Haiti

A Brief History

Located on the western side of the island of Hispaniola ( the Dominican Republic is located on the eastern side of the island), Haiti is one of the most mountainous islands along the Caribbean archipelago. After Spain’s discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the Spanish constructed the first settlement in the New World, a fort called La Navidad, along Haiti’s north coast. From that point onward, the Spaniards used Hispaniola as a launching point to explore the rest of the Western Hemisphere. In later years, French buccaneers used the western third of the island as a base from which they operated their smuggling and pirating activities.

In 1697, under the Treaty of Ryswick, Spain ceded the western third of Hispaniola to France. As buccaneering was gradually suppressed, some French adventurers became planters, thus making Saint-Domingue – as the French portion of the island was then called. – one of the richest colonies of the 18^th century French empire. Often referred to as the "Pearl of the Antilles," Saint Domingue supplied rum, coffee, and cotton to France, from its extensive sugarcane, coffee and cotton plantations, all of which were labored upon by African slaves. Indeed, by the close of the 18^th century, Saint Domingue was home to more than half a million African slaves.

In 1791, following the proliferation of the ideals of the French Revolution, the slave population, led by General Toussaint L’Ouverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines, and Henri Christophe, revolted and gained control of the northern part of Saint-Domingue. Then, in 1804, local forces defeated an army that had been deployed by Napoleon Bonaparte. Following the Battle of Vertieres, the cadre of L’Ouverture, Dessalines ans Christophe established independence from France, and renamed the area Haiti. The name was derived from an old indigenous word meaning "high ground" presumably because of the mountainous nature of the Haitian landscape. In Creole, the name is pronounced "Ayiti"

The defeat of the French in Haiti is widely credited with contributing to Napoleon’s decision to sell the Louisiana territory to the United States in 1804. Also Haitians actively assisted the American Revolution and independence movements of Latin American countries. Furthermore, Haiti’s political legacy to the world is that it is the world’s oldest "Black" republic and the second-oldest republic, after the United States, in the Western Hemisphere.

Two separate regimes (in the north and south respectively) emerged after independence, but were unified in 1820 following a conflict between two regimes. Two years later, Haiti conquered Santo-Domingo, the eastern, Spanish speaking portion of Hispaniola. In 1844, however, Santo-Domingo broke away from Haiti and became the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, Haiti was charged with paying 150 million francs for financial indemnity to France for its independence. This financial burden aside, many slave-holding nations in the world, including the United States, refused to establish relations with Haiti, in fear that unrest would ensue on their soil as a consequence of Haiti’s example. Diplomatic recognition from these countries did not take place for several decades.

Meanwhile, with 22 changes of government from 1843 until 1915, Haiti experienced numerous periods of intense political and economic disorder, prompting United American States military intervention in 1915. At that time, the Haitian National Guard was created, under the direction of the occupying American forces. United States’ military forces were withdrawn in 1934 at the request of the elected Government of Haiti, leaving in their wake as the major political entity, the Haitian Armed Forces.

In 1957, after many attempts at democratization, military-controlled elections installed Dr. Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier as president. Duvalier, then declared himself "president-for-life" and formed the notorious paramilitary movement, "les tonton macoutes," to cosolodate and sustain his absolute power. The paramilitary movement quickly transformed itself into a death squad, aimed at eliminating all perceived threats to Duvalier’s power. Consequently, until 1986, Haiti was ruled by the authoritarian Duvalier regime.

The Duvalier dictatorship was marked by great violence, carried out by Duvalier’s death squads. Tens of thousands of Haitians were killed or exiled during this period, while hundreds of human rights workers, journalists and lawyers were either arrested or exiled from the country. These acts, in conjunction with the murder of school children by the regime’s soldiers, and the massacre of several hundred peasants, all together amplified and accelerated resistance movements both within Haiti and internationally.

Following the Duvaliers’ eventual exile to France, Army leader, General Henri Namphy, came to power as the head of the new National Governing Council. The Council was intended to be a provisional government until a new democratically government could be established. Although a new Constitution was approved, general elections were aborted when violence erupted. In 1988, following military-controlled elections, Leslie Manigat was elected to the presidency, but was subsequently overthrown in a coup d’etat five months later by General Namphy. Four months later, Namphy was, himself, unseated by General Prosper Avril.

Under Avril, widespread repression ensued, especially against political parties, unions, students and democratic institutions. In early 1999, Avril declared a state of siege, and after innumerable protests, as well as urging from the international community, Avril finally stepped down from office. He was replaced with a provisional government, led by Supreme Court Justice, Ertha PasquallenTrouillot, and elections were set for December of 1990.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a charismatic Roman Catholic priest, known for his support of the poor and infirmed, won 67 percent of the vote in a presidential election of 1990 that international observers deemed largely free and fair. Aristide took office in February 1991, but was overthrown by dissatisfied elements of the army and forced to leave the country in September of the same year.

Estimates are that over 1,000 Haitians were killed in the days following the September coup d’etat, and 3,000 more were killed in the following three years. The coup d’etat created a large-scaled exodus from the country; in fact, the United States’ Coast Guard rescued a total of 41,342 Haitians from 1991 to 1992, more than the number of rescued refugees from the previous 10 years combined.

From October 1991 to June 1992, Joseph Nerette, as president, led an unconstitutional de facto regime, and governed with a parliamentary majority and the armed forces. In 1992, Nerette resigned and the parliament approved Marc Bazin as prime minister of a de facto government, with no replacement named for president. Bazin sought to negotiate a solution with exiled President Aristide, and to end the economic embargo and diplomatic isolation of Haiti imposed after Aristide’s ouster.

In June 1993, Bazin resigned and the United Nations (U.N.) Imposed an oil and arms embargo, bringing the Haitian military to the negotiating table. President Aristide and General Raoul Cedras, head of the Haitian armed forces signed the U.N.-brokered Governors Island Agreement on July 3, 1993, establishing a 10-step process for the restoration of constitutional government and the return of President Aristide by Oct. 30, 1993.

As part of this process, Robert Malval was sworn in as prime minister on Aug. 30, 1993. The military derailed the process and the UN reinstated economic sanctions. Malval resigned on Dec. 15, 1993, but remained as acting prime minister for eleven more months. The political and human rights climate continued to deteriorate as the military and the de facto government sactioned repression, assassination, torture, and rape in open defiance of the international community’s condemnation.

In May 1994, the military elected Supreme Court Justice, Emile Jonassaint to be provisional president of its third de facto regime. The U.N. and United States reacted to this extra-constitutional move by tightening economic sanctions (U.N. Resolution 917). On July 31, 1994, the U.N. adopted Resolution 940 authorizing member states to use all necessary means to facilitate the departure of Haiti’s military leadership, and to restore constitutional rule as well as Aristide’s presidency.

In August 1994, Haiti had parallel governments – the illegitimate military-backed Jonassaint regime that controlled the government apparatus in Haiti, and the constitutional government, whose members, like President Aristide, were in exile or who, like acting Prime Minister Malval, were blocked from carrying out their duties.

In the weeks that followed, the United States took the lead in forming a Multinational Force (MNF) to carry out the U.N.’s mandate by means of a military intervention. In September, with United States’ troops prepared to enter Haiti in a matter of hours, President Bill Clinton dispatched a negotiating team, led by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, to discuss with the de facto Haitian leadership the terms of their departure. As a result, the MNF deployed peacefully, Cedras and other top military leaders left Haiti, and restoration of the legitimate government began, leading to Aristide’s return on Oct. 15, 1994.

Following the time of Aristide’s return to Haiti, elections for parliament and local government offices were held successfully between June and October of 1995. They were, however, delayed by seven months and marred by serious administrative problems and some violence. President Aristide’s Lavalas party and its affiliates swept into power at all levels.

In December 1995 presidential election, with Aristide barred by Haitian Constitution from succeeding himself, prominent Lavalas figure, Rene Preval, (who was Aristide’s first prime minister in 1991) overwhelmed his opponents by garnering 88 percent of the vote and took office the following February of 1996. A government under Prime Minister Rosny Smarth was established at that time. Territorial elections designed to decentralize political power were held in early April 1997. The government of Prime Minister Rosny Smarth resigned on June 9, 1997, allthough he continued administering the government under the auspices of caretaker status until November 1997.

With the situation in Haiti gradually stabilizing, the international security presence has been reduced. The MNF, which at one time had more than twenty thousand troops in Haiti, gave way in March 1995 to a UN peacekeeping mission (U.N. Mission in Haiti) under United States’ leadership, including about six-thousand troops. By mid-1996, the U.N. forces no longer included any United States’ military personnel, and the U.N. Special Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH) had been scaled back to about six-hundred troops under Canadian leadership, as well as three-hundred international police monitors from six different countries. The UNSMIH mission, originally set to expire at the end of November 1996, was extended through July 31, 1997.

The United Nations Transition Mission in Haiti (UNTMIH) replaced UNSMIH on November 30, 1997. The U.N. Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (MIPONUH) was established by the security council and began operations on Dec. 1, 1997, after the conclusion of UNSMIH. Its three-hundred authorized civilian police (CIVPOL) were divided into two groups. Up to 160 CIVPOL mentors, including 30 U.S. police officers, were tasked with bringing the Haitian National Police (HNP) to levels of operational competence required before UN specialized agencies, including the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), could assume responsibility for further long-term institutional development. The remaining 140 CIVPOL were Argentine gendarmes who, as part of a special police unit (SPU), were on call to ensure the safety of CIVPOL from situations where HNP might not be able to do so. MIPONUH does not have a military element.

In 1999, the United States considered the withdrawal of its troops to Haiti, although a congressional delegation pushed for the troops to remain there. As well, the United Nations’ mission in Haiti began drawing to its scheduled conclusion. Despite efforts to extend the mission or United States’ involvement, on Jan. 21, 2000, the last United States’ troops withdrew from Haiti. A new civilian UN mission was scheduled to begin in March of 2000, effectively replacing the MIPONUH, which had been functioning since the end of 1997. Its function to strengthen the judicial and police systems, promote human rights and impart technical knowledge and assistance, especially in regard to the electoral system. The new mission, however, currently faces financial barriers, because the funding is largely sourced by the United States, and is still awaiting congressional approval. Although the United States has stated the it will eventually facilitate necessary funding, the United Nations has been working on alternate arrangements whereby funding could be channeled through its existing economic development program in Haiti.

In November of 2000, Jean- Bertrand Aristide was again elected president in Haiti. Interestingly enough, he was the only candidate due to boycott by the opposition. There is much apprehension as he takes office.

Current Situation

	Haiti	U.S.
ECONOMICS:
Population	6,964,549	278,058,881
Rate of People living below the World Bank’s Definition of Poverty*	80%	12.7%
Annual Income	$300	$22,240
Minimum Wage	$5.00/day	$5.15/hour
Unemployment Rate	>75%	4%
Percentage of _____ /Total Population: Telephones Radios Television	0.86% 5.96% 0.54%	69.77% 206% 77%
EDUCATION: Average Years of Schooling Rate of Literacy (>14 yrs that can read & write)	1.7 years 45%	12.3 years 97%
HEALTH:
Birth Rate	31.68/1000	14.2/1000
Death Rate	15/1000	8.7/1000
Life Expectancy	49.38 years	77.26 years
Age Structure: 0-14 15-64 65>	40.31% 55.52% 4.17%	21.12% 66.27% 12.61%
Population per Doctor	1/7140	1/419
Rate of people with access to:
Adequate Sanitation Safe Water Health Services	27% 43% 45%
Rate of children who die by age of five	25%
Infant Mortality Rate	95.23/1000	6.76/1000
Number of Children dying yearly from easily curable diseases such as dehydration, diarrhea, and malnutrition.	45,000
Rate of Children severely underweight	37%
HIV/AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate	5.17%	0.61%

* A condition of life so characterized by malnutrition, illiteracy, disease, squalid surroundings, high infant mortality, and low life expectancy as to beneath any reasonable definition of human decency. An existence with no or very little work, no adequate sanitation or clean water, economic insecurity, little (if) inadequate health services, overcrowded housing, without either water or electricity.