By Myrtha Désulmé
Myrtha Désulmé is President and Founder of the Haiti-Jamaica Society, a Board member of the Haitian Forum for Peace and Sustainable development (FOHPDD), and longtime Advocate for Haiti.
Editor’s Note: Today, Tuesday October 10th, from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m., the Haiti Support Group-Guyana will be mounting a public protest against the impending CARICOM-endorsed invasion of Ayiti by a Kenyan police force, an invasion to be paid for by the US.
The location will be opposite the CARICOM Secretariat. The public is invited to join this non-partisan protest in solidarity with the people of Haiti. Placards will be provided.
The following is an Open letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken from the National Haitian-American Elected Officials Network (NHAEON) and a leading Haitian-American Civil Society organization (FANM), vehemently opposing the military intervention voted by the UN Security Council on 2 October, 2023, which aims to strengthen the corrupt and illegitimate government fomenting the gang violence in Haiti. The letter is dated 22 September, 2023, and is one of many addressed to the United Nations, United States, CARICOM, and the African Union, seeking in vain to avert the Resolution.
Haitian Civil Society also asked CARICOM and all African nations not to allow themselves to be used as fronts to provide political cover for the continued trampling of Haiti’s sovereignty and destruction of the Haitian people by the US, UN, and CORE Group (an illegal syndicate of diplomatic representatives in Haiti, comprised of the UN, US, OAS, EU, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany and Spain, covertly formed in Canada in 2003, in violation of the Geneva Convention, to maintain an illegal tutelage over Haiti). For the past two years, Haitian Civil Society has clearly spelled out well-thought out plans to take Haiti out of the hole in which these Western powers continue to sink it, and has also put in writing the assistance that is required by the Haitian people. Stopping the flood of arms shipments from Florida and the Dominican Republic to Haiti, publicly documented by the U.S Department of Homeland Security’s investigations unit and the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crimes, which would immediately render the gangs inoperative, would seem like an obvious first step to anyone who truly wanted to resolve the scourge of insecurity in Haiti. But these common sense plans are being ignored and thwarted at every turn, in favour of another disastrous occupation masquerading as a humanitarian mission. Not only are the egregious failures of the many previous occupations which have all left Haiti exponentially worse off, and actually led to the present calamity, well-documented, but the very powers which are pushing for it, are the ones who are at the root of the destruction of Haiti. It is clear to anyone who has the honesty to admit the obvious, that these hegemonic powers have every tool at their disposal to place Haiti on the path of stability and development, if they were truly the “Friends of Haiti” which they purport to be. That Haiti has turned into a pit of hell under their decades-long watch is clear evidence that that is not their intention.
Instead, Haiti continues to be an international crime scene. For over 2 years, a genocide is being perpetrated against the Haitian people who are being sacrificed at the altar of naked racism, imperialism, greed and corruption. The US and UN track record in Haiti is so heinous, that in order to maintain the moral high ground on Ukraine, their lips dripping with empty platitudes advocating for the “democracy and self-determination” in Ukraine which they are blatantly crushing in Haiti, they have been forced to tour the world searching for fronts to hide behind to continue perpetrating their plan. In a vulgar show of yard fowl politics, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been bandying about the ever-escalating hundreds of millions of dollars that have brought the CARICOM and Kenyan Volunteers running, supposedly to “rescue their brothers and sisters in Haiti” from the gangs, who are nothing more than paramilitary foot soldiers armed and sponsored by the Haitian oligarchs, the illegal de facto Haitian government, and the hegemons, to repress and terrorize the Haitian people. In a 200-year old ”Arsonist/Fireman” subterfuge, the hegemonic powers use the chaos, violence and mayhem they themselves create to justify interventions, which aim to place succeeding puppet governments in power, who will continue to do their bidding, carrying out the
foreign agenda at the expense of the Haitian people. Haitian Civil society has urged CARICOM not to lend its good name to this cynical and nefarious enterprise, but to instead play the role of “Honest Brokers” which Haitians had hoped that they would play, by standing up for true, not fake, Democracy, Freedom, Sovereignty and Justice for the Haitian People. But these exhortations have fallen on deaf ears, and were brushed aside for a full-throated CARICOM endorsement of the intervention, permitting the hegemons to turn a white supremacist aggression into black-on-black crime. The human rights crisis Haiti has been experiencing has caused thousands of Haitians to flee in search of sanctuary in the region. But in an unspeakable show of cruelty, the very CARICOM countries which have premised their support for the intervention on their “concern for the safety of the Haitian people”, continue to implement vicious mass deportations, throwing desperate Haitians back into the burning house from which they sought to escape.
A Canada-CARICOM Summit is scheduled for 17 October, 2023, in Ottawa, for CARICOM to receive its marching orders.
Dear President Biden and Secretary Blinken,
The National Haitian American Elected Officials Network (NHAEON) and FANM in Action write to strongly oppose your Administration’s proposed international military intervention in Haiti. Any military intervention supporting Haiti’s corrupt, repressive, unelected regime will likely exacerbate its current political crisis to a catastrophic one. It will further entrench the regime, deepening Haiti’s political crisis while generating significant civilian casualties and migration pressure. If the U.S. is genuinely interested in stabilizing the political situation to avoid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Haiti, it will start by ceasing to prop up the corrupt government and allow the emergence of a consensus transitional government with the legitimacy to decide how the international community can contribute.
The current unconstitutional de-facto government, led by Prime Minister Ariel Henry, has been ineffective and inept in governing and providing basic security to protect vulnerable Haitians. This regime has dismantled Haiti’s democratic structures while facilitating and conceding control of the country to many gang leaders. The PHTK governments did not run a fair or timely election. They have created a prevalent culture of corruption that deprives the government of the necessary funds to support the Haiti National Police and provide basic governmental services to the Haitian population. At least 21 Haitian officials linked to the PHTK Party face international sanctions for corruption or ongoing gang violence in Haiti. Harvard Law School and several Haitian human rights groups concluded in their 2021 study that many Haitian government officials have colluded with allied gangs to attack opposition neighborhoods, and their constant attacks have contributed significantly to widespread and politically motivated gang violence that constitutes crimes against humanity. For example, many gangs are currently operating in Haiti and controlling the country with the support of PHTK officials. The gang operations have displaced over 150,000 people due to their constant violence. PHTK corruption has looted Haiti’s entire economy: inflation has exceeded 20% for three years, and over half of all Haitians face hunger, including over 100,000 children facing severe malnutrition. As a result, many capable and vulnerable Haitians are fleeing the country to avoid political persecution.
A letter from at least 60 Haitian organizations and individuals to the African Union urges the rejection of the de-facto regime’s call for assistance from the international community to send foreign forces to Haiti. Many Haitians oppose any foreign intervention, and such a proposal is unlikely to gain any popular support to pursue gangs entrenched in neighbourhoods affiliated with the de-facto regime. They will likely engage in significant firefights in hostile, densely-packed urban neighbourhoods, leading to significant civilian casualties.
The U.S. must immediately stop propping up the unconstitutional de facto regime to stabilize Haiti’s current political crisis and encourage the building of a consensus government to move Haiti toward embracing a democratic process. Dr. Ariel Henry came to power not through a democratic process but through a declaration by the Core Group, which the U.S leads. The State Department insists that Dr. Henry must be part of any transitional government. Dr. Henry has used the U.S.’s indifference to clinch power and continues to veto any proposed consensus to create an inclusive transitional government without him. The State Department continues to promote Dr. Henry’s December 21 Accord as a viable path forward, even though not a single political party won more than 1% in the last elections, and the accord is broadly rejected as another unconstitutional power grab for the PHTK. If your Administration were to withdraw its support for Dr. Henry, he would have been forced to negotiate with Haitian civil society and other groups toward a peaceful solution to Haiti’s current political crisis.
We are confident that, given a chance, our brothers and sisters in Haiti will come together to develop a solution to the political crisis. Over the past three years, groups across the spectrum have gathered, often putting long-running political disagreements aside, to agree on practical, promising plans for a transitional government. But each time, the de facto authorities defeat the promising effort by refusing any compromise.
In addition to ceasing to prop up the current regime, your administration can contribute to security in Haiti by blocking arms shipments to Haiti and enforcing accountability for weapons traffickers and those profiteering from the violence in Haiti. Haiti does not manufacture guns and ammunition, but they originate from the U.S. and continue to destroy many lives, including U.S.
In summary, these are the actions for your administration:
● No military intervention and/or UN-led mission
in Haiti
● Withdraw support for the de facto Dr Ariel
Henry regime
● Support the establishment of a legitimate
transitional government
● Block and investigate arms shipments to Haiti
NHAEON and FANM in Action thank you for your prompt consideration of our requests. Although Haiti’s problems are complex, we are confident that the country can immediately begin its journey back to the democratic process with your genuine support. We look forward to working with your Administration to help change the trajectory of Haiti’s political situation in both the long and short terms.
Sincerely,
Charnette Frederic
Marleine Bastien
Chairwoman
Executive Director
NHAEON
FANM in Action
NHAEON is the largest network of Haitian-American Elected & Appointed Officials in the US.
FANM in Action is a leading US -based Haitian-American Civil Society organization which trains, educates, organizes and mobilizes grassroots citizens to give them the tools to contribute to their own transformation, enfranchisement, and liberation.
Marleine Bastien is the District 2 Commissioner on the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners.
