Haiti

The Republic of Haiti is a country situated on the western third of the island of Hispaniola and the smaller islands of La Gonâve, La Tortue (Tortuga), Les Cayemites, and Ile a Vache in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba; Haiti shares Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. The total land area of Haiti is 10,714 square miles (27,750 square km) and its capital is Port-au-Prince on the main island of Hispaniola.

History

Main article: History of Haiti

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1804: Independence

Freed blacks and mulattos joined with slaves against Napoleonic France to achieve the Caribbean's first successful revolution for independence. The largely black nation remained isolated politically throughout the 19th century, though penetrated economically by international capitalism.

Related Topics:
Freed blacks and mulattos - Revolution for independence

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1915-1934: U.S. Occupation

Main article: United States occupation of Haiti (1915-1934)

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From July 28, 1915 until mid-August 1934, Haiti was under the occupation of the U.S. Marine Corps, effectively making Haiti a colony in all but name. Efforts were made to improve Haiti's infrastructure and education systems in particular, but because of the imposed nature of these reforms, with little regard for Haitian customs or traditions, these generally were not well-received nor especially effective.

Related Topics:
July 28 - 1915 - 1934 - U.S. Marine Corps

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The Rise of Duvalier

A medical doctor, François Duvalier was not allowed to establish his own practice due to racist customs in Haiti (he was black). After securing employment with an American medical project that was fighting widespread tuberculosis, Duvalier had the opportunity to see the poverty that existed in the countryside.

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This fueled his interest in politics, and despite the fact that the Haitian government was predominantly mulatto, Duvalier was able to gain a following and joined forces with powerful union leader Daniel Fignole. Together they formed the popular Mouvement Ouvriers Paysans (MOP) party. They continued to gain public support and waited for their moment to seize the power.

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Both men wanted to take the top job of President, therefore the party was split and in 1957 Fignole became president of Haiti. His position lasted only 18 days, however, because Duvalier was able to overthrow him and began what was to become a 29-year dynasty.

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1957-1986: Duvaliers and Aborted freeport

Duvalier, also known as "Papa Doc," became president in 1957 and dictator in 1964. He was known for his army of sunglasses-clad volunteers, the Tonton Macoute. In 1967 proposals were made to construct a freeport on the Haitian island of Tortuga by a consortium formed in the United States by Don Pierson of Eastland, Texas.

Related Topics:
1964 - Tonton Macoute - 1967 - Freeport - Tortuga - United States - Don Pierson - Eastland - Texas

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These plans reached maturity in 1971 when a 99-year contract was entered into by François Duvalier on behalf of the Haitian government. Although construction of infastructure and a new international airport was commenced, two other events brought about the sudden demise of the whole venture. When François Duvalier suddenly died in 1971 his son Jean-Claude Duvalier ("Baby Doc") took over at the age of 19. The advisers soon concluded that Haiti needed a new image to attract economic assistance, tourism, and investment. In 1974 it became known that the freeport had entered into a multimillion dollar contract with the Gulf Oil corporation to advance development on the island. This news prompted "Baby Doc" to expropriate the venture for himself, under prompting from his advisors including his mother, Simone Ovide Duvalier; Defense and Gen. Claude Raymond, commander of the army, and his brother, Foreign Minister Adrien Raymond; and Minister of Coordination and Information Fritz Cinéas. This move by the regency caused the collapse of the freeport venture.

Related Topics:
1971 - Jean-Claude Duvalier - 1974 - Gulf Oil

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Under the Baby Doc regime some political prisoners were released, press censorship eased, and a policy of "gradual democratization of institutions" was professed. But in fact no sharp changes from previous policies occurred. No political opposition was tolerated, and all important political officials and judges were still appointed by the president. Haiti continued a semi-isolationist approach to foreign relations, although the government actively solicited foreign aid. In 1980 Duvalier married Michèle Bennett, who later supplanted his hard-line mother in Haitian politics. In the face of increasing social unrest, however, Duvalier and his wife left the country early in 1986, leaving the entire country in poverty and lacking international commercial development. A six-member council replaced Duvalier when he fled to southern France, where he lived in luxury in Cannes until his wife left him and took his children and most of their cash. He now lives in modest circumstances in Paris.

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1986: After Duvalier Regime

After Duvalier fled, US installed a military regime, The National Council of Government (CNG), headed by General Henri Namphy. It was supposed to design a new Constitution and arrange for democratic elections within two years, but didn't step down until 1990, when Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military coup d'etat, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996.

Related Topics:
The National Council of Government (CNG) - Henri Namphy - 1990 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide - 1994 - 1996

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In the late 1970s, a time of increasing militancy against the brutal regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier, Aristide urged change and often found himself at odds with his superiors in the Roman Catholic Church. In 1986, the year Duvalier was driven from power, Aristide survived the first of many assassination attempts. In 1990, when a notorious Duvalierist announced his candidacy for president, progressive-centre forces united to urge Aristide to run for the office. He was elected in Haiti's first free democratic election on Dec. 16, 1990, with an overwhelming 67% of the vote. Aristide's campaign motto, "Lavalas" (Creole for "flood"), became the name for a diverse coalition of parties that symbolized hope for the Haitian people (80% of whom earned less than $150 a year). In his seven months as president in 1991, Aristide proposed raising the minimum wage, initiated a literacy campaign, dismantled the repressive system of rural section chiefs, and oversaw a drastic reduction in human rights violations. A coup on Sept. 30, 1991, led by the military and financed by members of Haiti's elite, declared that such reforms would not be tolerated. The coup's leaders: General Raul Cedras, Colonel Michel Francois, and general Philippe Biamby, were all graduates of the US Army School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia.

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After three years of exile, a U.S. invasion allowed Aristide to return and resume his presidency on Oct. 15, 1994. The economy was in shambles, infrastructure almost nonexistent, and more than 4,000 people had been killed. Barred constitutionally from immediate reelection, he stepped down in 1996. The old Lavalas coalition fractured, and in November 1996 he launched a new political party, Fanmi Lavalas (Lavalas Family).

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2000-2004: Second Aristide Term and Ensuing Crises

In May 2000, Haiti held legislative and local government elections. The Family Lavalas Party won over 50% of the vote in nearly all the contests but a dispute arose about the method used to tabulate the percentages for the Senate elections. The Organization of American States (OAS) and the international community condemned the results for the Senate elections as fradulent. The Haitian government refused to re-calculate the percentages. In response, most of the opposition parties refused to acknowledge the results or take part in second-round run-offs. In the months leading up to the Presidential election at the end of the year, numerous negotiations failed to produce a settlement. Therefore, most opposition groups boycotted the Presidential election. Aristide easily won this election, but due to the earlier dispute, the opposition parties never accepted his victory as legitimate.

Related Topics:
2000 - Organization of American States

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Aristide took office on February 7, 2001, but his presidency was mired in controversy, and his government was undermined by the political impasse and the use of armed gangs, called 'chimeres', to enforce his rule. By 2003, the country was deeply divided between pro-and anti-Aristide camps.This finally led to an armed conflict which increased in intensity on February 5, 2004, 200 years after the Haitian Revolution, when an armed rebel group calling itself the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front took control of the Gonaïves police station. This rebellion then spread throughout the central Artibonite province by February 17 and was joined by opponents of the government who had been in exile in the Dominican Republic. Aristide was forced to resign and go into exile again (Central African Republic, Jamaica, South Africa).

Related Topics:
February 5 - 2004 - Haitian Revolution - Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front - Gonaïves - Artibonite - February 17 - Dominican Republic

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Post-Aristide

In the wake of Aristide's departure, while Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre succeeded to the Presidency (in accordance with the stipulations of the 1987 constitution), the Conseil des Sages, a seven-member executive advisory board which was appointed by the OAS-sanctioned Tripartite Council (consisting of Leslie Voltaire, Paul Denis, and Adamo Guino), immediately selected the Prime Minister, former Manigat Foreign Minister Gerard Latortue, who, in turn, selected his cabinet, which consists mostly of opposition leaders or spokespersons:

Related Topics:
Boniface Alexandre - Conseil des Sages - Leslie Voltaire - Paul Denis - Adamo Guino - Gerard Latortue

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• Adeline Magloire Chancy ? Women?s Conditions
• Philippe Mathieu ? Agriculture
• Yvon Simeon - Foreign Affairs
• Yves Andre Wainwright ? Environment
• Pierre Buteau ? Education
• Bernard Gousse ? Justice and Public Security
• Daniele Saint-Lot ? Commerce and Industry
• Henri Bazin - Finance
• Josette Bijoux - Health
• Roland Pierre - Planning
• Herard Abraham - Interior
• Magali Comeau Denis - Culture

Non-Cabinet Officials:

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• Michel Brunache - Chief of Cabinet
• Max Mathurin - Head of Provisional Electoral Council (CEP)

Gousse had, since his appointment, become notorious for the alleged wrongful imprisonment of Lavalas party members and supporters, and, seemingly under pressure from Washington, resigned from office on June 15, 2005. He was replaced as justice minister by Henri Dorlean.

Related Topics:
June - 15 - 2005 - Henri Dorlean

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The Council of Sages, which consists of the following:

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Lamartine Clermont (Catholic Church)

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Ariel Henry (Democratic Platform opposition group)

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Anne-Marie Issa (Owner of Signal FM Radio)

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MacDonald Jean (Anglican Church)

Related Topics:
MacDonald Jean - Anglican

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Daniele Magloire ( women's group coalition)

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Christian Rousseau (University of Haiti Administrator (previously involved in opposition student protests))

Related Topics:
Christian Rousseau - University of Haiti

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Paul Emile Simon ? Fanmi Lavalas (party of Aristide government),

Related Topics:
Paul Emile Simon - Fanmi Lavalas

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has, like the present interim government, its proponents, the Haitian National Police, and MINUSTAH (which consists mostly of Brazilian, Chilean, and other multinational peacekeeping contingents), become the source of controversy both within and without Haiti, especially in Brazil (which provides a bulk majority of the peacekeeping force), the United States (which is heavily suspected of possession of foul play in many areas behind the February 2004 coup), Canada (whose Martin government had also supported the overthrow of Aristide, and whose own RCMP is training a significant contingent of the rather-notorious HNP), and, to a somewhat lesser degree, France (from whom Aristide had requested a restitution of exactly US$21,685,135,571.48, the modern-day equivalent of the 90 million gold francs {originally set at 150 million, but later reduced} which were demanded as ransom by the French government from then-President Jean-Pierre Boyer). Protest groups, websites, and news feeds have since been formed in response to the 2004 coup and following events, such as the Haiti Action Committee and the Canada Out of Haiti Campaign (a project of the Canada-Haiti Action Network). Other groups, who viewed the Aristide presidency as a democratic "coup d'etat" leading to the establishment of a dictatorship in all but name, have set up their own website, the Haiti Democracy Project being the best known.

Related Topics:
Haitian National Police - MINUSTAH - RCMP - Jean-Pierre Boyer

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The UN mission, in the meantime, has itself ran aground in its relations with both the interim government (and its proponents), the Lavalas party (and its grassroots support), and human rights activists, often being accused (by the first group) of not doing enough to curtail the seemingly omnipresent and eternal violence, rape, and extortion which has tainted Haiti's international image, (by the second group) of colluding with armed (and notorious) militants and policemen in the suppression of neighborhood violence in Port-au-Prince, and (by the third group) actively participating in violence against the Lavalas party and grassroots support, all of which have been constantly refuted by UN officials, including Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Force Commander Lieutenant-General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira of Brazil (who was replaced by fellow Brazilian and General Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar on 1 September). See the 2005 July 6 United Nations assault on Cite Soleil, Haiti.

Related Topics:
Secretary-General - Kofi Annan - Lieutenant-General - Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira - Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar - 1 - September - 2005 July 6 United Nations assault on Cite Soleil, Haiti

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A vast terror campaign waged by Aristide supporters has had a deleterious effect on life in Port-au-Prince, the capital city. Obeying to orders from their exiled leader, several gangs in Port-au-Prince waged a kidnapping and rape campaign against ordinary citizens starting on September 30, 2004. That campaign was supported by leaders like Revered Gerard Jean-Juste, who justified during an interview with Liliane Pierre-Paul of Radio Kiskeya, the use of kidnapping and torture as a legitimate revolutionary method to bring Aristide back. The appointment of Mario Andresol - a former police commander under Aristide - as Chief of Police has led to a drastic reduction in violence in the capital city, although Aristide supporters still control certain areas of Cite Soleil and Cite Militaire, where they routinely ransom and torture the citizens who have decided to remain in their homes rather than fleeing the violence.

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Furthermore, Haiti suffered badly during 2004 with floods hitting the Fonds Verettes and Mapou region in May 2004 and Hurricane Jeanne hitting the Gonaives area that September Tropical storm Jeanne http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sfl-0923haitigallery,0,7266223.photogallery. So far, the 2005 season has been more gentle. The only storm to have impacted Haiti, Hurricane Dennis, resulted in a significantly lesser loss of life (less than 200 fatalities) http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/07/06/tropical.weather/.

Related Topics:
Tropical storm Jeanne - 2005 - Hurricane Dennis

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In the midst of the ongoing controversy and violence, however, the interim government has planned legislative and executive elections for 20 November 2005 (originally set for 13 November), with a runoff set for 3 January. Local elections were originally scheduled for 9 October, but have been pushed back until 11 December.

Related Topics:
20 November - 2005 - 13 November - 3 January - 9 October - 11 December

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