wfn.org | Haiti lurches back into instability

[Mennonite Central Committee Communications]

TOPIC:  Haiti lurches back into instability
DATE:   September 13, 1996
CONTACT:  Emily Will
V: 717/859-1151 F: 717/859-2171
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  mailbox@mcc.org

HAITI LURCHES BACK INTO INSTABILITY

AKRON, Pa. -- The 1995 to '96 school year was a good one for
Haitian children and teachers.  It was the first time in about a decade
they actually completed a full academic year.  No political turmoil
kept students and teachers at home.  It looks as if they may not be so
lucky again this year. 
Although official news is hard to come by even for those living in
Haiti, one doesn't have to keep one's ear too close to the ground to
know Haiti has lurched back into instability, says Dan Wiens, who co-
directs Mennonite Central Committee's (MCC) programs in this
Caribbean country.  In the past couple of weeks, Haitian military
forces have begun reasserting themselves.  And so far this time,
peasant groups are not being cowed.  Some say there's not a machete
left unsold in Port-au-Prince stores, Wiens says, even though if it came
to armed violence, machetes would be a poor match for ex-soldiers'
weapons.

Sixteen adults and seven children are in Haiti with MCC.  Of these the
five adults and four children in Port-au-Prince are taking extra caution
in where they go within the city.  The MCC workers in the
countryside are to date little affected by the recent events.

Although Jean-Bertrand Aristide declared the military abolished during
his brief return to the presidency (October 1994 to February 1996), the
act was never legalized.  Military officials do not report to work in the
morning and have no formal role in the government, but they have
evidently kept themselves loosely organized even while in hiding,
Wiens says.  And they have retained their weapons.  Now they are
acting more overtly.

Among those demands, which arrive at the presidential palace via
cassette tape or letter, is one for 21 months of back pay and another
for the release of some ex-military personnel who are imprisoned.
With the first demand's delivery, apparently the week of September 1
to 7, the military promised no one would be safe on Port-au-Prince
streets if they did not get what they wanted.  People feared a blood
bath, Wiens says.

During that week, Wiens got caught in major traffic back-ups in the
capital, while seeing United Nations tanks and troops on the streets. 
"There was all sorts of disorder, including tire-burning," Wiens relates.

At the same time, a coalition of peasant groups blocked Haiti's main
cross-country road, running from the capital in the south to Cape
Haitien in the north.  Road blocks are a common way Haiti's
impoverished multitudes express their discontent, Wiens explains.

On September 9, however, President Rene Preval personally visited the
site of the road block and convinced the group to dismantle it.
And so far Preval has been holding the military somewhat at bay,
coming up with some money towards back pay. 

But, Wiens says, Haiti's new police force, which is being trained by
United Nations forces, is evidently frightened enough of the military's
resurgence that police officers are not reporting to police stations
around the country.

Why has the military chosen now to act?  Rumors abound; the most
prevalent is that it hopes to embarrass the Clinton administration,
reducing President Clinton's chances for re-election.  The thinking,
Wiens explains, is that if the military were to stage a coup, a
Republican administration likely would not intervene, while Clinton
probably would.
                         -30-

Dan Wiens is from St. Adolphe, Manitoba, and is a member of
Niverville (Man.) Mennonite Brethren Church.

Emily Will, MCC Communications
13september1996