one personal relationship for the world

Ilio Durandis (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))


Democracy or Stagnation

How did we get to become Haitians? I sure hope it was not a strike of luck.History has told us that we are mostly of African descent by our genetic
make up, and almost entirely European, French to be more precise, by ourcultural tendencies. From the start, the hegemony of confusion was deeplyrooted in our existence.

After 205 years of trying to be independent, we still have not determinedwhere exactly we want to go. Reaching the Haitian destiny seems to be asunlikely as one person winning the lottery twice. At this point, we have ageneration that has more doubts about its future than it has hope in thiscurrent government. Regardless of how one analyzes the situation in Haiti;the conclusion is as bleak as ever before.

Michele Duvivier Pierre-Louis, the most recent victim of Haitian politicaldemagogy, was ousted from the helm of the current administration all in thename of safeguarding the Haitian democracy. The claims against her are whatthey are, and at the end of the day no one with any logical senses could buyinto what those senators were selling. Ever since 1990, the words ofdemocratizing Haiti have been the pet peeve of the international community.Finally, it seems that they might have been bitten by their own medicine.

I always have a hard time quoting the so-often violated constitution of
1987, but the 18 senators who voted to replace the Duvivier government did
so based on articles 129-2 to 129-6 of the said constitution. In that casethere is nothing unconstitutional about their right to censure the PrimeMinister. At present, the issue is not a matter of constitutionality as it
is a matter of what is really in the best interest of the country.

I hardly know anything about Prime Minister Duvivier, but one thing thatseems certain on the surface was that she wanted the international communityto do much more for Haiti. I met her this past August in Miami at the
Haitian Diaspora Unity Congress and listened to her speech, she delivered avery interesting message about Haitian unity. In her speech, she sounded asa person who was willing to do the hard work required to get the country onthe right track, but apparently 18 senators of the great republic of Haitithought otherwise, therefore we must trust that they really have the bestinterest of the country at heart.

The event of last week to censure the government of Duvivier left me with nohard opinion. I am a believer in democracy, and honestly sold on the ideathat true democracy is the best system for human progress. Without democracyprogress can not take place, and if what those senators did was really theirway of putting democratic values in application, I would be totally insupport of them, but unfortunately, we know too well that the motives ofthose senators have nothing to do with democracy.

Many of them ascend to the senate via an undemocratic election and anunconstitutional one at best. How can one take those senators seriously thatthey truly believe Madame Duvivier was a bad pill for the country, when infact they could not even draft a minimum wage bill that put the interest ofthe country first.

My biggest issue with this whole saga was how the international community
was so quick to leave Michele Duvivier to hang. There have been rumors
before the censure that the Prime Minister was ready to resign, but each
time she quieted the rumors, and reiterated her interest to serve theremainder of Preval’s mandate. It is a known fact in Haiti that Haitians donot make important decision for the country. As I said to a friend of minewho asked me about my opinion on the censure, I simply told him that, if theinternational community did not want for Madame Duvivier to go, there is noone in Haiti powerful enough to do otherwise. In essence, the internationalcommunity might not have led this coup, but they had no issue with it
either.

It might have surprised a few as to how quick a new Prime Minister wasdesignated, when the last time the same thing happened it took almost 5months to get a replacement. I am not going to pretend to be a predictor offuture events, but the smell of whatever is brewing for Haiti is not good.

At a time when the international community is making believe that they wantstability, progress and development in Haiti, it just seems wrong that theywould be so quick to accept the overthrow of their best ally inside thecountry. I am not sure if there was any back door deal, but this censure
does not have the imprint of Haitian politicians playing game. Something
much bigger has just begun.

In a little over a year, Haiti is supposed to have general elections, so farthe only known fact is that President Rene Preval is not eligible to run, atleast according the 1987 constitution, but who knows what might happenbetween now and then. In Haiti, just like in a suspenseful movie, you knowsomething is about to happen, but each time it does, you cannot stop
yourself from being surprised.

Haitian politicians are stuck in trying to understand the value of
democratic ideas and that of holding a nation stagnant. For the moment, theyseem to be mastering the art of playing democracy for the outsiders, whileholding a whole population hostage in a inert condition of poverty andinhuman circumstances.

We are at a juncture in history where we would have to decide to deliver onthe promises of democracy or face the harsh reality of a dying nation. Thedecision is ours, and this is the battle of our time. The cry today is notliberty or death, but rather democracy or stagnation. I believe that thisgeneration is ready for the challenge. Wi, nou pare!




--
Your Passionate Servant,

Ilio Durandis
Founder
Haiti 2015
http://www.haiti2015.com