Haiti Bleeds Again : Only intense Western pressure can save fledgling democracy

Ever since the Duvalier dictatorship was overthrown in 1986, the island nation of Haiti has been plagued by turmoil. Even by such a standard, the coup that overthrew President Jean Bertrand Aristide on Monday was anything but routine: It ousted Haiti’s first democratically elected president.

The Bush Administration’s firm stand against the junta--including the cutoff of desperately needed humanitarian assistance--was a tough but necessary first step. It’s terrible that humanitarian aid is to be denied the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere at a time like this. But, in the short term at least, the generals must be forcefully reminded that without an international lifeline even a Haiti run by the military will starve. Washington’s job now is to rally the other democratic nations of the hemisphere against the coup--the sooner the better.

Repeated intervention by the Haitian military is obviously not the cure for what ails this country of 6 million. Indeed, Haiti’s militarism is a disease itself: Every civilian leader who tries to make democracy work runs up against stubborn resistance from the 7,000-man military force.

The military deceives itself in thinking that without its strong-arm institutional intervention Haiti would crumble. In truth, the military has shown, often, that it will act against the nation’s interests whenever its own crass perks and power are threatened.

It would be nice to think that reform of the Haitian military is the answer. But what if reform isn’t possible? This was the case in Costa Rica in the 1940s. Weary of constant military coups, that small nation simply abolished the army. Costa Rica has been one of the most stable nations in Latin America ever since. That’s a precedent frustrated Haitian civilians will want to consider once this latest coup is rolled back--as it most surely should be.