[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 134 (Thursday, September 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
WALTER FAUNTROY, FORMER CHAIR OF THE CONGRESSIONAL TASK FORCE ON HAITI, 
 PRAISES PRESIDENT CLINTON FOR HIS LEADERSHIP ON HAITI, URGES SUPPORT 
        FOR THE AGREEMENT FASHIONED BY CARTER, POWELL, AND NUNN

                                 ______


                        HON. ANDREW JACOBS, JR.

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 1994

  Mr. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, Walter Fauntroy is one of the finest people 
who ever served in this House. Here is an example of why.
  The Honorable Walter E. Fauntroy, chairman of a bipartisan task force 
on Haiti for 15 of the 20 years that he served in the United States 
House of Representatives, today praised President Clinton for the 
leadership which he gave in the ``eleventh hour'' to save thousands of 
lives, and to make democracy and a lasting peace in Haiti possible. Mr. 
Fauntroy released the contents of a letter he has written to President 
Clinton both commending him and outlining his views as to ``where we go 
from here.''
  In a statement released today, the former member of the Congressional 
Black Caucus and present chairman of the board of directors of the 
Southern Christian Leadership Conference said:

       The Carter Team, in my judgement, has established the 
     framework for not only restoring President Jean-Bertrand 
     Aristide and democratic government to Haiti but also 
     providing the necessary economic recovery assistance that 
     Haiti will need from the international community to place it 
     on the path to ecomonic stability. What is required of us 
     with soon to be 15,000 troops on the ground there, and what 
     is required of Haitians who are serious about bringing about 
     an enduring democracy with justice for all, is one thing: 
     discipline. U.S. leadership must be disciplined to do two 
     things: (1) Support and protect those Haitians who are 
     committed to abiding by the Haitian Constitution while 
     punishing those who by their actions demonstrate that they 
     are not; and (2) Implement an ``intelligence gathering'' 
     operation by which to determine and arrest those who, by 
     their actions, indicate that they are not committed to 
     democracy as defined in the Haitian Constitution.
       Haitian nationals who say they support constitutional 
     democracy must be disciplined to do as President Aristide has 
     suggested: seek reconciliation, not revenge within the frame 
     work of that Constitution. A lot of people on all sides of 
     the dispute in Haiti say they are for constitutional 
     democracy in Haiti; the Carter, Powell, Nunn Agreement 
     gives them an opportunity to do it!


                   positive features of the agreement

       The agreement has the following positive features:
       (1) Lt. General Cedras, Brigadier General Biamby, and Lt. 
     Colonel Francois will leave power on October 15, 1994.
       (2) President Aristide will exercise his constitutional 
     authority to appoint their successors who will have the power 
     to implement the long-desired separation of the functions of 
     the military and the Police, reforming both institutions and 
     retraining those who are willing to submit to the new 
     disciplines.
       (3) With 15,000 troops on the ground and adequate 
     intelligence capacity, the U.S. will have the raw, naked 
     power to identify, arrest and remove any police officer, any 
     army officer or enlisted man who violates the 
     constitutionally mandated directives of the commanders 
     appointed by President Aristide. And that includes Lt. 
     General Cedras, Brigadier General Biamby, Lt. Colonel 
     Francois, and any other private citizen found to be acting to 
     undermine the constitutional authority of the Aristide 
     Government. It also includes any supporters of President 
     Aristide who violate the constitutional rights of others in 
     defiance of his exhortation to reconciliation, not revenge.
       (4) Millions of Haiti's poor will get speedy humanitarian 
     food and medical relief from the suffering inflicted by the 
     embargo, and we will thus buy the time necessary to place the 
     country firmly back on the road to democracy and the economic 
     stability without which no democracy can survive.
       (5) International donor nations and the world's 
     multinational development institutions will have the 
     opportunity to put up or shut up in terms of their commitment 
     to create in Haiti the stable development, trade, and 
     investment environment without which democracy simply cannot 
     flourish. Both I and others have suggested to President 
     Clinton and the international community the level of economic 
     assistance to Haiti that is required in the short term to 
     allow the agreement fashioned by President Carter, General 
     Powell, and Senator Nunn a chance to succeed.
       (6) The major benefit to American families is that we got 
     15,000 of our troops on the ground and in position to support 
     the restoration of democracy without the loss of a single 
     life. If that is to continue, the two disciplines that I have 
     identified for both our leadership and that of President 
     Aristide must be exercised.
       It should be noted that a test of the commitment to 
     constitutional government in Haiti for all sides, will be 
     their willingness to abide by Article 41 of the Haitian 
     Constitution, crafted in 1987 by true Haitian patriots upon 
     the departure of Jean Claude Duvalier. For very practical and 
     historical reasons, Article 41 dealing with the Right to 
     Security states in clear and unequivocal terms:
       ``No person of Haitian nationality may be deported or 
     forced to leave the national territory for any reason. No one 
     may be deprived for political reasons of his legal capacity 
     and his nationality.''
       In other words, those with contrary views will not be told 
     ``love what we do to you or leave.'' Minority views will be 
     tolerated so long as those who hold them act in a 
     constitutional manner. With that formula, not only were 
     President Carter, General Powell, and Senator Nunn right in 
     allowing the three commanders the option of remaining in 
     Haiti, but we also have the context now for testing and 
     judging everyone's commitment to constitutional government--
     including both these commanders and pro-Aristide supporters.
       finally, we in the United States must lead by example. We 
     must have the leadership, discipline, and guts to stand by 
     the accord negotiated by President Carter, General Powell, 
     and Senator Nunn and endorsed to the American people by 
     President Clinton. The accord called for lifting without 
     delay the economic embargo that has devastated Haiti, 
     especially the poor. I am concerned by statements by key 
     administration officials that would revise, and therefore, 
     violate the accord reached by President Clinton's negotiating 
     team.

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