[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[September 17, 1994]
[Pages 1567-1568]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1567]]


The President's Radio Address
September 17, 1994

    Good morning. The night before last, I spoke with you about why 
America's interests compel us to help restore democratic government in 
Haiti.
    For 3 years, the United Nations, the Caribbean community, and the 
Organization of American States have pursued every diplomatic avenue 
possible. But the dictators rejected all of our efforts, and their reign 
of terror, a campaign of murder, rape, and mutilation, gets worse with 
every passing day. Now we must act.
    Our reasons are clear: to stop the horrific atrocities that threaten 
thousands of men, women, and children in Haiti, here in our own 
neighborhood; to affirm our determination that we keep our commitments 
and we expect others to keep their commitments to us; to avert the flow 
of thousands of more refugees and to secure our borders; and to preserve 
the stability of democracy in our hemisphere.
    Today I'd like to speak with you about the steps we are now taking 
to ensure that these brutal dictators leave and leave now. The 
preparations of the extraordinary international coalition we have 
assembled are proceeding without delay. Even as I speak with you, our 
Armed Forces, in coordination with personnel from 24 other nations from 
all around the world, are poised to end the reign of terror that has 
plagued Haiti since the military coup 3 years ago. I have great pride 
and confidence in our troops. Our leaders have prepared their mission 
very, very carefully, and our forces are clearly the finest in the 
world.
    At the same time, it is the responsibility of any American President 
to pursue every possible alternative to the use of force in order to 
avoid bloodshed and the loss of American lives. That is why this 
morning, at my request, President Carter, former Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell, and chairman of the Senate Armed 
Services Committee Senator Sam Nunn left for Haiti. Their mission is to 
make one last best effort to provide a peaceful, orderly transfer of 
power, to minimize the loss of life, and to maximize the chances of 
security for all Haitians and, of course, for our own troops in the 
coalition force.
    On Thursday night, I stated that the Cedras regime's time is up. 
Their time is up. The remaining question is not whether they will leave 
but how they will leave. They can go peacefully and increase the chances 
for a peaceful future and a more stable future for Haiti in the near 
term, not only for all those whose democracy they stole but for 
themselves as well. They can do that, or they will be removed by force.
    Yesterday leaders of the international coalition gathered at the 
White House. They come not only from our hemisphere and from our 
neighborhood here in the Caribbean but also from Europe, Asia, Africa, 
and the Middle East, from countries as diverse as Israel and Poland, 
Belgium and Bangladesh, countries with problems of their own, economic 
problems, political problems, even security problems. But each and every 
one of them believes it's important enough for them to come here to 
participate, to stand united with us in insisting that the dictators who 
terrorize Haiti must be removed and that the democratically elected 
government must be returned to power now.
    As Prime Minister Owen Arthur of Barbados stated so eloquently 
yesterday, ``The Haitian people have wished for democracy. They have 
suffered for it. They have voted for it. And now they are dying for 
it.''
    The goals of the international coalition are clear and limited. Once 
the military regime is removed from power, the coalition will help the 
democratic government establish basic security. It will begin the 
process of placing the Haitian police under civilian control and monitor 
them to help ensure that they respect human rights. Then, in months, not 
years, the coalition will pass the baton on to the United Nations. The 
U.N. mission in Haiti will take over and continue to professionalize 
Haiti's police and military. It will leave Haiti no later than 18 months 
from now, after elections are held and a new government takes office.
    Over time, the coalition countries as well as the international 
financial institutions will provide Haiti with economic, humanitarian, 
and technical assistance that the country needs to stay on the 
democratic track, to put people back to work, and to begin the work of 
progress.

[[Page 1568]]

They can get assistance from other countries, but we all know that in 
the end the job of rebuilding Haiti belongs to the Haitian people.
    Yesterday at the White House, President Aristide took a long step 
toward the job of rebuilding, in the spirit of reconciliation. He put it 
very well when he said, ``We say and we will be saying again and again, 
no to vengeance and no to retaliation; let us embrace peace.'' President 
Aristide also reiterated his pledge to transfer power peacefully to a 
duly elected successor. He said that in the formative years of any 
democracy, the most important election is not the first one but the 
second. That's a sentiment that should become a staple of civics books 
in our country and throughout the world.
    My fellow Americans, at this very hour, we are taking important 
steps in the journey back to democracy in Haiti. We still hope to end 
this journey peacefully. But let me say one last time: The cause is 
right, the mission is achievable and limited, and we will succeed. The 
dictators must leave.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Oval Office at the 
White House.