[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 46 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1845
                      IT IS CALLED ACCOUNTABILITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, in the early morning of April 9, a large group 
of United States-trained Haitian National Police forcefully entered and 
illegally searched the family home of a longtime employee of the 
International Republican Institute, which is an adjunct of the National 
Endowment for Democracy, which is of great interest to this 
institution.
  The contents of the home, which were owned by the employee's aunt, 
who happens to be an American citizen, were destroyed and photographs 
of the employee and his family were confiscated. We have received 
confirmation from the United States Embassy officials that the Haitian 
National Police have taken responsibility for the action, and they have 
claimed that they were thinking that there was a gang operating out of 
the home. It is worth noting that they failed, regardless of the merit 
or lack in the claim about the gang. It is worth noting that they never 
gained proper authorization to take such an action or stage such a 
raid.
  More troubling still is that this raid comes after an already-
harrowing series of specific threats against this employee's family in 
the lead-up to the latest round of elections some 10 days ago, threats 
that many believe can be directly linked to the employee's work for the 
IRI. And those of us who have followed Haiti very closely will recall 
that this pattern mirrors that which preceded the forced departure of 
Haitian Chamber of Deputy member Dooley Brutus.
  We must ask the administration if in fact the Clinton administration 
has lost control of the program in Haiti to the degree that we are now 
supporting blatant human rights violations with United States 
taxpayers' dollars. In fact, tensions in Haiti have been running so 
high in recent weeks for IRI that it has had to close its office and 
move its operations to a new, safe site where security can be provided 
more effectively. This does not sound like a democracy to me.
  Mr. Speaker, an attack of this sort is inexcusable in a democracy, 
even a fledgling democracy. We cannot tolerate this. Not only is the 
victimization of an American citizen inappropriate, to put it mildly, 
but the attack on an individual working to further the development of 
democracy in Haiti is deeply troubling. The fact that the same type of 
raid was carried out on the same night, in the same neighborhood, in 
the home of a prominent business family suggests that these types of 
raids are not all that uncommon. Sadly, that seems to be so.
  Rest assured that we will be looking to the United States Embassy, 
the Haitian Government, and Colin Granderson's civilian mission for a 
thorough report on this incident.
  We also expect the administration to place a priority on ensuring 
that this assault against an American citizen and property is 
thoroughly investigated by the Government of Haiti. We know from our 
experience with the Gonzalez and Bertin cases that the investigation 
stage is generally where the Haitian judicial system breaks down 
totally.
  The involvement of United States-trained Haitian National Police also 
means that there are questions to be answered about the apparent lack 
of progress on the rule of law in Haiti after so great a commitment of 
United States personnel and tax dollars. One certainly must ask if the 
wanton destruction of property was included as part of the training we 
provided with U.S. tax dollars. I hope that is not so.
  How many American or Haitian citizens have to be traumatized in this 
way before the Clinton administration will be willing to take off the 
rose-colored glasses and give us an honest assessment of the situation 
in Haiti? It appears that it is quite a sad saga.
  If we have a serious problem in Haiti, a problem directly linked to 
United States tax dollars, let us acknowledge it and get on with the 
process of fixing it. That is called accountability and the American 
people expect nothing less, even though we have been getting less for 
some time from the Clinton administration when we seek candor on the 
subject of Haiti.

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