[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 23, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H8099-H8100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND

  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to United States foreign policy, 
the deteriorating situation in Haiti is one of those news items that 
has been crowded off the front pages by bigger problems elsewhere, 
problems like the breakdown of the peace process in Ireland, the 
mending of fences with Mr. Netanyahu, and the Mujahidin's new foothold 
in the Balkans. But even so, just because it suits the White House for 
Haiti to be out of sight, it does not mean that it is out of mind for 
those of us who are interested in accounting for $3 billion in United 
States taxpayers' dollars the White House has spent there and those of 
us who are concerned about the safety of Americans and American 
interests in Haiti.
  Because of the very special relationship between my south Florida 
district and Haiti, my office follows the reports and stays in touch 
with our contacts on the ground in Haiti. How are things going? The 
short answer is that there is slippage, steep slippage; a strong sense, 
based on events, that things in Haiti have degenerated again very 
rapidly. We are finding a seemingly endless litany that suggests a 
serious breakdown in law and order. We find institutional inadequacy, 
particularly in the judicial area, and serious retreat from any 
economic progress at all. We find no relief from the grinding poverty 
that is everywhere in Haiti.

  Taken together this seems to prove what informed observers have said 
all along; that is, that throwing $3 billion and 20,000 American troops 
haphazardly at Haiti is not the way to bridge the deep divisions of 
Haitian society or to promote lasting gains on the slow path to 
democracy there. Divisions are deepening. Destabilization campaigns 
appear to be coming from all sectors across the social spectrum. The 
time for settling old scores and even new ones appears to have arrived 
and get even acts of violence and intimidation are the daily menu. The 
victims include former members of the military, the police, and 
innocent civilians. In fact, it is sad but true that the Haitian 
national police have participated in more than their share of 
altercations. Recall that this was supposed to be a hope of future law 
and order, that new Haitian national police, but the most damning 
assessments of police behavior have been coming from the Washington 
office on Latin America and the OAS mission in Haiti. The latest OAS 
report notes summary executions and allegations of ill treatment 
including beatings and routine use of electric shock treatment on 
prisoners in a Port-au-Prince police station. No place to get a parking 
ticket.
  While these incidents are protested, the OAS also reports that the 
Inspector General has failed to take action against the police, giving 
some sectors of the Haitian population the view that the police agents 
enjoy the same impunity as the members of the old armed forces and 
former regime enjoyed. This wins the police no friends, and in some 
areas the police have literally been run out of town by local 
populations. In fact, there have been some 10 assassinations of 
investigators of the police, most of them off duty.
  There are some other tough issues that we are not hearing much about 
but that clearly deserve some attention. One should ask the White House 
how the American citizens in Haiti who have borne the brunt of some of 
the violent acts are faring. Murders and kidnaping have apparently gone 
unanswered or uninvestigated.
  Taken together, all of this adds up to instability, growing 
instability. It might also go a long way toward explaining why the 
Clinton administration went through such machinations to badger our 
allies to extend the U.N. mission through the month of November, the 
same month as the election month in our country.
  Dismal as it is, law and order is only part of the stability 
equation. The other part of this equation is prosperity. We are long 
overdue for an update from the White House on the privatization process 
of Haiti. We understand from the media that the Parliament is having 
difficulty gaining a quorum to hold a vote on reform measures. Why? 
There are good reasons. Lack of will is one, but fear is another, 
brought on by threats from some of the left-leaning segments of the 
Haitian society and the drumbeat of opposition raised by former 
President Aristide.

[[Page H8100]]

  Remember former President Aristide? We spent a lot of money and time 
getting him back there. Now he is opposing the economic development of 
his country. Any way you look at it, all of this suggests that somebody 
in the White House owes the American people and this Congress an 
explanation. After all this money, time, and effort, what have we 
gotten? What is going on in Haiti and why? Will American taxpayers, and 
incidentally American voters, agree that this was $3 billion well 
spent? Or is this whole episode another success story that was more 
successful for its spin than its substance in the White House? We shall 
see.

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