[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1874-S1877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PRESIDENT ARISTIDE'S PROGRESS IN HAITI

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, on October 15, 1994, I was privileged to 
join Secretary of State Warren Christopher and other United States 
officials and congressional leaders in accompanying President Aristide 
on his return to Haiti after more than 3 years in forced exile. Before 
departing for Port-au-Prince, President Aristide pledged that upon his 
return, his government would work for peace and reconciliation among 
all sectors of Haitian society.
  I believe that President Clinton has done a remarkable job in 
fashioning a policy that has led to the restoration of the duly elected 
President of Haiti. Special commendation must go to the men and women 
in the United States Armed Forces who have been deployed in Haiti to 
ensure a stable and peaceful climate within which the newly restored 
civilian government may begin the difficult task of rebuilding Haiti. 
Without the presence of these committed men and women, the dreams and 
aspirations of the Haitian people to live in a democracy would stand no 
hope of fulfillment.
  More than 100 days have now passed since that historic day last 
October. President Aristide has kept his commitment to work for peace 
and reconciliation among all Haitians. I believe that he has made 
significant progress in the areas of governance, security, economic 
reconstruction, and meeting the basic needs of the Haitian people. 
Obviously much remains to be done.
  The Embassy of Haiti has prepared a detailed report on the measures 
taken by the Haitian Government during the first 100 days of the 
restoration of democracy. I ask unanimous consent that report be 
printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
  There being no objection, the report was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

 Haiti Since the Restoration of Democracy: One Hundred Days of Progress

       ``The Government and people of Haiti take pride in the 
     achievements of the last one 
     [[Page S1875]]  hundred days. However, our struggle is far 
     from over and so we continue to strive within every 
     geographic area, and within every ministry, to make secure 
     the foundations of a lasting, stable democracy.
       ``We are grateful for the U.S.-led multinational effort in 
     support of Haitian democracy, and not only welcome the 
     opportunities for cooperation and partnership with the 
     world's democracies that the past four months have made 
     possible, but are committed to expand and build upon 
     them.''--President Jean Bertrand Aristide


                              introduction

       President Jean Bertrand Aristide's return to Haiti on 
     October 15, 1994 was the culmination of an historic 
     international effort to end a brutal military dictatorship 
     that had:
       (i) ousted Haiti's first democratically elected President 
     three years earlier;
       (ii) executed summarily 5,000 civilians;
       (iii) dislocated 350,000 Haitians, forcing them into hiding 
     within their own country;
       (iv) caused some 48,000 Haitians to take to the high seas 
     in an attempt to escape the imprisonment, torture, rapes, and 
     murder that Haiti's coup regime was meting out to members of 
     Haiti's pro-democracy community;
       (v) created a massive Haitian refugee crisis for the United 
     States and other countries of the region;
       (vi) accelerated the economic and environmental degradation 
     of Haiti, reversing the progress achieved during Haiti's 
     first democratic administration in 1991;
       (vii) increased drug-related criminal activity within the 
     United States by permitting Haiti to be used as a drug 
     transshipment point for illegal narcotics destined to the 
     United States from South America; and
       (viii) threatened to undermine, by way of example, the 
     viability of other fledgling democracies throughout the 
     hemisphere;
       In the first 100 days since President Aristide has been 
     reinstated as his country's democratically elected President, 
     the Government and people of Haiti have moved with single-
     minded determination to assure Haiti a firm foothold in the 
     world community of democratic, free-market nations.
       Perhaps most impressive, as noted by U.S. officials, 
     leading members of Haiti's business community, and the 
     international press, has been President Aristide's ability to 
     bridge Haiti's profound social tensions by reaching out to 
     all Haitians, in a spirit of reconciliation and non-violence, 
     to create a new Haiti.
       President Aristide has demonstrated himself to be a 
     skilled, committed democrat, working with respect for 
     constitutional limits and mandates of Haiti's Presidency and 
     other governmental institutions, and has built a coalition 
     government that promotes and encourages open dialogue with 
     all sectors of Haitian society.
       Listed below are some of the achievements of the 100-day 
     old ``second'' Aristide administration. To place the efforts 
     and successes of Haiti's constitutional government in proper 
     context, however, it is important to note that upon their 
     return, President Aristide and other members of Haiti's 
     democratically elected government were not only faced with a 
     country whose social and economic development had been 
     thoroughly undermined by the coup regime, but with government 
     ministries and a National Palace that had been pillaged and 
     gutted of equipment, furniture, wiring and supplies (down to 
     paper and pencils) by the departing de facto ``government'', 
     in order to thrust the returning government into a totally 
     inhospitable, unmanageable administrative environment.


                 impact of the restoration of democracy

                                Refugees

       Haitian refugees have stopped fleeing Haiti due to the 
     constitutional government's respect for human rights;
       As a result, ``the Haitian refugee crisis'' no longer 
     preoccupies the American public, the American media, and U.S. 
     policy-makers;
       Some 16,000 Haitian refugees being held at the U.S. Naval 
     Base at Guantanamo, Cuba, who:
       (i) had refused to return to Haiti while it was under 
     military dictatorship, and
       (ii) were seeking refugee status within the United States 
     or other regional countries,
       have returned to Haiti voluntarily;
       As was the case after Haiti's first democratic elections in 
     1990, Haitian teachers, health/legal/other professionals who 
     had long been legal residents in Canada, the United States, 
     France and elsewhere, have begun returning to Haiti to make 
     their contributions to the rebuilding of their country;

                    Democratic reform and governance

       The UN/OAS Human Rights Observer Mission, expelled by the 
     military dictatorship in 1994, has returned to Haiti;
       The Government of Haiti is working with the United Nations, 
     the Organization of American States, and bilateral donors to 
     develop mechanisms and systems to facilitate broad-based 
     awareness of the importance
      of adhering to internationally accepted human rights 
     standards in the building of a new Haiti;
       Repeated, impassioned, and sustained calls for 
     reconciliation by President Aristide have been accepted by 
     his followers. Haitians, upon identifying those who 
     brutalized them during military dictatorship, turn these 
     individuals over to members of the Multinational Force--and 
     in some cases, even to the foreign press--rather than taking 
     ``justice'' into their own hands;
       The strength and lasting power of his message was most 
     recently demonstrated on January 12, when Haitian civilians 
     in Gonaives chased, apprehended, and then turned over to the 
     multinational force a former Haitian military officer 
     attempting to escape after an attack on U.S. servicemen that 
     left one U.S. soldier dead and another wounded;
       The Haitian Government's emphasis on consultation, 
     inclusion and reconciliation has been demonstrated 
     repeatedly, as in:
       (a) President Aristide's exhaustive and cordial 
     consultations with at least 16 political parties--almost 
     immediately upon his return--to establish dialogue on issues 
     of concern and to stress the importance to the nation of 
     parliamentary elections taking place at the earliest possible 
     opportunity, and
       (b) the extensive discussions he entered into across 
     Haiti's leadership spectrum prior to selecting Smarck Michel, 
     a prominent 51-year old Haitian businessman, as Prime 
     Minister;
       Prime Minister Smarck Michel's unanimous confirmation by 
     Haiti's multiparty parliament, and the subsequent 
     installation of Mr. Michel's ministerial cabinet on November 
     6, 1994 formalized the establishment of the official, legal 
     framework within which democratic, constitutional governance 
     in Haiti can go forward. (See Attachment A for a complete 
     list of all Government Ministers);
       Immediately upon his return, President Aristide began 
     stressing to the Haitian people and Parliament the importance 
     of the upcoming parliamentary elections. In order to expedite 
     this, a Provisional Electoral Council (representing the three 
     branches of government) has been established, an electoral 
     law has been submitted to Parliament, and a mid-April 
     election date targeted.
       Within a month of his return, President Aristide invited 
     400 Haitian business leaders to the National Palace, among 
     them individuals who had opposed his return and supported the 
     coup. He included several of these in his official delegation 
     to the Summit of the Americas and named them to the 
     Presidential Commission on Business Modernization and 
     Economic Growth.
       At the end of 1994, Time assessed President Aristide's 
     reconciliation efforts thus: ``(Aristide) is a man whom 
     experience has imbued with wisdom, a new found respect for 
     dialogue and a deft skill for the politics of pragmatism.''

                        Economic revitalization

       In keeping with his commitment to modernize the Haitian 
     business sector, promote economic development, and reinforce 
     the government's interest in expanding economic and business 
     links with the rest of the region, in general, and the United 
     States, in particular, President Aristide, in December 1994, 
     established a high-level Commission on Economic Growth and 
     Modernization, headed by prominent Haitian businessman and 
     President of the Haitian Industrial Association, Jean Edouard 
     Baker.
       The Commission, comprised of 25 Haitians representing a 
     broad cross-section of Haiti's business leadership as well as 
     those Cabinet ministers responsible for economic 
     reconstruction, was represented by a 6-person delegation to 
     Washington in mid-January for talks with the Administration 
     and the Congress. These talks focussed on the policies and 
     programs implemented by the Government of Haiti to stabilize 
     the economy and facilitate the workings of a free-market 
     system.
       This delegation also stressed to U.S. policy-makers that 
     there is now a historic opportunity for Haiti to be 
     permanently transformed--provided the international community 
     maintains its security and human rights observer presence, 
     and keeps its commitment to provide technical and financial 
     support;
       In response to the free-market policies of the government, 
     some 35 plants in the assembly export sector which ceased 
     production during the political and economic crisis of the 
     past three years have reopened;
       The macro-economic plan presented by the Aristide 
     government to the international community prior to the 1991 
     coup won multilateral economic pledges in excess of $500 
     million. However, the three year military dictatorship caused 
     multilateral donors to withhold this much-needed injection of 
     capital from the Haitian economy. The re-submission of its 
     macroeconomic plan by the ``second'' Aristide administration 
     has again won the support of multilateral community, and 
     Haiti expects pledges in excess of $1 billion over the next 5 
     years;
       The resumption of multilateral economic support to Haiti 
     was contingent upon the country's arrears, (resulting from 
     the coup regime's refusal to make payments on Haiti's 
     international debt), being cleared. Thanks to the joint 
     efforts of the international community and the Government of 
     Haiti, these arrears were cleared in December 1994, thereby 
     removing one of the impediments to the timely flow of the 
     support pledged by the international community;
       There are well-established channels of communication and a 
     strong spirit of cooperation between the Government of Haiti 
     and the Haitian business community, born of the realization 
     on both sides that (i) business, (ii) labor, and (iii) 
     democratic, stable government are all crucial, indispensable, 
     and interdependent components of any modern state;
       [[Page S1876]] President Aristide has announced a package 
     of special incentives to attract foreign investment to Haiti. 
     These include a reduction in telephone, electricity and 
     customs fees; a dramatic reduction in tariffs on most 
     imported items, except sensitive agricultural commodities; 
     and tax incentives for businesses that return to Haiti by 
     July 1, 1995;
       At the end of January, Haiti will formally announce to the 
     international financial community its plan for economic 
     development and its projected assistance needs. The plan 
     embraces solid fiscal discipline, open investment and trade 
     policies including a reduction in tariffs, elimination of 
     non-tariff barriers, the modernization of commercial and 
     investment codes, and the streamlining of import/export 
     procedures;
       The Aristide government is also implementing economic 
     policies geared at sustaining economic growth, reducing the 
     public sector deficit, streamlining and professionalizing the 
     civil service, and eliminating currency exchange and interest 
     rate controls;
       In order to maximize competition and facilitate the 
     efficient functioning of the Haitian economy, the Government 
     of Haiti has retained the services of the International 
     Financial Corporation to review the condition of state-owned 
     enterprises, and is in the final stages of establishing a 
     tripartite commission on labor-management
      relations. This commission will facilitate greater 
     communication and cooperation between labor, management 
     and government to the overall benefit of the Haitian 
     economy and the Haitian people;
       In December 1994, the Governments of the United States and 
     Haiti signed an agreement aimed at revitalizing the Haitian 
     economy via improvements in telecommunications, energy and 
     transportation;
       The Haitian Ministry of Finance and the U.S. Department of 
     Commerce agree to establish a joint Business Development 
     Council;
       Haiti's ports have re-opened.

                 Military, police, and judicial reform

       A law was submitted by the Aristide administration to 
     Haiti's parliament to create a civilian-controlled police 
     force separate from the military, as mandated by Haiti's 
     constitution. Haiti's police and military had long been 
     indistinguishable from each other and the source of much 
     repression in Haiti. The law was debated and ratified by the 
     Parliament, and the creation of the new police force under 
     the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice is now underway;
       One thousand former refuges at the U.S. Naval Base at 
     Guantanamo have been recruited as members of the interim 
     police force, as have 3,000 former members of the Haitian 
     military who were screened for human rights abuses;
       The Haitian army, originally estimated at 7,000, has been 
     demobilized and will be reconstituted at a level of 1,500, 
     with the salaries of the demobilized soldiers going to the 
     Ministries of Health, Public Works and Agriculture. In 
     addition, these soldiers are being encouraged by the 
     government to apply for positions within these ministries, in 
     order to begin new, constructive careers. A commission, 
     headed by Minister of Defense Wilthan Lherisson, has been 
     charged with establishing--in conjunction with U.S. 
     advisers--a plan for the army's reorganization. (The 
     downsizing of the Haitian army to 1,500 was an important 
     component of the Haitian government's marcro-economic plan 
     which won the support of multilateral donors in Paris last 
     August).
       The new Police Academy is scheduled to open within the next 
     few weeks and trainees, recruited from Haiti's nine 
     (regional) departments, will be selected from a pool of 
     25,000 applicants. A commission under the authority of the 
     Ministry of Justice has been created to develop the 
     organizational structure and regulations for the new National 
     Police Force.
       Haiti's notorious ``section chiefs'', long identified by 
     human rights observers and the people of Haiti as key 
     instruments of rural repression in Haiti, were aggressively 
     supported by the military dictatorship. They have now been 
     outlawed and the constitutional government is, instead, 
     establishing in the rural areas local, legitimate justices of 
     the peace.

                   Demilitarization of Port-au-Prince

       Haiti's Army Headquarters, traditionally situated next to 
     the Presidential palace, is now the site of Haiti's Ministry 
     of Women's Affairs.
       The Port-au-Prince police station is now controlled by the 
     interim police force, under the jurisdiction of the ministry 
     of justice.

    Accounting for human rights abuses during military dictatorship

       An independent Truth Commission has been established
        by Presidential decree in an attempt to acknowledge, 
     investigate, and provide a full accounting of the 
     brutality that characterized Haiti's 1991-1994 military 
     dictatorship. This is part of an effort to put an end to 
     Haiti's history of impunity and allow for the 
     establishment of the rule of law in the pursuit of 
     political, economic, and social stability;
       The Government of Haiti has retained the services of 
     Haitian lawyers to pursue claims arising from the most 
     notorious cases of human rights abuses during the coup 
     period.

                              Public works

       The Government of Haiti, in conjunction with international 
     donors, has created 5 thousand road repair jobs, thereby 
     upgrading areas of Haiti's physical infrastructure that were 
     seriously neglected during the three-year military 
     dictatorship;
       Haiti's main airport in Port-au-Prince is being renovated 
     to accommodate the increased traffic that (i) has resulted 
     from the restoration of democracy, and (ii) is expected from 
     Haiti's pursuit of expanded economic and other links with the 
     region in general and the United States in particular;

                         Social infrastructure

       Education, neglected by the coup regime, is once again 
     being stressed by the constitutional government as a crucial 
     component of Haiti's political, economic, and social 
     stability. With the restoration of democracy came the re-
     opening of schools, the establishment of a State Secretariat 
     for Literacy, and the distribution of $3 million in school 
     supplies;
       The government, with the assistance of international 
     agencies, initiated in November 1994 a massive vaccination 
     campaign. To date some 520,000 children have been vaccinated 
     and the government plans to have 3 million children similarly 
     protected by summer 1995;
       President Aristide has pledged to open at least one new 
     school and one new clinic in each of Haiti's 500 districts by 
     the end of his term in February 1996;
       A Ministry for the Environment has been created to address 
     the serious ecological challenges facing the people of Haiti.


                          remaining challenges

       The return of constitutional government to Haiti on October 
     15, 1994 celebrated a commonality of purpose among the 
     world's democracies. It also raised serious questions 
     regarding the climate of impunity which aspiring despots in 
     the region had begun to assume they could take for granted. 
     For this the people of Haiti are most grateful. However, in 
     the midst of its efforts to secure the achievements 
     summarized in this paper, Haiti's newly reinstated 
     constitutional government has had to face a number of 
     challenges.
       No sooner had constitutional government been restored to 
     Haiti than Hurricane Gordon hit, causing over 1,000 deaths 
     and extensive damage to infrastructure. Indeed, the United 
     Nations Development Program reports that 1.5 million Haitians 
     were hurt and/or lost property. Thanks to the presence of the 
     Multinational Force in general and U.S. troops in particular, 
     however, the Government and people had a ready source of 
     logistical and material support which helped alleviate the 
     impact of the crisis.
       Less benign in its origins but just as deadly in its 
     impact, however, was the placement--one month after the 
     return of constitutional government--of an explosive device 
     at a power generator upon which most of Port-au-Prince 
     depends for
      electricity. This development has sorely taxed the Haitian 
     government as it attempts to stabilize the country, 
     encourage domestic investment, and attract foreign 
     investment. However, the determination of the government 
     and the people of Haiti to build a stable and secure 
     nation, acts such as this notwithstanding, remains 
     unshakable.
       Regarding the partnership between the government of Haiti 
     and the international community, it is clear that the 
     presence of the Multinational Force has been a dramatic 
     demonstration of the commitment of the world community to 
     democracy in Haiti, and this has enabled the Government of 
     Haiti to move forward with many of the policies and programs 
     outlined in this report. It is the hope of the Government of 
     Haiti, however, that the international community will soon be 
     able to make available the economic support so generously 
     pledged prior to the return of constitutional government in 
     October 1994, since it has long been stressed by both the 
     donor community and the constitutional Government of Haiti 
     that this support is an indispensable counterpart to the 
     essential and fully appreciated multilateral military 
     presence now in Haiti.
       To the extent that the bottlenecks and administrative 
     delays that have slowed the actual provision of economic 
     support (as opposed to pledges) can be corrected, then 
     Haiti's entry into the world community of stable democratic 
     nations would be greatly expedited and the positive impact of 
     the multilateral military presence would be permanently 
     secured.
       Haitians from all classes will attest to the unifying 
     influence of President Aristide, who has encouraged patience 
     and perseverance in the face of the significant difference 
     between the economic support that was long ago promised, (as 
     a complement to the multinational troop presence), and what 
     has, to date, been forthcoming.
       Nonetheless, the Government continues to pursue as top 
     priorities:
       The holding of free and fair parliamentary elections at the 
     earliest possible date;
       The strengthening of the institutions of democracy and the 
     promotion of respect for the rule of law;
       Expanding links between U.S. and Haitian businesses, 
     building upon:
       (i) Haiti's geographic proximity to the United States,
       (ii) The long history of U.S./Haiti business relations,
       (iii) The heightened degree of cooperation and 
     collaboration between the peoples of both nations afforded by 
     the U.S.-led effort to restore democracy,
       (iv) The energy that has long characterized Haiti's private 
     sector leadership and the dependability of Haiti's labor 
     force, and
       [[Page S1877]] In keeping with President Aristide's 
     emphasis on the importance of national reconciliation to 
     Haiti's future, the Government of Haiti remains committed to 
     disarmament.
       Jean Edouard Baker, President of the Industrial Association 
     of Haiti, during a recent visit to Washington stressed to 
     U.S. policy makers that there is now a historic opportunity 
     for Haiti to be permanently transformed--``provided the 
     international community maintains its security and human 
     rights observer presence as originally negotiated, and keeps 
     its commitment to provide financial and technical support 
     during this crucial transition period.''
       The Government of Haiti shares this assessment and will 
     continue to work with its friends in the international 
     community to ensure that this historic moment yields its full 
     potential.
                              Attachment A


                cabinet of Prime Minister Smarck Michel

       Foreign Affairs & Culture: Mrs. Claudette Werleigh.
       Defense: Gen. Wilthan Lherisson.
       Interior: Mr. Rene Prosper.
       Finances & Economic Affairs: Mrs. Marie-Michele Rey.
       Justice: Jean Joseph Exume, Esq.
       Commerce & Industry: Mr. Maurice LaFortune.
       Planning & External Cooperation: Mr. Jean-Marie Cherestal.
       Health & Population: Mr. Jean Moliere.
       Agriculture, Natural Resources & Rural Development: Mr. 
     Francois Severin.
       Public Administration & Government Personnel: Mr. Anthony 
     Barbier.
       Public Works, Transportation, & Communications: Mr. Georges 
     Anglade.
       Information: Mr. Henri Claude Menard.
       Culture: Mr. Jean-Claude Bajeux.
       National Education: Mr. Emmanuel Buteau.
       Social Affairs: Mr. Enold Joseph.
       Women Affairs & Women's Rights: Mrs. Lise-Marie Dejean.
       Expatriated Haitian Nationals: Mr. Fritz Casseus.
       Environment: Mr. Anthony Verdier.
       

                          ____________________