Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born July 15, 1953) is a Haitian politician and former Roman Catholic priest who was President of Haiti in 1991, from 1994 to 1996, and again from 2001 to 2004. Aristide's supporters laud him as "the first democratically elected leader of Haiti" and a friend of the poor. Critics claim that he became dictatorial and corrupt once in power, and was unpopular enough to be twice overthrown, first in a military coup (September 1991) and subsequently in a rebellion in which former soldiers prominently participated (February 2004). After his second ouster, he maintained from exile in South Africa that he was still the legal and legitimate president and that U.S. forces had kidnapped him.

Second presidency and rebellion

In late 1996, Aristide broke from the OPL and created a new political party, the Fanmi Lavalas. The OPL, holding the majority in the Sénat and the Chambre des Députés, renamed itself the Organisation du Peuple en Lutte, maintaining the OPL acronym. Elections in April 1997 for the Senate drew only about 5 percent of registered voters and were plagued with allegations of fraud, the Préval government refused to accept the results.

Related Topics:
1996 - Fanmi Lavalas - Sénat - Chambre des Députés

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New elections in May 2000 occurred for almost the entire Assemblée Nationale. Opposition-owned radio stations reported turnout of around 10%, but election officials and international observers reported around 60% turnout. The FL won a sweeping victory, but the methods used by the Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP) in counting the votes were rejected by opposition parties, which united as the Convergence Democratique (CD) and demanded that the elections be ignored.

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Aristide won the presidential election in November 2000 with 91.8% of the vote. Most of the opposition parties boycotted this election, claiming that they had no fair chance. After the election, the Organization of American States issued a report that the election was unfair and that the methodology for counting votes was flawed. Aristide supporters have claimed that the OAS report was engineered by the U.S. solely based on hostility to the president's policies. They also have questioned why the organization waited until after the election results to challenge the methodology, saying it was aware of the vote-counting process beforehand. The International Organization of Independent Observers, a private volunteer organization, reported that the election went over smoothly and they witnessed no irregularities. http://www.quixote.org/haiti/elections/Election_Press_Release_22may2000.html However, the majority of Western governments claimed the election was blatantly rigged. In response, the Clinton administration worked with the European Union to block a $500 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to Haiti, fearing that Aristide's government was corrupt and the money would go to waste.

Related Topics:
2000 - Organization of American States - Clinton administration - European Union - Inter-American Development Bank

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On February 7, 2001, Aristide was sworn in for his second term as President of Haiti. That same day, the CD swore in Gerard Gourgue as head of a new provisional government. Aristide agreed to reform the CEP, but he did not include any supporters of the opposition in the new body. Jean-Marie Cherestal was made the new Prime Minister in March 2001. The CD rejected both changes and in response the Government tried to have Gourgue arrested. The economy suffered as political control stalled. Aristide made moves to placate the opposition — in June 2001 certain senators holding contested seats resigned — but talks between the FL and the CD repeatedly failed. There was an attempted coup in mid-December 2001 and Cherestal resigned in January 2002, as the economy continued to slump.

Related Topics:
February 7 - 2001 - Gerard Gourgue - Jean-Marie Cherestal - 2002

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Due to the objections of the opposition, elections were not held as scheduled in late 2003, and consequently the terms of most legislators expired in January, forcing Aristide to rule by decree. He promised to organize elections within six months, but the opposition refused to accept anything less than Aristide's resignation.

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In 2004 attacks and threats continued against journalists who criticised President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The climate of terror was sustained by the continuing impunity in the cases of two murdered journalists. Aristide extended his control over television but radio continued to be the most popular news media.

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The situation deteriorated steadily throughout the year, becoming more and more anarchic. President Jean-Bertrand Aristide clung to power by relying on gang-members known as "chimères," organised into militia known as "popular organisations" with the task for sustaining a climate of terror in the ranks of the opposition and the press. His regime was further discredited by the appearance of "Special Brigades, " a parallel police force which, like the "Tontons Macoutes" under the Duvaliers (1957-86) and the "Attachés" under Gen. Cédras (1991-94), did the regime?s dirty work (torture and executions) and extorted money from the population.

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Like the dictators he had fought in the past, Aristide, the former shantytown priest, cracked down in response to protest. Several dozen people were killed or wounded by chimères during demonstrations calling for his departure that steadily increased in size. The press was also the victim of violence. Reporters Without Borders registered some 30 cases of attacks or threats against journalists in 2003, and this was not exhaustive.

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Aristide's opponents continued to accuse him of being corrupt and of using violence to attack political opponents. He maintained close ties not only to the Haitian police force, but also to street gangs such as the "Cannibal Army." http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HAITI?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME. His government built parks and facilities for the gangs in exchange for cooperation with his government. After the assassination of the leader of the Cannibal Army, Amiot Metayer, who had begun committing excessive acts of violence, that gang turned solidly against Aristide and joined the opposition.

Related Topics:
Cannibal Army - Amiot Metayer

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In January 2004, political violence between Aristide supporters and supporters of the opposition escalated sharply, and on February 5, 2004, a rebel group calling itself the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front seized control of Haiti's fourth-largest city, Gonaïves, marking the beginning of a major revolt against Aristide. By February 22, the rebels had captured Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Haïtien, and effectively split Haiti between a rebel-held north and a government-held south. The rebellion, led by former Cap-Haïtien police chief Guy Philippe, has been referred to as a "military coup" by Aristide's lawyer, who claimed that the heavy weaponry used by the rebels were shipped in from the Dominican Republic http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/25/1613200.

Related Topics:
January 2004 - February 5 - 2004 - Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front - Gonaïves - Major revolt - February 22 - Cap-Haïtien - Guy Philippe - Dominican Republic

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As the end of February approached, rebels continued to advance to within miles of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Related Topics:
February - Port-au-Prince

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