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Essay Subject: Historical background, Amer. involvement, politics, military, economics, Duvalier dictatorship, Aristide-Cedras conflict, role of U.N., Carter-Clinton 1994 peace settlement.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Historical background, Amer. involvement, politics, military, economics, Duvalier dictatorship, Aristide-Cedras conflict, role of U.N., Carter-Clinton 1994 peace settlement. Paper Introduction: After a long and difficult day of negotiations with Haiti's military rulers in September 1994, former President Jimmy Carter excused himself from dinner with some Haitian business people, withdrew to his hotel suite, and began typing the first draft of what later became the American agreement for the dissolution of Haiti's military regime. Carter never cleared his proposal with President Clinton. For that matter, the White House did not even know it existed until the following morning, almost half a day after Carter offered the proposal to the Haitian military. By then, Lieutenant General Raoul Cedras had already accepted the proposal as a basis for agreement. The transition from military to civilian rule had begun under uncertain terms. The purpose of this research is to examine the events that led up to the Haitian crisis and the United States/Haitian Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Carter seized on an invitationto visit the Cedras' at their home. General Cedras agreed to allowan American-led UN force of 15, troops to enter Haiti and secure apeaceful transition. A brief discussion of Haiti's uniquesocial history will help set the stage for understanding the politicalinstability of the country. When it finally became clear that economic sanctions would not forceCedras from power, the United States escalated the conflict. San FranciscoChronicle, pp. incursions usually have been propelled byself-serving political or economic interests and generally have notimproved the well-being of the people of the invaded countries. To maintain a thriving export market onbehalf of the grands blanc, a complex militaristic political system wassuperimposed on an already authoritarian local government administration.This military apparatus was the genesis of what later became known as"caudillism"-a network of military chieftains with unchecked power from anylegal governmental institutions. Cedras' military leaders would relinquishgovernmental authority within a brief period of time in exchange forunconditional amnesty from prosecution granted to the military leadership(Thomas, 1994, p. The resolutioncalled for a multinational force under a unified American command to "useall necessary means to facilitate the departure from Haiti of the militaryleadership" (McManus, 1994, p. Denson, C. While the resolution to use force may have been a United Nationsdecision, Latin American diplomats say the United States strong-armed theworld body into passing the resolution. Under the sanctions, oil tankersfor instance were banned from Haiti, but smuggled petroleum (especiallythrough the Dominican Republic) was in plentiful supply to keep themilitary mobile and alive. Al. Secretaries of State John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay ardently opposedAmerican recognition of a free Haiti. And thoughAristide has been returned to the presidency, the future of Haiti restsfirmly in American hands. But Baby Docrefused. And sothe elected Aristide government came to a close almost as swiftly as itbegan. The entireeconomy was designed for international trade on behalf of France, asdemonstrated by the fact that in 1789, for instance, nearly 5 ships oftrade were registered entering and leaving the colony's ports (Bellegarde-Smith, 199 , p. "There is nojustification whatsoever for the United States to violate the sovereigntyof another country, " said a Mexican ambassador to the United Nations."Yes, the situation in Haiti is deplorable and tragic. While Aristide represented the masses, the military clearlysided with the wealthy elite. 36). Second, the nation'sentire weaponry was transferred from the traditional Dessalines barracks ofthe army to the palace and the Palace Guard. President Clinton had ordered the negotiating team out of Haiti bynoon. McManus, D. First, Duvalier established a Palace Guard of elite forcesscreened for their loyalty to protect the president. The military agreed two years later to allow freeelections. For that matter, the WhiteHouse did not even know it existed until the following morning, almost halfa day after Carter offered the proposal to the Haitian military. Theconstitution adopted by referendum on March 29, 1987, was the most far-reaching political document ever instituted in Haiti. He is still living inFrance and is nearly broke, having squandered the millions he stole. 148). Finally, in December 18 3, Haiti declaredindependence from France. Even basic goods, like flour, which wasnot officially embargoed, could barely be obtained except on the blackmarket. The brief experiment with democracy resulted in the popularelection of a left-leaning but very beloved Catholic priest, Jean-BertrandAristide. Baby Doc Upon Papa Doc's death in 1971, his son, Jean Claude (Baby Doc)succeeded to power. Duvalier moved quickly to eliminate any opposition from boththe left and the right. On July 2,1915, Woodrow Wilson read an envoy's report on the anarchy plaguing Haitianpolitics and wrote the following note to U.S. On July 31,1994, the United States sought, and received, a UN Security Councilresolution backing the use of military force to oust the Cedras regime andreturn Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the Haitian presidency. occupation forces buffeted a pro-American Haitian regime.Consequently, Haiti followed Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua and theDominican Republic into falling under direct U.S. President Clinton attempted a complete UN trade embargo, a ban oncommercial airline flights, a freeze on assets of wealth Haitians. By 196 , virtually all of the nation'slabor leaders were imprisoned. Once again, Haiti was teetering on the verge of revolution. invasion to protect American property. Under the gun. Thomas, E. Nowhere did this come as more of a surprise than within the Haitianpresidential palace, where Jean-Claude Duvalier was still in residence andclaiming the presidency. Caudillism became a central feature ofHaitian's political life, and it has had a semi-permanent impact oncontemporary politics in Haiti. President Clinton busily drafted alternative plans for an American-led UN invasion. Ifwe were to sanction a U.S. But the social upheavals did not stop.Conflicts between the privileged elite and the impoverished masses of Haitinever ended. American Historical involvement Recognition of an independent Haiti by Great Britain and France wasnot immediately followed by recognition by the United States, despite thefact that Haitian-American trade by the 182 s amounted to $4.5 million.U.S. Oxford: Basil BlackwellPress. But plans for invasion werealready underway. The extremely poor infrastructural and economic development in Haitimade the occupation a nightmare to the United States. that the government of Haiti has collapsed and the leadership,including Mr. Duvalier, has fled the country" (Ferguson, 1988, p. 48-49. During the period of French colonialism of Haiti, whichoriginally began with the Treaty of Ryswick as early as 1697, Haiti wastransformed into a plantation economy, complete with colonial social andpolitical structures. Haiti's economy still was sharply divided between the very rich andthe masses. The collapse of the transportation infrastructure impacted otheraspects of the economy as well. (1994, September 2 ). The firstaction was an economic embargo. In a society racked by instability,American business interests could not prosper; American militaryinstallations could be threatened; and, most importantly, a popularrebellion could well emerge that might be anti-American. The invasion was tentativelyscheduled for the week of September 19 (Sciolino, 1994, p. Thecampaign period was marred by a brief but savage civil war in whichestablished elements of the military, rather than the Toutons Macoutes,effectively shut down most means of political communications by competingcandidates. TheAmericans gradually phased out of Haiti's economic and politicaladministration in a slow demobilization process known as desoccupation.Finally, in 1933 a treaty was signed between the two countries recognizingfull Haitian independence but allowing for a "special relationship" withthe United States. UN Resolution and Mexico's Response The United States never really approved of the administration of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Good cop, bad cop. military commanders: "Actionis evidently necessary and no doubt it would be a mistake to postpone itlong" (Ferguson, 1988, p. and we must take a left turn. With the advice of a close advisor, Clement Barbot, theDuvalier regime plotted a three-point plan to ensure military support forthe government. 1) To Mexico and most other Latin American countries it was their worstfear revisited: the United States once again was deciding what was best forthe Caribbean hemisphere. 112). Al. References Bellegarde-Smith, P. 1). The United States had attempted for decades to gain control overHaiti's banking system--as it had already accomplished elsewhere in theregion--but the national bank was the Haitian government's primary sourceof revenue. The price of gasoline rose to $11 per gallon, effectively shuttingdown transportation for all except those who could afford the black marketprice. New YorkTimes, p. Economist, 72, pp. Latin America watches U.S. Violent attacks on opposition newspapers followed.Opposition political figures were rounded up and arrested or sent intoexile. A peace deal was struck-only President Clinton did not know all thedetails. Near the end of BabyDoc's rule, massive amounts of government funds were transferred abroad tosecret investments and private bank accounts. (1994, October 16). Eventually violence broke out and it was evident that theDuvalier regime had little control over the country. Are things better in Panama or Grenada? (1994, October 3). But hisassassination in 18 6 typified the degree of dissent running throughHaitian society and the deepness of animosity between Haiti's economicclasses. The Cedras regimehad to be removed. The United Statesendorsed the Duvalier regime and continued the flow of economic assistanceto Haiti; Duvalier, in turn, disavowed communism and routinely voted withthe United States in the chambers of the United Nations against otherregional countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile (Ferguson,1988, pp. financial assistance. Carter nevercleared his proposal with President Clinton. The United States has had a long history ofimposing its interests on Latin American countries and, typically, withlittle concern for the interests of the region. Economist Editors. (1994, September 25). Aristide and Cedras American advisors helped negotiate a new constitution for Haiti. At an earlier press conference, Aristideproclaimed: "We have the steering wheel of Haitian history in our hands . 28-3 .----------------------- 14 Duvalier then turned against the laborunions which had originally supported his candidacy but were now protestingDuvalier's dictatorial tendencies. Newsweek: SpecialReport, 5 , pp. Popular rebellions,civil chaos and intra-military factions proved more than the militaryregime cared to burden. 7). But a far higher priority for Americaninterests was to maintain political stability in Haiti. The resolution then proposed after theinvasion that a smaller police force under direct United Nations commandassume the formidable task of completing Haiti's transition back to ademocracy. Baby Doc's period of rule was unimpressive. When rioting finallybroke out in the streets of Port-au-Prince, the United States had itsofficial excuse to send in the marines (Bellegarde-Smith, 199 , p. Finally,in 1957 the economic elite backed by the military agreed to allow for thenation's first free elections with universal suffrage with the hope thatsuch elections would quell popular unrest. Mission to Haiti. 34). It was not until Abraham Lincoln's1862 emancipation of slavery that the United States was willing torecognize Haitian independence (Bellegarde-Smith, 199 , p. Army's 82nd Airborne Division werein the air. Thismove amounted to a withdrawal of U.S. At the apex of theHaitian socioeconomic pyramid were the white plantation owners, known asthe "grands blanc," who represented a sharply divided social system betweenthe very rich and the very poor. Unfortunately for U.S. Plans for the invasion of Haiti had been drafted well before themarines were called in; the date had been left blank. 73). After a long and difficult day of negotiations with Haiti's militaryrulers in September 1994, former President Jimmy Carter excused himselffrom dinner with some Haitian business people, withdrew to his hotel suite,and began typing the first draft of what later became the Americanagreement for the dissolution of Haiti's military regime. A7, Dl. Papa Doc, Baby Doc. On September 22, 1957, therelatively unknown medical doctor Francois Duvalier easily outpolled thefavored candidate of the elite by more than two-toone. In fact, smuggling and the black market becamea profitable business that was largely taken over by the military(Economist, 1994, p. 35-36. The wealthy elite generally retainedgovernment power, although political tensions forever heightened. Like the Duvaliers before him, Cedras made full useof the viciousness of the Touton Macoutes in a tremendous and non-endingwave of violence against the Haitian people. Convinced that a revolution was at hand, the Reagan Administrationdecided to withhold its scheduled assistance of $26 million in 1986. demands. CalgaryHerald, p. In fact,American economic aid once again was resumed. In the course of French colonization of Haiti, there were about3 , whites and over 5 , slaves on the island. Papa Doc Haiti remained a country torn sharply by the economic inequalities ofthe very rich and everybody else. In 1914, theNational Bank impounded all Haitian government revenues, and then pleadedwith the United States to intervene and seize the country's gold for"safekeeping" in New York (Bellegarde-Smith, 199 , pp. The nation'swealth was squandered and the economy collapsed. By the 193 s, the United States under PresidentHerbert Hoover was looking for an official excuse to get out of Haiti. Historical Development Haiti's socio-political development has historically run throughcycles of stagnation and oppression marked by explosively violent clashes.Conflicts between the privileged elite and impoverished masses of Haitinever ended. The military also assumed authority over conducting andmonitoring the electoral process, including primary responsibility fortabulating the ballots. The Haitian economy was established specifically toserve external markets and not to satisfy domestic economic demands.Sugar, coffee, cotton, indigo, and cocoa-all products incapable ofsustaining a balanced local economy-became the primary agriculturalcommodities of Haiti because they fetched a profitable price for thecolonialists on international markets. The company built threeunconnected railroad lines and then claimed political instabilitysubstantially raised the price to complete the projects. Both plans sought extensive multi-nationalparticipation, although the invasion itself would be strictly under thecommand of American military authorities. Carter ignored the presidential order, suspecting a possible break-through in negotiations. Thesecond dispute was between the Haitian government and the country'sAmerican-owned railroad. The slave trade was also a veryprofitable enterprise on and off the islands of the region. On October 13, 1994, General Cedras fled to Panama. The American withdrawal was completed amicably. By February 7, Baby Doc fled Haiti for France,and looted the national treasury before leaving. Sciolino, E. Cedras then turned to Carter and agreed to Carter's terms forreleasing the reigns of power. Potential foreign enemies to American interests, especiallyGermany, were steadily exploiting Haiti's social malaise and beganpenetrating the country's economic and political institutions. Finally, Pap Doc had to get the whole army firmly obedient to ensuretotal control. An analysis of the relationship between theUnited States and Haiti further depicts some additional obstacles tocivilian government and presents the interests and likely problems of theUnited States in establishing a Haitian democracy. Haiti's military leaders and thenegotiating team signed a peace resolution. The transition from military to civilian rule hadbegun under uncertain terms. 28). At the first fractious meetings of the negotiating team with GeneralCedras, it did not appear that any agreement would be reached.Discouraged, Carter called his wife, Rosalynn, for advice. (1988). The United States was soon to renege on its pledge for Haitianindependence. The United States took its case to the United Nations. 22). Despite the rhetoric of Woodrow Wilson at the time, there appears tohave also been some purely economic reasons for the American intervention.Two reasons for the American invasion stand out most clearly. A5. Third, Barbot initiated arecruitment program for a professional militia accountable only toDuvalier. The purpose of this research is to examine the events that led up tothe Haitian crisis and the United States/Haitian agreement that now servesas the framework for civilian rule. After safely securing the island with the presence of thousandsof American troops, President Clinton reneged on the amnesty provision andinstead worked out a lucrative deal for Cedras and his immediate cabinetto leave Haiti and go into permanent exile. The embargo had a devastating effect on the Haitian economy,but the misery was disproportionately distributed on the working class andpoor. Given the sentiment against an invasion among the American people,however, Clinton tried one more desperate attempt to negotiate asettlement. Haiti: Tightening thestranglehold. But with communism firmly taking hold in Cuba, and threatening tospread to other nations in the region, Duvalier played his trump card towin over American support and acquire U.S. Yannick Cedras was initially adamantagainst relinquishing power, but as the day wore on she softened herstance. The nation's founder Jean-Jacques Dessalenes, who led theHaitian revolution against French occupation, remained loyal to theegalitarian spirit that marked his independence movement. Haiti's military leaders were dragging their feetwhen, suddenly, a Haitian lieutenant broke into the negotiating room withnews that 2,9 paratroopers of the U.S. Still, Cedras remained undaunted. ByGeneral Cedras did not budge. Many of these opposition leaders managed to escape to Cuba with theassistance of the Mexican embassy. Carter's Peace Settlement President Clinton had already drafted plans for an invasion andAmerican-led UN forces were getting prepared to storm the beaches of Haiti. (1994, August 6). Jean Claude demonstratedalmost no initiative whatsoever in managing the well-being of the country.Instead, he diverted much of the nation's wealth into strengthening themilitary repression and terror of the Toutons Macoutes. A few dayslater on February 1, Larry Speakes, President Reagan's spokesperson,announced that the American government had "been informed shortly after7:3 a.m. Despite Aristide'sideology, he was a very popular political leader in Haiti and duly electedby the Haitian people. Furthermore, the region did notmaterialize as such a strategic military footing as previously expected.The period of American control, like the periods preceding the U.S.invasion, were marked with a high degree of social dislocation andpolitical instability. Duvaliermade it clear to President John Kennedy in 1962 that the United States mustchoose either to support the unsavory Duvalier regime which would remainanticommunist if paid to do so, or to withdraw aid and run the risk oflosing another Caribbean country to Russian influence. Within months "Pap Doc" began to assert his authority overgovernance. Haiti. Plan A called for 2 , American troops to overwhelmHaiti and establish a temporary occupation force at a cost of roughly $427million. In the late 198 s, the United States began a longseries of steps toward encouraging Baby Doc to step down and turn thecountry over to a democratically-elected administration. American officials were uncomfortable with Aristide'ssocialistic-leaning rhetoric. But will a U.S.invasion make things better? Time, 212, pp. When the business community declared a commercialstrike against the government, Duvalier responded by organizing poorurbanites into violent gangs, known as the "cagoulards," who smashed andlooted closed stores. The United Nations agreed to impose anembargo of fuel and oil against Haiti in an effort to 'starve" the regimeout of power. The firstwas a dispute between the National Bank of Haiti, owned mostly by French,American and German investors, and the New York City National Bank. At the same time, the American-owned Haitian Railroad had securedcontractual arrangement with the Haitian government for constructing aseries of railroads throughout the country. Aristide was an avowed socialist who unabashedly represented Haiti'spoor and down-trodden. Conversely, General Raoul Cedras was widely viewedwith vehemence among the populace, including among many of the businessclass who initially supported the ouster of Aristide but now found theirenterprises threatened by the wave of political upheaval and violence thataccompanied the Cedras regime. flex its muscle. The professional militia combined the gangster cagoulards withother well-armed loyalists into a force known as the "Toutons Macoutes."By providing the Toutons Macoutes with extremely generous salaries andbenefits, and arming them with the nation's weaponry, the Duvalier regimecreated a powerful instrument for state repression of any and all dissentagainst Duvalier. Virtually all socialgroupings called for endorsement of the new liberal constitution: laborunions, peasant organizations, the Catholic Church, and most politicalparties, including the Haitian Communist Party which had been legalizedupon approval of the document. 35). 72-73). Mexico, along with most other Latin American countries exceptArgentina, voted against the United Nations resolution authorizing the useof force in deposing the Cedras regime. On July 28, American marines landed on theshores of Haiti and quickly took control of the nation. 5). The idealism that accompanied the new constitution, however, wasquickly routed by a solid dose of traditional Haitian realism. The cost ofmaintaining a military presence and imposing martial law exceeded theeconomic benefits derived for Americans. She urged himhow important it was to get to Cedras' wife, Yannick, who was widelyrumored to be the power behind the throne. "What is most disconcerting aboutall this is that the United States essentially made a unilateral decisionwhich it railroaded through the United Nations without considering LatinAmerican sentiments," said Abelardo Curbelo, Cuba's ambassador to Mexico(Ribadeneira, 1994, p. military move, we would not only be goingagainst our constitution but also against history" (Ribadeneira, 1994, p.5). Countdown to Haiti compromise.Los Angeles Times, p. Haiti was racked by civil disturbances, riots, and even foreigninvasions by the Spanish and British before the French occupationeventually came to an end. 43-44). By then,Lieutenant General Raoul Cedras had already accepted the proposal as abasis for agreement. A socialist Haiti alone can allow each andeveryone to be fed and to find justice, liberty and respect" (Bellegarde-Smith, 199 , p. He sent for President Jimmy Carter, General Colin Powell andSenator Sam Nunn to work out a last-minute deal. The election of a socialist was not what themilitary had in mind when they decided to permit free elections. (199 , September 12). .. The United States was initially hesitant to support the Duvalierregime. With the National Bank under foreign control, its directorssided with American economic interests and plotted to cease the Haitiangovernment's finances to coerce it to accede to U.S. Plan B called for a smaller invasion force of roughly 15, troops to secure the island and rely on a Haitian-UN police force to cleanup the aftermath. In the 1 years following its independence from France in18 3, 18 of its 22 civilian and military presidents were eitherassassinated or overthrown (Denson, 1994, p. 52). History once again repeated itself, however. Clinton sent more Navy ships off the coastof Haiti. When thegovernment refused to pay the additional bills, American economic interestsfurther encouraged a U.S. Ribadeneira, D. Boulder: WestviewPress. U.S. strategy, the wealthy and members of theregime could afford black market prices. Predictably, representatives of the armed forceswere elected to run Haiti's new and "independent" government. Itbecame clear that Jean Claude Duvalier was either unwilling or unable to doanything about it. Jean Claude allegedly was 2 years old when he assumedpower, although there were rumors galore that he was in fact 23 and thathis father altered Jean Claude's birth certificate to cover up his slowprogress in school. Voodoo justice. Ferguson, J. It was largely due toforeign (in particular, American) intervention in the region that Haiti andother Caribbean countries failed to develop balanced economies and havefallen victim to social and political instability. support for the regime. UNapproval for an American incursion is simply another way for powerfulcountries to bypass regional opposition in tackling regional problems andplacing the interests of the powerful countries first. History suggests that U.S. Followingsome intermittent squabbles within the leadership of the military, the armyfinally solidified its authority in an official coup the following year.The United States did not express opposition to the latest coup; themilitary appeared top be a stabilizing force in the country. military control over thenations of the region. In 1991, the military, under the leadership of General RaoulCedras, overthrew Aristide and sent him into exile, and unleashed a reignof terror against all popular opposition that rivaled anything committed bythe Duvalier regimes. By 1994, it was estimatedthat more than 3, civilians were killed by the Cedras regime forpolitical purposes and many more Haitians fled the country as "boat people"(Economist, 1994, p. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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