[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      THE FRAGILE FUTURE OF HAITI

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, next week I will be leading a bipartisan 
delegation to the nation of Haiti. I have been there many times in the 
last five years, and never before have I seen obstacles of nation-
building so substantial and the determination of a people so focused.
  In December 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president in the 
first democratic elections Haiti ever held. He overwhelmingly defeated 
all the other candidates, including the U.S.-backed candidate. Less 
than one year later, in September 1991, he was overthrown by a military 
coup d'etat. The international community responded with a massive 
embargo to try to squeeze power from the grip of the junta.
  During the years of the military regime, Haiti suffered under 
horrible human rights conditions. The terror that people thought they 
had put behind them in 1986 and 1987 when the Duvalier dictatorship 
ended and a new constitution was formed returned with a new vengeance. 
Supporters of democracy were harassed by attaches and the FAHD, as the 
Haitian army was called. Worst of all, as many as 5000 people were 
killed by a paramilitary organization called FRAPH, led by a U.S. 
intelligence contact named Emmanuel ``Toto'' Constant.
  By 1994, President Clinton decided that this was too much and it was 
time to act. On September 19, U.S. troops led a multi-national force in 
Operation Uphold Democracy that restored Haiti's legitimately elected 
government to power.
  It soon became obvious, though, that Haiti's challenges had just 
begun.
  For one, Haiti had to figure out what to do with a military that was 
7,000 soldiers strong. It managed to abolish that corrupt institution 
and build an interim public safety force with the help of the 
international community. Since then Haiti has been working with the 
United States and the international community to build a civilian 
police force that respects the rule of law and human rights while 
gaining the confidence of the population. Now the police force is 6,500 
officers strong, and the U.S. is largely responsible for training 5,200 
of them.
  Haiti also had to revitalize an economy that had been ravaged by a 
massive drug trade, a constant flow of contraband, and the flight of 
private investment in the face of the embargo. Today real GDP growth is 
hovering around 3 to 5 percent, inflation is down to a remarkable 7 
percent, and exports are up 44 percent. Many economic reforms have 
taken place, and the government is ebbing toward dialogue with those 
popular organizations, unions, and people who have an interest in 
seeing that they occur in the least harmful way, and with the greatest 
democratic input. Economic reforms need to happen, but they will only 
be successful with the full consent and participation of those most 
profoundly affected by them.
  Haiti also discovered that political interests that had united around 
Aristide before and during the coup began fragmenting, creating a 
diversity of views but also a new kind of political confusion. This 
confusion has culminated in a political paralysis that has left Haiti 
without a prime minister for over a year now.
  I am going to Haiti with my good colleagues, Mr. Delahunt from 
Massachusetts and Mr. Christensen from Nebraska in the hopes that we 
can gain some insight into the crisis, offer our thoughts, and describe 
to them what I think is happening here in Washington with regard to 
Haiti. Mr. Speaker, I think Haiti has slipped from the radar screen of 
many in Congress, which I think is very problematic. I also think it is 
clear that those in Congress who do follow Haiti closely are terribly 
frustrated with this enduring political crisis that has dragged on for 
so long.
  This delegation is going to Haiti because we believe a political 
solution is necessary and possible. I hope the American people and the 
Congress are prepared to give this fragile democracy the attention it 
deserves. We need to do everything we can to make sure this nation 
succeeds and that the hard fought gains of the democratic movements of 
the 1980's are not turned back. Let's keep hope alive in Haiti.

                          ____________________