[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 24, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AMERICA MUST STAND UP FOR DEMOCRACY IN HAITI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, over the last several weeks, my constituents 
have watched the escalating violence in Haiti with increasing alarm. 
Their alarm is caused not just by the brutality and the chaos of the 
revolt, but by this seeming lack of resolve of our own United States 
Government in confronting this threat to democracy in our own backyard.
  While the President has responded admirably in dispatching envoys to 
seek a negotiated solution, I remain concerned that this push for 
dialogue is not matched by equal resolve to prevent the violent 
overthrow of a democratically elected government. If the Bush 
administration turns its back on the democratically elected government 
of Haiti in this crisis, the President will lose any and all 
credibility he has on preserving the rule of law.
  By now, there should be few illusions about Jean Bertrand Aristide. 
He is not a paragon of virtue. He deserves an equal share of the blame, 
along with the legitimate opposition in Haiti, for the political 
gridlock which has paralyzed Haiti for years and prevented both 
political maturity and economic growth. But he remains a democratically 
elected leader, one of the few in Haiti's two violent centuries of 
independence. To turn our back on him would be to turn our back on the 
values America was founded upon, the values which have guided our 
foreign policy from Jefferson through Wilson, through Truman, through 
Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
  Haiti's political deadlock is no excuse for violent hooliganism. The 
forces creating violence in Haiti today are opponents of democracy. If 
President Bush fails to support the elected government against violent 
hooligans, the United States will forfeit its role as the leader in 
this hemisphere. How can our government lead in advocating for 
democracy in Cuba when we will not raise our voices for democracy just 
a few miles away in Haiti?
  The President's initial efforts have so far been positive; but I fear 
that without firm resolve, backed by a credible threat of 
repercussions, America risks losing her credibility as an advocate for 
democracy. The President needs to be more forceful in stating that he 
will not accept the violent overthrow of the Aristide government and 
that we remain adamant that we will only accept a peaceful, negotiated 
solution to this crisis.
  The President has outlined a bold vision for expanding democracy, 
freedom, and the rule of law throughout the world. But if the President 
will not even defend democracy in our own hemisphere, he will expose 
his vision as little more than empty posturing.
  I urge the President to take action to prevent the violent overthrow 
of the Aristide government and to preserve America's leadership role in 
fighting for democracy and the rule of law.

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