NEW YORK, OCTOBER 17 (IPS) – Talks about an inevitable U.S. military intervention in Haiti are booming in diplomatic circles. Without any constitutional or legal authority, our de facto Haitian government gave the green light to special forces sent to Haiti to fight the neglected, unemployed poor. do, with no other choice to survive but gang violence and uprisings ravaging the country.
The last time the Haitian community was confused by the proposal of a surgical strike, as it was called, under the guise of support, was in 1994, 28 years ago. Our President of Haiti at the time was the culprit behind our betrayal of our constitution.
At his urging, the United States led 20,000 American troops into our sovereign land that was supposed to maintain a nascent democracy, but instead resulted in the annihilation of our Haitian army. me and the disintegration of our society.
Our President of Haiti says the US-led invasion is a quick solution. However, let us not forget that this military operation violates our constitution and the Charter of the United Nations. The mission quickly became a lasting UN peacekeeping and peace-building operation.
Twenty-eight years later, our country is in ruins like never before, under the watchful eye of the United Nations. Our Haiti today has become a country of beggars, where the government is completely dependent on foreign assistance.
There are no more viable institutions; The political establishment in Haiti exists only on paper as shell organizations, with an unauthorised parliament and an impotent judicial branch. Even more alarming is the overwhelming and desperate substitute police force for the army, which has ceded control to violent street gangs.
Those of us who are overseas want to help our country. However, this reminds us of another failed nation-building experiment in Afghanistan. There is a lesson to be learned in all of this. Democracy cannot be interrupted nor forced upon a nation.
These days, it is a shame that we admit to our African friends and neighbors from Cuba how we have failed our country, each of us living abroad. , simply because we do not act. For them, Haiti, after gaining independence more than 218 years ago, was a glimmer of hope for the slaves.
It would be foolish to think that Haiti’s problem is simply a gang problem. Our Haitian leaders are responsible for the carnage and violence in the streets. They will do anything to get into the office. However, these desirable leaders fail to deliver on promises, often betray the public’s trust, and point the finger of blame to self-forgive their failures.
We have failed and disappointed so many times by our leaders being late. Haitians are fed up with their leadership and the broken political system that brought them to power. Today, people take to the streets to say enough is enough.
Most are young people under 25. They are willing to die at the hands of foreign troops, if necessary, to take back their country. Haitians are resilient and willing to pay the price with their lives. Behind opportunistic crimes, they commit crimes in the absence of law and order government, they are ordinary citizens marginalized if not completely abandoned, and disillusioned. .
We call for solidarity to say no to the proposed intervention in Haiti.
We condemn the Haitian government de Facto for inviting foreign troops into our homeland against our people. We consider this a cowardly, shameful, unpatriotic and treasonous act.
We, at the United Nations Association of Haiti, are represented by the diaspora, ready to provide the transformational leadership our country so desperately needs to get out of this crisis and beyond.
Our action plan consists of three parts:
• With respect to security, a more peaceful approach to forceful intervention would instead involve honest discussions with those occupying the streets. If they are not the main problem behind senseless violence and terrorist kidnappings, then they must be part of the solution.
• Second, to address food security concerns, we’re proposing massive relief assistance as the centerpiece of our community engagement strategy. There are enough resources in our diaspora to do without begging.
• Finally, on the most important issue of future elections, we are set to take a different and unique approach to making fundamental adjustments to our democratic system This could alleviate the chronic political instability seen in Haiti and throughout the African continent. We seek answers from the science that has driven our elections for the past 36 years. 1987 was the year we passed a new electoral law. It was an important piece of legislation that formalized our move from dictatorship and military-backed rule to a new democratic order.
Somewhere along that inversion of order are the fault lines that explain why our elections since then, look more like the reality TV show, American Idol, than a construct based on it. institutional checks and balances.
Haiti is no longer capable of causing division but must embrace a path to stability and institutional norms. In order to secure our next suffrage, Haitians may be asked to welcome amendments wherever necessary to achieve a democratic process that reconciles popular will with the confidence of the voters. Stakeholders.
We call on the Haitian community and all of Haiti’s friends to work with us. This is our chance to bring our country back. This is your chance to take an active part in the big decisions of your country.
We call on the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, to respect Haiti’s sovereignty. There is no justification for intervention. There is no Responsibility to Protect (R2P) a de facto government from its own people.
We seek a peaceful solution for our country and the Haitian people. That’s the Future we want. It’s the future we all deserve.
We stand ready to provide the leadership that Haitians will trust to get out of this stalemate and move our country toward reunification.
It’s time to correct it.
Harvey Dupiton as President, United Nations Association of Haiti (NY); Chairman, NGO Committee on Private Sector Development (ECOSOC NGOs); and former UN Press Correspondent, NTS News (Haiti)
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