Namphy Discards Haiti’s Constitution, Vows New One

Less than three weeks after he seized power in a coup, Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy discarded Haiti’s constitution, dealing a major blow to hopes for democracy.

In a live television broadcast Friday night from the presidential palace, Namphy promised that a new constitution will be written soon. He said the one approved overwhelmingly by voters in March, 1987, was “unhappily written and ratified in a climate of passion and emotion.” He continued:

“It is obviously illusory to think of the full enjoyment of rights and liberties in the context of absolute poverty in which nearly 70% of the population in the country is vegetating.”

However, Namphy pledged his government will respect freedom of speech and assembly.

Port-au-Prince remained calm Friday night and Saturday, as it was after the coup June 19 that sent President Leslie F. Manigat into exile.

During his speech, Namphy was flanked by Manigat’s Cabinet ministers and top aides to former dictators Jean-Claude Duvalier and his father, Francois Duvalier.

After Jean-Claude Duvalier fled into exile in 1986, Namphy ruled until Manigat’s inauguration last February, a period tainted by army killings of peasants and opposition leaders. After the coup, Namphy dissolved the National Assembly.