U.S. Help Could Harm Haiti, Diplomats Warn

U.S. moves to prop up Haiti’s fragile democracy may actually undermine President Rene Garcia Preval and international efforts to help this impoverished nation, diplomats here warn.

The arrival earlier this month of 40 heavily armed U.S. diplomatic security agents to protect Preval was the latest incident in what some allies view as a series of shortsighted measures to ensure that Haiti will not become an embarrassment in the six weeks before the U.S. presidential election.

“The baby sitters are here,” one Latin American diplomat quipped. But other countries that have worked closely with the U.N. peacekeeping mission to maintain order in Haiti saw less humor in the situation.

“This was done out of fear that something is going to go wrong in Haiti and the Republicans are going to use it,” said one angry European diplomat. “It was not done in the long-term interests of the United States or the short-term interests of Haiti.”

Haiti has been widely considered a foreign policy triumph for the Clinton administration. U.S. troops intervened two years ago to restore the democratically elected president who had been deposed in a 1991 coup, stayed through the selection of his successor--Preval--in the cleanest balloting in Haitian history, saw the new president inaugurated and withdrew.

That image of success has been tarnished in recent weeks. First, 20 former soldiers--part of the 7,500-member army that was dissolved when democracy was restored here--were arrested for plotting an attack on the Presidential Palace. Then, commandos in the uniforms of the old army attacked police headquarters and the legislative palace, where Parliament has been debating a controversial proposal to sell off government companies.

Revenge for these incidents was the suspected motive when two leaders of an opposition party linked to the defunct armed forces were brutally slain last month. The United States launched a military training exercise here immediately after the killings to show “that we want Haiti and the government in Haiti to succeed,” a Pentagon spokesman said at the time.

The effect, however, has been exactly the opposite, said Jean-Yves Urfie, editor of the weekly newspaper Libete, which is closely identified with former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. “They are making Preval look dependent on the United States,” he said.

“It was clear that something had to be done,” said one diplomat, who like most of those interviewed spoke on the condition that he not be named. “But the question of how it was done . . ,” he added, shaking his head as his words trailed off.

More recently, members of the presidential security forces--similar to the U.S. Secret Service--have been suspected in the opposition leaders’ assassinations. Informed sources said the evidence against them, which includes recordings of radio telephone conversations, is convincing but not conclusive. No evidence has been made public, and no formal accusation has been lodged.

Diplomats said privately that the U.S. imposed the American security agents on Preval, creating an embarrassing situation for him. He is already struggling with economic problems and stinging criticism from his popular predecessor, Aristide.

“It was very heavy-handed,” one European diplomat said. “They told the Haitians, ‘This is what we know, and this is what we are going to do.’ It’s spitting in the face of Haiti and saying, ‘You are an occupied country, and you don’t count.’ ”

Both U.S. Ambassador William L. Swing and Preval insist publicly that the Haitian government requested the U.S. agents to retrain the presidential security forces.

“There has not been any suggestion from the evidence at our disposal that there was any question of loyalty to [Preval],” Swing said.

U.S. sources, however, have said that the agents were sent because of concerns for Preval’s safety as he purged the security forces selected by Aristide.

Two high-ranking security force members have been removed from their posts and will probably be transferred abroad, according to sources. A dozen more are expected to be dismissed.

Libete harshly criticized the actions. “If they really have proof, why didn’t they publish it?” a front-page editorial asked last week. “The mass that voted for Preval has the right to know what is going on around him.”

Further, diplomats argue that the U.S. action was not needed because the Preval government had already shown its willingness to punish law enforcement officers who commit crimes. For example, three policemen were charged with murder this summer in another case.

“There are more pressing matters in this country,” said Philippe Beaulne, first secretary at the Canadian Embassy. Foremost are concerns about the inexperience of the 5,300-member civilian police force and Parliament’s unwillingness to pass laws to permit the sale of nine government companies. Millions of dollars in international aid is being held up until economic reform begins with the company sales.

“The Haitians have placed great hopes on this government,” said Sergio Romero, the Mexican ambassador to Haiti. “They have great hopes of getting back to work.”

Those high expectations have led to frustration as, month after month, jobs fail to appear.

“I will do any work they give me,” said Edner Ervulis, a homeless 16-year-old who sleeps in the park in front of the Presidential Palace. Like 80% of Haitians, he is illiterate. He attended school for one year, when he was 10, and fondly remembers the experience because he ate three times a day.

Charities sometimes provide meals as an incentive for parents to send their children to school. But many parents cannot afford clothes and school supplies or are unwilling to give up the income a child can earn begging or doing odd jobs.

For the moment, Ervulis is tending a sidewalk candy stand, but what he really wants is to get into a school where he can eat regularly.

“My life has not gotten better since Aristide came back or since Preval became president,” he said. “If President Preval liked us, he would do something to help us.”

Playing on such discontent, Aristide broadcast a 15-minute paid radio announcement last week criticizing Preval for the country’s economic stagnation and at the same time warning against the sale of the government companies.

“The masses are not going to smoke the privatization cigarette, lit on both ends,” he said in the recording, broadcast the day before he left on a 10-day trip to Europe.

“That was not helpful, to say the least,” one diplomat said of the message.

Many observers believe that Preval’s government is coming under attack--both verbally and physically--because he is a more effective president than most Haitians had expected. He has placed the government on a tight budget that includes measures for eliminating graft and--unheard of in Haiti--collecting taxes. Inflation is slowing, although it is still in double digits.

“The success of this government means the end of demagoguery,” said one Latin American diplomat. “All those who thrive on fiery speeches feel that from the moment the country gets back to work, there will no longer be a place for them.”

To counter his influential opposition, Preval needs to build his image as a strong leader, and that effort is undercut when he appears to be taking orders from abroad, diplomats said.

“This is going to have intense repercussions in the relations of all foreigners with Haiti,” one European diplomat said of the U.S. actions. “You do not humiliate a Haitian without suffering some consequences down the road. Haiti will bite back.”