[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 5, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2635-H2636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        VISIT TO THE CAPITOL OF HAITI'S SO-CALLED PRIME MINISTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cole). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
place on the record what happened here today with the visit by Mr. 
Gerard Latortue, who is the illegally appointed Prime Minister of 
Haiti. Somebody invited him to come here to the House of 
Representatives; and two meetings were set up, one at 10:30 where 
members of the Congressional Black Caucus were invited to meet with 
him, and a later one at 1:30 where members of the Committee on 
International Relations were invited to meet with him.
  Those meetings were not attended in any appreciable numbers by either 
the members of the Congressional Black Caucus at the 10:30 meeting or 
the members of the Committee on International Relations. Of the 39 
members of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am told that perhaps maybe 
six people showed up; and for the Committee on International Relations, 
where there are 49 Members, 26 Republicans and 23 Democrats, only about 
six members of that committee showed up.
  I think it is important to note that this took place. It is important 
for the world community to know and understand that just as CARICOM, 
that is, the nations of the Caribbean, rejected Latortue, and do not 
accept him as a legitimate representative of that government, the 
Congressional Black Caucus does not accept him and recognize him as a 
legitimate Prime Minister for Haiti; and it was indicated today by the 
lack of attendance.
  It is important for me to say this because Latortue is trying to make 
the world community believe that he is gaining the support of the 
Congressional Black Caucus. That absolutely is not true. We consider 
that he was illegally appointed. It is in violation of the Haiti 
Constitution, and he is presiding over crisis and chaos in Haiti.
  Haiti is worse off than it has ever been. Not only do we have 
killings that are going on every night; we have members of the Lavalas 
Party, the party of President Aristide, in hiding. They are being 
killed. Their lives are being threatened; but worse than that, this so-
called Prime Minister, Mr. Gerard Latortue, embraced the known killers 
who have occupied the northern part of Haiti and recently appeared on a 
platform with Mr. Guy Philippe, Mr. Louis Jodel Chamblain, Mr. Jean 
Tatoun, all of whom are known to be criminals. Mr. Guy Philippe is a 
known drug trafficker. Mr. Chamblain and Mr. Tatoun have been convicted 
in absentia for their role in the massacre of thousands of Haitians at 
Raboteau in 1994.
  They were all in exile. They were all recruited to come back into 
Haiti and join with the so-called opposition, and they played a role in 
the coup d'etat. They threatened to kill President Aristide, and they 
are still running around Haiti, armed, trying to reestablish an army, 
recruiting Haitians,

[[Page H2636]]

burning down police stations and killing members of Lavalas. This so-
called Prime Minister called them in a public meeting freedom fighters. 
It is so outrageous, it is so ridiculous, and that is one of the 
reasons he is not being accepted. He is not being respected, and he is 
not considered as a serious person with any leadership ability or any 
vision for Haiti's future.
  So, let the record indicate that he came to the Capitol; that he was 
not received by any appreciable number of people; that he did not get 
his message across. We have said to the State Department and to 
Secretary Colin Powell that it is important, it is imperative that they 
arrest and incarcerate the thugs and the criminals who are in control 
of Haiti. There is no way that they can ask us to recognize this puppet 
and this puppet government and to recognize this illegally appointed 
so-called Prime Minister until at least they take those steps.

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