[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 40 (Tuesday, April 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E593-E595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            HAITI--AN UPDATE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 8, 1997

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Western Hemisphere 
Subcommittee I directed my subcommittee staff director to travel to 
Haiti during the recent district work period to observe first hand the 
political, economic, and social situation in that country.
  As the House knows, the United States, in partnership with the 
international community, is trying to help that nation recover from 
years of dictatorial rule, domestic intimidation, murders and political 
harassment, human rights abuses, and economic chaos.
  For a little over a year now, the government of President Preval has 
been trying to make progress on many fronts from democratization to the 
restoration of law and order to economic development and open markets. 
His efforts are daunting. And while well intentioned and pointed in the 
right direction, his initiatives have not progressed very far and in 
many instances are being opposed by forces within that country who do 
not want him to succeed.
  The United States has committed to help Haiti in this reconstruction 
effort. We all knew this would not be easy and would not happen over 
night. The staff's observations bear that fact out. I am submitting a 
summary of their observations for the Record. A more detailed report 
has been submitted to the International Relations Committee and is 
available from the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee for the Members.

                       Memorandum--April 7, 1997

     To: Chairman, Western Hemisphere Subcommittee; and Ranking 
         Member, Western Hemisphere Subcommittee
     From: Vince Morelli, Subcommittee Staff Director; David 
         Adams, Subcommittee Democratic Professional Staff; and 
         Denis McDonough, Full Committee Democratic Professional 
         Staff
      Re: Report of STAFFDEL to Haiti
       During the period March 24 through March 26 we visited the 
     Republic of Haiti as part of the Committee's oversight 
     responsibilities for the Hemisphere. The purpose of the 
     STAFFDEL was to gain a first-hand account of the political 
     and socio-economic situation in country and the progress to 
     date on the reconstruction of the nation. The STAFFDEL was 
     hosted by U.S. Embassy, Port Au Prince, which is headed by 
     Ambassador William Swing.
       During our visit, which included meetings with Haitian 
     government, U.S. State, A.I.D., and Department of Justice 
     representatives, Haitian business sector and the 
     international donor community, STAFFDEL had the extraordinary 
     opportunity to spend one hour with Haitian President Rene 
     Preval to discuss the state of affairs in his country.


                          general observations

       Although our time-in-country was limited, it became obvious 
     to STAFFDEL that the challenges facing the Government of 
     Haiti (GOH) are enormous. Progress to date on some fronts 
     has, at best, been steady if slow and almost negligible on 
     others. The reconstruction of Haiti into a viable democracy 
     with strong institutions and a commitment to the rule of law 
     is progressing and can be achieved within the next few years, 
     but a vibrant, self-sustaining economy may not be achievable 
     in the short-term, even with the privatization goals under 
     discussion at this time.
       In any event, the ability of the GOH to achieve even a 
     modest amount of success in the short-term will largely be 
     dependent on continued political stability, a steady pace of 
     reform by the government and a continued commitment of 
     financial and technical assistance from the international 
     community, including the United States.
       STAFFDEL was encouraged by President Preval's continued 
     commitment to rebuild Haiti in accordance with the economic 
     plan he presented upon his inauguration despite the many 
     challenges he has had to confront, including on-going 
     political unrest, the occasional outburst of crime and 
     lawlessness, differing levels of commitment among some of his 
     own Ministers, the lack of adequately trained human resources 
     and the March 26 attempt to force a vote of no-confidence 
     against his Prime Minister, Mr. Rosny Smarth.
       STAFFDEL would also make the following specific 
     observations.


                   Democracy and civic participation

       Although not fully understood or appreciated by many 
     Haitians, the democratization of the country, while still 
     fragile, seems to be taking hold. Over the past two years, 
     Haitians have gone to the polls five times and will vote 
     again on April 6. In general, Haitians equate democracy with 
     the freedom to speak on any subject and to openly criticize 
     the government, a new found experience which many have taken 
     full advantage of. Events such as the March 26 debate in the 
     Parliament over the state of affairs in Haiti, in reaction to 
     a call for a vote of ``no confidence'' against the Prime 
     Minister, was unprecedented.
       However, many in the country blame the democratization 
     process for the rise in crime and violence and the inability 
     of the government to create jobs. And, the government does 
     not appear to be doing an adequate job educating the general 
     population as to how they can effectively participate in the 
     process. Civic education is very low and the lack of 
     political participation, overshadowed by other concerns, is 
     reflected in things such as low voter turnout and politicians 
     with little political base.
       While STAFFDEL was in Haiti, final preparations were being 
     made for the Senatorial (9 seats) and local assembly 
     elections. These elections were scheduled for April 6. 
     Representatives from the International Republican Institute 
     (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) who are 
     monitoring the elections believed that these elections would 
     be competitive only in a limited way since some parties were 
     boycotting them and because many voters were simply 
     disinterested in yet another election which they saw as 
     meaning little for their current situation. However, 
     observers were concerned

[[Page E594]]

     about the low level of interest in the elections and, 
     particularly, that these would be the first elections where 
     security would not be provided by the international 
     community. As a result there were no security arrangements in 
     place as of our visit. Interlocutors noted that while there 
     had been no outright political violence they described ``gun 
     play'' and ``burning tires'' as intimidating events and 
     feared that the lack of security would simply cause people to 
     stay home.
       Addendum: the April 6 elections were held, apparently 
     without serious incident, or voter participation. It would 
     appear that on average only about 15% of the voting 
     population went to the polls. This was disappointing but not 
     totally unexpected.


                               Government

       The government, as defined through the personality of 
     President Preval still seems to enjoy the support of the 
     majority of Haitians. The President seems sincerely committed 
     to rebuilding Haiti through tough economic reform programs, 
     including privatization, civil service reform, and law and 
     order. Other parts of the government, however, seem to 
     function at various levels of commitment and competence. 
     While some Ministers are considered supporters of former 
     President Aristide and do not entirely subscribe to the 
     current government's direction, others are doing their 
     best with little resources and a dearth of experienced 
     technical managers. This has resulted in little progress 
     in areas such as civil service downsizing and 
     infrastructure development.
       Parliament on the other hand seems to get mixed reviews 
     primarily because the concept of a deliberative legislative 
     body, sharing the decision-making power of governing, is so 
     new. The legislators we met seemed to be committed to the 
     task of rebuilding the country and enthusiastic about their 
     role, even if they seemed somewhat unsure of their actual 
     level of authority. However, divisions within the Lavalas 
     political organization, namely between the pro-Preval and 
     pro-Aristide wings which dominate the Parliament, has 
     resulted in a period of legislative paralysis especially with 
     respect to key issues such as passing a budget which is seven 
     months overdue and reconciling two different versions of 
     civil service reform. The April 6 elections could be good 
     news for former President Aristide and bad news for President 
     Preval. Senators elected under the Lavalas Family banner 
     could well control the legislature and could prevent serious 
     reforms from taking place.


                             law and order

       Violence remains a serious and recurring problem. However, 
     most of this seems perpetrated largely by rival gangs seeking 
     dominance in an area or as a result of political infighting 
     largely among the various factions of the Lavalas political 
     movement. Despite the occasional acts of violence, the 
     establishment of public security seems to be on the right 
     track. This growing sense of law and order has been due in 
     large part to the slowly emerging professionalism of the 
     Haitian National Police (HNP). Just over one year old, the 
     HNP has been getting better at its job of policing despite 
     the fact that their training is minimal and that they lack 
     adequate equipment such as armament, communications and 
     transportation. Weaknesses still exist in the area of mid-
     level management and investigative techniques. Overall, 
     however, the commitment of Secretary of State for State 
     Security, Robert Manuel and HNP Director General, Pierre 
     Denize, to build a truly professional policy force was 
     encouraging.
       Complicating the law and order process is the simple fact 
     that a professional and capable justice system simply does 
     not exist. What there is is inefficient and often corrupt. 
     Training programs for judges, lawyers, and courts are 
     underway supported by the U.S. Department of Justice. But a 
     smooth running, competent system is years away. Until then, 
     the efforts of the police to investigate crimes and put 
     criminals away will be severely undermined.
       An even bigger test of the security system could come as 
     early as July when the United Nations mandate expires. If the 
     U.N. security force, which today numbers 1,300 uniformed 
     troops, is withdrawn, the HNP could be strained to its 
     limits. In our discussions with various officials, it became 
     clear that the U.N. security presence should be retained in 
     Haiti until at least the end of July, if not longer, in order 
     to give the HNP more time to prepare.


                                Economy

       In general, the Haitian economy is in a state of shambles. 
     On the positive side, the economy is showing some progress in 
     that inflation is being brought under control, the local 
     currency, the gourde, is being stabilized and budget 
     expenditures are being tightened. On the other hand, jobs are 
     not being created and important infrastructure improvements 
     in roads, electricity and the port are at a standstill. In 
     some cases, such as in the privatization of the major 
     utilities and the seaport, political opposition by the anti-
     economic reformers and the anticipated job loss among the 
     civil service, provide the major impediment. In cases such as 
     road construction and improvement, the lack of qualified 
     government contract managers and skilled contractors, not 
     money, is the problem. With few exceptions, the Haitian 
     private sector has been reluctant to invest within the 
     country because of their uncertainty over the long-term 
     political stability of the government and its commitment to 
     reform. The international investment community is waiting to 
     see the results of the first wave of privatization as well as 
     the commitment of the Haitian private sector. The 
     international lending community is prepared to provide some 
     $1.5 billion in assistance if the Haitian government 
     continues to initiate political and economic reforms in a 
     timely manner.
       While STAFFDEL agreed that privatization was an important 
     barometer of the GOH commitment to economic reform, the 
     importance of this process and the timetable for its 
     accomplishment may be over emphasized. Privatizing closed 
     facilities such as the flour mill and cement factory, while 
     important symbolically, at best would create only a few jobs. 
     The more important facilities such as the telephone and 
     electric companies will take much longer to accomplish for a 
     whole variety of reasons including the fear of foreign 
     ownership of Haiti's important assets since the Haitian 
     private sector is not likely to be able to raise the 
     necessary capital to buy these operations. While this process 
     must be encouraged to proceed as expeditiously as possible, 
     it will not solve Haiti's economic problems and cannot be 
     done overnight as some have suggested. Even the goal of March 
     1998 for the privatization of all nine public enterprises, 
     given where they are now, seems ambitious. In the interim, 
     there are some more visible reforms which could be achieved 
     which would reaffirm the government's commitment and which 
     would bring revenues into the treasury. Most important of 
     these would be reforms at the port, and especially of the 
     customs department. Loss of revenue among imports of basic 
     staples such as rice and cooking oil are well known. 
     Smuggling of these commodities is growing, representing a 
     significant loss of revenue for the GOH. It would not take 
     must effort to address this problem through measures ranging 
     from ``shiprider'' agreements with the U.S. Coast Guard to 
     more strict enforcement of cargo reporting and accounting, to 
     a more effective, corruption-free, collection of duties.


                                Outlook

       Despite the recent spate of unrest and violence, which 
     appears to be somewhat over dramatized in the press, it was 
     STAFFDEL's assessment that Haiti was heading in the right 
     direction, if slowly. Although Ambassador Swing likes to say 
     that ``everything in Haiti is broken'', the most severe 
     problem facing President Preval, and the most difficult to 
     address is the inability of the economy to create jobs. This 
     alone is the issue which creates the climate of unrest. To do 
     this, however, the domestic private sector and the 
     international investment community have to be convinced 
     that they can turn a profitable business while operating 
     in a safe environment. The law and order issue is being 
     addressed as fast as it can by producing a professional 
     police force. However, not every crime will be solved on a 
     timely basis nor will every criminal be put in jail until 
     enough well trained policemen are put on the beat and 
     until a more responsive judicial system comes on line.
       Civil service reform legislation has been passed but not 
     yet enacted so the government's plan to downsize will 
     continue slowly. But until economic reforms take hold, as 
     symbolized by the privatization effort, large private sector 
     jobs programs will not be forthcoming. Privatization of the 
     flour mill, cement factory and airport could be accomplished 
     by the end of the summer but none of these will produce large 
     numbers of new jobs. And even though government officials 
     like to point out that the majority of the Haitian people 
     would not care who owned or operated these companies as long 
     as they had electricity and could make a phone call anytime, 
     there is enough political opposition, opposition which 
     President Preval seems unable or unwilling to overcome, to 
     make this a slow process.
       Finally, there is the ``Aristide'' factor. Although the 
     former President has not come out forcefully in opposition to 
     the current direction of the government being promoted by 
     President Preval, Aristide's former Prime Minister, there is 
     speculation that Aristide is working behind the scenes to 
     sabotage the more ambitious plans of the government. It is 
     known that Aristide is contemplating a political comeback by 
     running for President in five years when Preval's term 
     expires. So as not to lose public support as Haiti moves 
     forward toward reconstruction, many believe that Aristide is 
     encouraging the gang violence in the urban centers, 
     especially in the Cite Soleil section where a strong base of 
     his support is located. Many also believe he is orchestrating 
     the political violence among the factions of the Lavalas 
     political movement and it is well known that he is opposed to 
     privatization and has advised his followers in the 
     government, now stronger as a result of the recent elections, 
     to deliberately drag their feet on these reforms.
       The question of Aristide's influence and the kinds of force 
     he can bring to bear on the direction of the country is still 
     a matter of debate. But the fact that President Preval, 
     knowing who among his own Ministers oppose his policies, is 
     moving slowly with respect to their removal and replacement, 
     is an acknowledgment that Aristide's power is respected. 
     Similarly, certain members of the Parliament, unsure of the 
     future political landscape, display a reluctance to be more 
     aggressive toward reform.
       STAFFDEL concluded that President Preval has chartered the 
     right course for Haiti even if, at times, he seems to be 
     somewhat reluctant to make all the necessary

[[Page E595]]

     moves to traverse that course with all speed. The rebuilding 
     of Haiti into a viable democracy with a strong rule of law 
     and a vibrant economy will not be easy and certainly will 
     take time. However, if the economy does not show signs of 
     expanding, political unrest will rise. This slow pace could 
     lead to a new wave of violence designed to undermine 
     confidence in the Preval government and its policies. Any 
     major law and order problem will have negative consequences 
     for Haiti's stability and could throw Haiti back into a 
     period of paralysis, upheaval and possible anarchy.
       Lastly, we would be remiss if we failed to acknowledge the 
     hospitality, hard work and cooperation of the U.S. Embassy in 
     Port-au-Prince. Ambassador Swing and his team were confident 
     that Haiti's chances for success were good despite the 
     difficulties. Ambassador Swing's commitment and dedication 
     were manifest in his willingness to give us as much time out 
     his busy schedule as we needed. And his efforts to have us 
     meet with U.N. Special Representative, Ambassador Ter Horst, 
     Haitian Parliamentarians, and especially President Preval, 
     were more than we expected. Ambassador Swing has been in 
     Haiti longer than a normal posting but his presence, his 
     expertise, his dedication and his relationship with the 
     Haitian leadership are invaluable during these critical 
     times. We also want to acknowledge Political Counselor Sue 
     Ford Patrick for all the work she did in getting us to all of 
     our meetings and for providing valuable insights to 
     conditions in the country.
       And finally, we wish to commend Colonel Stull, Commander of 
     the U.S. Support Group, and his troops for the fine work they 
     are doing in Haiti. The dedicated men and women of our 
     Marine, Navy and Army contingents there are providing 
     important humanitarian and civic assistance projects in 
     addition to their normal security mission. Their mission in 
     Haiti is often overlooked, and sometimes even questioned, but 
     their presence is invaluable and a credit to their respective 
     services.


            key individuals staffdel met with while in haiti

       Government of Haiti: Mr. Rene Preval, President; Mr. Leslie 
     Delatour, Central Bank Governor; Mr. Robert Manuel, Secretary 
     of State for State Security; Mr. Pierre Denize, Director 
     General, Haitian National Police; and Mr. Jean August Brutus, 
     HNP Commissaire.
       Legislative branch: Mr. Macdonald Jean, Senator; Mr. Jean 
     Robert Sabalat, Senator; Mr. Alix Fils-Aime, Deputy; and Mr. 
     St. Juste Momprevil, Deputy.
       Representatives of the Council on Modernization of Public 
     Enterprises (CMEP).
       Representatives of the Haitian Private Sector.
       United Nations: Ambassador Enrique Ter Horst, Special 
     Representative to the Secretary General; and General Pierre 
     Daigle, Commander, U.N. Support Mission on Haiti.
       Representatives of the International Donor Group including 
     the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Inter-
     American Development Bank.
       Representatives of other Organizations in Haiti including: 
     Adventist Relief and Development Agency; International 
     Republican Institute; National Democratic Institute; and 
     Inter-American Foundation.
       United States Support Group: Colonel Stull, Commander.

                          ____________________