[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 132 (Tuesday, September 20, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            COMMENDING AND CONGRATU-LATING PRESIDENT CLINTON

  (Mr. FOGLIETTA asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. FOGLIETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida 
[Mrs. Meek].
  Mrs. MEEK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, why do we not ask: Why does not this Congress share that 
sense of humanity? Why do others respond selectively? Why do others 
respond selectively and differently to suffering when the persons 
suffering are black or from a Third World country?
  We are kin to the Holocaust victims, to the Arabs on the West Bank, 
to Moslems in Bosnia and Serbia, to Catholics and Protestants in 
Ireland, to the victims of terrible atrocities in Rwanda.
  Maybe it is someone's feeling that we are unfit to contribute to 
policy in this global village, but we must begin to fit and change 
policy in these global villages.
  Everyone is talking about Haiti, but this Congress is doing little to 
resolve the problems there.
  The agreement that the administration made with the leaders of the 
illegal government in Haiti is not perfect, but it clearly represents 
the brightest hope since the military coup 3 years ago to end the 
murder and atrocities and to restore democracy in Haiti.
  President Clinton has demonstrated that he is Commander in Chief in 
the fullest sense. He has moved forward with strength and conviction, 
masterfully using the Presidential tools of military force and 
diplomacy to achieve U.S. objectives in the most effective and least 
costly manner.
  The President made it clear last week that the coup leaders must give 
up power. And under this agreement they will, by October 15 at the 
latest--and the guarantee is the 15,000 American troops in Haiti.
  The President made it clear last week that President Aristide will be 
returned to power in Haiti. And on or about October 15, under this 
agreement, he will--and the guarantee is the 15,000 American troops in 
Haiti.
  I would have liked to have seen Cedras, Biamby, and Francois not only 
removed from power, but also forced to leave Haiti. The reign of terror 
over which they presided or acquiesced and the untold death and sorrow 
that they inflicted on their helpless country men and women are crimes 
against humanity and cry out for justice.
  However, the amnesty provision of the agreement--which can only be 
enacted by the Haitian Parliament--was part of the Governors Island 
Agreement, to which the United States had previously agreed. Also, 
under international law, foreign governments cannot force people to 
become stateless.
  Haitians must affix responsibility for the atrocities that have 
occurred. This agreement insures that the democratically elected 
government will make these decisions, not foreign powers and not the 
coup leaders. Again, the guarantee is the 15,000 American troops in 
Haiti.
  Some have criticized the agreement because it did not set a date for 
President Aristide's return. But clearly, this agreement creates the 
conditions for his return. President Aristide has always said he would 
return soon after the coup leaders leave power. That will happen by 
October 15.
  Finally, there is some frustration because the coup leaders are not 
forced to step down immediately.
  But the tradeoff for this delay is that, because of this agreement, 
there is much less probability that United States and Haitian lives 
will be lost. It is in the interests of the United States and Haiti to 
reduce violence as much as possible, because the loss of life in a 
hostile invasion would have created enormous barriers between the 
United States and Haiti in the future.
  The agreement will end the illegal government in Haiti and restore 
President Aristide and democratic government; ease the pain of the 
Haitian people by lifting the international embargo; and allow the 
thousands of Haitians seeking refuge at Guantanamo Bay to return to 
their homes.
  Under the best of conditions, President Aristide faces a daunting 
task of coalition building in his own country and in the Parliament, 
and the task of choosing new military leaders and completely reforming 
the national police force and the task of rebuilding a ruined economy 
in what is, even in the best of times, the poorest country in our 
hemisphere.
  This agreement does not begin to solve Haiti's problems. But it is 
nonetheless a dramatic and powerful step forward that moves us much 
closer to achieving United States interests while minimizing the risk 
to United States soldiers and the Haitian people.
  Mr. FOGLIETTA. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I do so to commend 
the gentlewoman from Florida on her remarks, because I join in her 
remarks in commending the President, congratulating President Clinton 
on the masterful job that he has done in bringing an attempted peace to 
the people of Haiti.
  I commend the gentlewoman and all the supporters of the people of 
Haiti, and I commend the President of the United States of America.

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