Throughout the past 100 years, foreign influence has made Haiti into the most unstable country in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, the Haitian military was created in 1934 by the US government as a response to the Cacos rebellion, which resisted the Marine occupation of Haiti. The US needed a force to undermine further social discontent with its reforms. During the 60 years following its creation, the Haitian military quelled the voice of popular democracy and kept murderous dictators in power.
In 1995 Aristide, the first democratically elected president in Haiti, passed an amendment to the Constitution abolishing the military, a military that had never fought anyone but its own people. Two years later members of the disbanded military met in the Dominican Republic to plan their return with support from powerful players in the US. The National Endowment for Democracy, National Democracy Institute, and International Republican Institute (IRI) all participated in projects to undermine the fragile Aristide administration. The IRI helped fund and train the former military forces, giving them 20,000 M-16's through a Dominican arms dealer.
On February 5, 2004, the military (officially referred to as the paramilitary since the Haitian military was legally disbanded) burned down the police station in Gonaives and razed others to the ground in cities throughout Northern Haiti. They gained control of the city of Cap Haitian on February 22. Roger Noriega, Assistant Secretary, US Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, urged the opposition not to compromise with Aristide on February 28. The following day the paramilitary forced the ouster of President Aristide, reclaiming the role in civil society that the US created for it 70 years earlier. The reincarnated military currently occupies cities throughout all parts of Haiti and maintains a visible force within Port-au-Prince.
I traveled to Haiti for three weeks this past August and worked for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. I investigated human rights abuses in several cities. Save Port-au-Prince, each city I saw had a charred police station and burnt houses, left by the paramilitary as they blazed a trail to Cap Haitian. In Cap Haitian, the former police chief had to flee in fear for his life and still cannot return. The story is the same for hundreds of Lavalas (Aristide's political party) supporters.
Internal displacement has become a necessity for Lavalas supporters. Some chose to remain in their homes, hoping the paramilitary will not make arbitrary arrests. Many who adopted this strategy have not fared well. Residents of Fort San Michel, a coastal neighborhood in Cap Haitian, described how bodies drifted ashore for weeks after the paramilitary invasion of Cap Haitian. The paramilitary deposited its victims in the harbor near the customs office with a cinder block or car battery tied to the feet. When the bodies decayed and came unfastened the current carried them across the harbor to Fort San Michel.
The paramilitary wields unchallenged authority as well as the tacit support of the police and UN. Judges in Cap Haitian and San Rafael confirmed the paramilitary's control, but noted the climate of fear that prevents any change.
As soon as Michel Manno, the paramilitary leader in Cap Haitian moved his unit's base from the customs office to 21st street, he established a system of cooperation with the police force. The paramilitary currently makes the majority of arrests. They then transfer their prisoners to the commissariat civil (police station), where the police formally process the prisoner.
Manno personally reported to me that UN forces have come on several occasions to the paramilitary base and transferred prisoners from 21st Street to the commissariat. A meeting with UN officials in Cap Haitian corroborated Manno's claims.
Yet paramilitary perpetrated human rights abuses abound. They never make arrests with a warrant. They arrested a man solely for wearing dreadlocks (a trait associated with Lavalas). In addition, a survey of the prisons shows a trend of political motivation for arrests.
The cities of Jacmel, Okay, Gonaive, and Petit Goave all shared a similar fate. Thousands from these towns remain in hiding. The daughter of a Petit Goave deputy stayed to finish school while her family fled. The paramilitary group there raped her as a punishment for her father's political affiliation. Endless accounts of similar violence are emerging from cities throughout Haiti. Yet the US Embassy in Haiti still refuses to recognize that Aristide supporters are targeted for violence.
An unmistakable aura of fear pervades the central police station in Port-au-Prince. On August 16 the paramilitary abducted five police officers in the Central Plateau. The five officers managed to escape and arrived in Port-au-Prince the next day. The only one who would speak to me reported that the police would not seek retribution. It is undeniable that the police fear the paramilitary.
On August 28th the paramilitary expelled the police from Petit Goave and commandeered control of "Radio Timoun" in Jacmel. They have stepped up efforts to gain official recognition and ten years' back pay from the government. The Interim President, Gerard Latortue, has called for negotiations with the paramilitary. When considered alongside Latortue previously calling the paramilitary groups "freedom fighters", one must question whether negotiation implies re-institutionalization. In addition, the UN's lethargic disarmament effort reflects international tolerance for an illegal force. The Haitian people deserve a stronger commitment to democracy.
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