PERSPECTIVE ON HAITI : Dictators Can’t Share the Mandate : Haitians may not be able to exercise sovereignty through their president, but they will not hand it over to anyone else.

One year ago, for the first time in Haiti’s 200-year history the people inaugurated a democratically elected President. Seven months later, I was exiled in a bloody coup that claimed--and continues to claim--the lives of more than 2,000 Haitians.

On the first anniversary of my inauguration, my reflections are bittersweet. Although democracy has been established, it is being held hostage. In the final analysis, however, my deep sorrow over the present crisis is eased by the understanding that ultimately, the people of Haiti will re-establish democracy.

My confidence in Haiti’s future is not unfounded. Ours is not the same world that allowed the Duvaliers to ruthlessly rule Haiti for decades. Only a few years ago, this hemisphere greeted coup after coup with an air of inevitability. In today’s world, a coup d’etat is no longer a viable way to secure power, and the perpetrators of this coup, after four months in de facto control, have yet to find a foreign government that will recognize them. They remain outcasts in the international community because nations all over the globe know that a coup in Haiti cannot be allowed to succeed, thereby inviting challenges to their own emerging democracies.

My confidence rests with the people of Haiti. You have seen the reports of thousands of my countrymen fleeing in a desperate attempt to cling to life after the coup. You have read of people risking their lives at sea because life in Haiti would be an unimaginable horror. My heart goes out to them. Alone, I am powerless to protect them.

One thing is certain. My people have chosen to live as human beings. Never again will we voluntarily give up our sovereignty to the Duvaliers, to the Macoutes or to those who financed the coup. It appears that they have robbed us of our government, our freedom, our homes and even our lives. Though they now rule over us, they will never again govern.

How can I say this? My critics call on me to be more flexible and pragmatic, to allow the coup leaders to share power so that I may be allowed to return. It is impossible to share power that is not mine. In a democracy, the will of the people is sovereign. Although the people cannot, at this time, exercise their sovereignty through me, rest assured that the people of Haiti will not hand it over to anyone else.

If, on the other hand, we have democracy, power-sharing is no longer an issue, for even the coup supporters represent a sector of the Haitian people, and should be heard through institutionalized channels. They would enjoy as much power as anyone else--the power of the ballot and the protection of human rights for political minorities.

There are those who want a quick settlement at the expense of the sovereign will of the people. Such a compromise would convert our democracy into a charade. To allow the perpetrators of the coup to retain their arms and military power would grant them veto power over any democratic reforms. Haiti’s Parliament, in particular, must be allowed full exercise of open political debate, free from the threats of armed gunmen hovering over its proceedings.

Such compromises must be rejected as a practical matter. If the past is any indication, the retention of such power is bound to be abused. Projects to reform the judiciary and to make it an independent arbiter of rights would be doomed to failure. Freedom of the press and of speech would be nonexistent, and emigration (with its accompanying brain drain) would remain the only sensible alternative for present and future generations of oppressed people.

Restoration of human rights--including freedom of speech, the press and of assembly--cannot take place in a democracy that exists only on paper. If human rights are respected, the people, the sovereign, will demand the obliteration of a system of rule by minorities who thrive on corruption, drug trafficking and smuggling.

I cannot simply share my mandate with dictators. If I were to do so, the voters should rightfully disown me and seek my impeachment. My landslide victory on Dec. 16, 1990, did not grant me unlimited power. The people have a will, which I represent. The day I betray their will, I will lose their support.

The terror unleashed by the coup d’etat is not new. What is different is that the people of Haiti have become aware that they do not breed dictatorship and violence. These calamities do not come from within us, but are imposed upon us by those who support and tolerate dictators.

In spite of the terror, Haiti still struggles for democracy. Even though the coup leaders are in control, they have failed to achieve their objective. So long as the world, in solidarity with us, recognizes that the Haitian people are the only legitimate sovereign in our country, we will continue to have hope for the day in which all Haitians can live with dignity.