[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 9, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E389-E390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 HAITI

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 9, 2005

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to open the CBC Special Order on Haiti.
  Haiti should be in the hearts and minds of all who support justice, 
democracy, and freedom.
  Until Haiti knows peace, we who are here tonight, ``the conscious of 
the Congress'' will remain duty-bound to bring our neighbors struggles 
to light.
  This week commemorates the one-year anniversary of Haiti's 33rd coup 
d'etat.
  As we reflect on the internationally orchestrated ousting of 
President Jean Bertrand, I am convinced now more than ever that 
President Bush undercut the potential for a diplomatic solution to last 
year's violent revolt and overthrow of democratically elected 
President, Jean Bertrand Aristide.
  One year later, the result of the coup has left Haiti a breeding 
ground of the morally corrupt.
  Drug dealers, thugs and brutal militia men who have taken the lives 
of hundreds of Haitians, raped and tortured women and children, and 
filled the coffers of the Haitian rich and elite who support and 
sponsor their terror now rule the country.
  The interim Haitian Government has even gone so far as to reward 
these thugs with positions in government and label them ``freedom 
fighters''.
  Today, Tom Griffin, renowned human rights activist, addressed the CBC 
Haiti Task Force and gave us a first-hand account of the human rights 
abuse and climate of destruction in Haiti.
  He showed us gruesome pictures and reviewed the abysmal human rights 
report from his November trip.
  The pictures show the battered-bloody bodies left in the street. A 
morgue full of hundreds of nameless, silenced voices that died at the 
hands of Haitian National police.
  Babies who have no chance at life--because there is no food, no clean 
water, and no hope for the future--were placed in cardboard boxes.
  Where were the U.N. troops?
  Mr. Griffin's report was based on only 10 days in Haiti show but a 
glimpse of what the conditions are in Haiti. What about Haitians who 
have had to live in this corrupt-police state since Aristide's 
departure?
  Who will Haitians call on for safety and protection? For basic 
electricity, health care, food and water?
  They can't call on their elected officials, because they weren't 
elected--they were installed.
  And who is to blame for the removal of democracy and Haiti's 
transformation toward hopelessness?
  Mr. Speaker, the current state of affairs in Haiti is the product of 
this Administration's doing.
  By refusing to work bilaterally with the Government of Haiti and 
President Aristide, by embargoing aid and humanitarian assistance to 
the government, by funding and encouraging opposition groups, thugs, 
rebels and the like, not to work with Aristide toward a political 
settlement, and by bullying the CARICOM countries to turn a blind eye 
to their fellow member state; the Bush Administration contributed to 
the current political instability and provided the environment for a 
coup d'etat to occur.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe the issue of Haiti is simply an issue of 
democracy, and the Bush Administration has been instrumental in 
toppling a democratically-elected government. Step by step they have 
worked to undermine President Aristide, for example:
  1. First, the Administration propped up Haitian opposition leaders; 
allowing political obstructionists to refuse and reject any plan for 
peace and democratic elections since the passage of OAS Resolution 822, 
and ultimately stonewall the elections process by rejecting the 
Catholic Bishops Plan, the CARICOM Plan, and finally the International 
Peace Plan.

  2. Second, the Administration funded civil society and political 
opposition parties with USAID funding and arming paramilitary and 
military factions in the Dominican Republic where Guy Phillipe and 
other insurgents began their recent assault on democracy.
  3. Lastly, the Administration hindered the instant support of 
peacekeepers and bullied the international community into blocking 
peacekeeping support that would have secured Haiti and protected 
``then'' President Aristide.
  The Bush Administration must never again pre-empt democracy but 
instead allow the Haitian people, and the Caribbean community to set 
the course for Haiti.

[[Page E390]]

  When the Administration was questioned regarding their involvement in 
Haiti, they justified their actions by critiquing President Aristide's 
effectiveness as a President.
  Mr. Speaker, I myself have had many issues with the policies of 
President Bush. And I have always questioned the flaws of the 2000 
elections that brought this Administration to office, but I refuse to 
believe any AMERICAN who believes in democracy would allow another 
country to help overthrow our government.
  We do not teach people to violently overthrow our U.S. government, 
and we must not teach other people in the international community, 
particularly Haiti, to participate in activities that taint the hope 
for democracy by use of violence.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a sad week for Haiti, the United States, and 
moreover democracy.
  It is our moral obligation to find out the truth about this coup 
d'etat and cast light on the alleged covert activities of the Bush 
Administration.
  It is time to stop the political pillaging of the country and begin 
saving Haitian lives for the future stability of the country.
  Members of this Congress must condemn the continued violence and 
murders of Haitians, and call on the Bush Administration, OAS, and the 
U.N. to fully support democracy, the release of political prisoners 
like Yvonne Neptune, and disarm the thugs and rebels who continue to 
stifle democracy and create an environment of fear, intimidation, and 
anarchy.
  We must press the transitional government, the OAS and the 
international community to respect the regional leadership of CARICOM.
  And finally, we must push the United Nations to develop a special 
court in Haiti to try those who are most responsible for crimes against 
humanity instead of rewarding them with offices in the new government.
  I call on the Bush Administration to do what is right for the Haitian 
people. I have introduced The TRUTH Act, or H.R. 945, which would 
commit President Bush and his administration to tell the truth about 
Haiti, and the Administration's involvement in President Aristide's 
ousting.
  It is TRUE, that the Administration has, in essence, carried out a 
form of `regime change,' a different form than it took in Iraq, but 
still regime change, and we must bring their actions to light.
  Shame on President Bush and the international community that is 
silent as thousands of young Haitian poor men, women and children are 
murdered in the streets and stripped of their chance for democracy, 
peace, and a basic decent life.
  Mr. Speaker, Haiti boils down to democracy, fairness, and freedom, 
concepts that the Bush Administration must learn to respect and uphold.

                          ____________________