, cancellation of $24 billion from France.
"
First off, 20, 000 Haitians haven't been killed in the past 2 years.
Second of all, the kidnappings are mostly perpetrated by armed gangs that are loyal to Aristide -- though not uniquely.
Third, trash was piling up and blackouts became a common thing while Aristide was in power.
These are not issues that just appeared in Haiti the moment Aristide left. Drug trafficking in Haiti hit its peak under Aristide -- just ask Jacques Ketant.
False accusations and arrests have been going on in Haiti for a long time and happened under Aristide's terms in office, too. This doesn't excuse any false accusations or arrests under the interim government.
Any such claims should be investigated thoroughly.
My only support of the interim government is that they tried to help established an independent justice system and prepare elections.
They inherited a government that was bankrupt partly due to a halt of foreign aid, but also due to high corruption under the Aristide administration.
Could the interim administration have done more?
Maybe, maybe not. They weren't given much to work with. But I credit them for working to prepare free, democratic elections.
And based on how things went yesterday, while they weren't perfect they went pretty well. I credit Latortue for claiming his assets upon taking the oath of Prime Minister, according to the Constitution - something Aristide and Yvon Neptune never did. I also give Latortue credit for telling those in his administration not to run for political office in these elections.
Perhaps the gravity of the situation in Haiti was more than Latortue could handle and Lord knows the violent sectors of Aristide's support base tied their damnedest to make things as difficult as possible for him. He certainly seemed to have a lot of difficulty.
But he certainly inherited a very tough situation, and even Preval has forewarned his supporters that the work ahead will be very difficult but Haitians must work together and persevere in order to overcome.
Don't misjudge me, G. Simon.
Yes, I protested against Aristide in February 2004. Yes, I celebrated when he left and I'm still glad he's out of the picture.
He became too much a distraction and is still the single most divisive figure in Haiti today.
But what Haiti needs is unity.
Preval is not Aristide.
He'll definitely have to work to gain the trust of the bourgeoisie, but on the same token Charles Baker or Leslie Manigat would have to work to gain the trust of the poor majority.
Whomever is declared victorious has a long, arduous road ahead of him and must be willing to extend a hand of peace and reconciliation towards their opponents.
I did not vote but I encouraged those who would vote to vote for Charles Baker.
Why?
Not because he's a greedy vampire and would put the poor in their place.
Because Haiti needs a person with a business-mind to get the government in order and needs some fresh blood in the political scene.
No more of the same old usual suspects.
Had he been included on the ballot my support would've gone to Simeus for these exact same reasons.
Considering the situation in Haiti over the past 2 years, would I rather Aristide stayed and finished his term?
I still say no because even though he should've handed over the reins of power yesterday he would remain a spectre in the background and cause too much strife.
My main gripes with Aristide are that he had the potential to be the savior of Haiti that he portrayed himself to be but he squandered the opportunity.
Before Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt went to Haiti Wyclef went on TV asking the gangs to stop the kidnappings and not embarrass him while he brings these stars from Hollywood to Haiti.
There wasn't a single kidnapping that weekend.
All because one man spoke.
Had Aristide simply spoken, the problems of chimères wouldn't have gotten out of hand. Correction, had Aristide spoken clearly, not in his ambiguous manner of speaking.
At any rate, G. Simon, my only wish is for a peaceful and prosperous Haiti for all Haitians.
Stirring up class warfare isn't the way to achieve that, regardless of whether the poor masses are your source of power.
The topic is: Rene Preval
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Posted by Anonymous on 2/8/06 3:19 PM
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