Myrtha Désulmé | Can CARICOM rise to the occasion on Haiti?

There are no more words to express the horrors which have become the daily reality of Haitians. An entire nation is being massacred while the world stands aside and looks. The calamity that is unfolding in Haiti did not flare up by spontaneous combustion. It is the result of a plan of extermination which has been 200 years in the making, since Haiti dared to shatter the foundations of the World Economic Order based on the heinous crime of slavery.

The hegemonic powers are waging a war of repression against the Haitian people through a reign of terror led by heavily armed gangs sustained by Haiti’s de facto government and local oligarchy. The cynical game being played is that while meeting after meeting is held from Paris to Washington, through Los Angeles, Nassau, Montreal, and Kingston, to “find solutions to the Haitian crisis”, international diplomacy continues to provide its unwavering support to the very source of the crisis: an illegitimate, unelected dictator, who does not represent the Haitian people, but whose job is to ensure that the violence and bloodshed continue unabated, so he can remain in power. De facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry has also been officially implicated in the assassination of his predecessor, President Jovenel Moïse. Without external support, the Henry government would immediately collapse.

In the process of trying to hold the moral high ground on the world stage, to continue vociferating self-righteous pontifications about democracy and self-determination in Ukraine, without being shamed by the inconvenient spectacle of what two centuries of crushing democracy and self-determination in Haiti has wrought, Haiti has become a hot potato being passed from hand to hand. Looking to outsource the management of their catastrophe, a valiant effort was made to rope in Canada, which had to regretfully decline the generous invitation, due to its powerful Haitian diaspora’s resistance to interference.

TAKE LEADERSHIP

Enter CARICOM, stage left. The regional institution has agreed to take leadership of the Haitian crisis, as well it should, given that Haiti is a full-fledged member of CARICOM, whose Mission Statement includes ensuring that the principles of good governance and respect for the rule of law are enshrined in law and embedded in practice in its member states. There was a great wave of optimism in Haiti that CARICOM would finally stand up to defend the interests of its sister nation. These hopes unfortunately came crashing down at the closing of CARICOM’s 45th Conference of Heads of Government. Haiti would be betrayed once more.

Things had started out well enough, with a visit to Haiti on February 27 by a CARICOM delegation led by PM Andrew Holness, to meet with Haitian stakeholders. That visit was followed by a retreat in Kingston from June 11-13, to offer the stakeholders a structured framework and a relaxed setting outside of the toxic insecurity of Haiti, to address the crucial issues plaguing their nation, and hammer out a consensus to rescue Haiti from the abyss.

The invitation sent by Prime Minister Philip Davis of The Bahamas, then Chair of the CARICOM Conference of Heads of Government, was issued in the spirit of empathy for the Haitian people, facing their worst crisis in living memory. For impartial facilitation, CARICOM established an ad hoc Eminent Persons Group (EPG) comprising three former prime ministers: Perry Christie of the Bahamas, Bruce Golding of Jamaica, and Dr Kenny Anthony of Saint Lucia.

CORE ISSUES

The three core issues to be addressed were:

1. What interim governance measures are needed in the run-up to the general elections to restore confidence in the transition and ensure that the government can deliver on its commitments? This would naturally include the question of security.

2. How would we get to credible general elections to choose a legitimate and representative government for the Haitian people?

3. What fundamental reforms are needed to ensure that this current crisis does not repeat?

The stakeholders consultation was envisaged as two days of intense dialogue between the parties, and a third day of discussions with the EPG. The intended outcome was a joint declaration detailing an expanded political solution to the crisis and a joint roadmap for the transition and its milestones, drafted by Haitian Stakeholders and witnessed by international actors.

The inaugural speeches by PMs Holness, Davis and Golding, and CARICOM Secretary General Carla Barnett, were gracious and heartfelt, and spoke to the grandeur of Haitian history, how important it was to rescue and set back on track a nation which had been the pioneer of the universal ideals of freedom, and their commitment to the task. By contrast, Haiti’s de facto PM sought to wash the dirty linen, declaring right off the bat that he had not come to Jamaica to be dictated to or sign any new agreements.

He insulted half the room, by accusing them of wanting to take power without going to the polls, and lamenting that he unfortunately did not have enough ministries to go around. He then retreated after the opening ceremony, refusing to interact with his compatriots. The stakeholders deemed this behaviour unacceptable, and Henry had to be coaxed by the EPG into joining the assembly.

At closing, Henry issued a declaration announcing plans for the formation of an inclusive Government of National Unity, and the inclusion of opposition members in his High Transitional Council, in order to organise credible elections. All of the other political parties and civil society organisations signed a 'Kingston Declaration' demanding the restoration of Haiti’s constitutional dual-executive republic comprising a prime minister and a president represented by a presidential college, and the implementation of the necessary confidence-building reforms to hold credible elections. The EPG will be visiting Haiti soon to continue the process.

BEWARE OF GREEKS BEARING GIFTS

Up to June CARICOM leaders were still ruling out support for the military intervention which the US was trying to impose on Haiti, citing Haitian self-determination. But by July 6, CARICOM had reversed its position, scuttling all of its good works.

The heads had succumbed to a blitzkrieg charm offensive from the highest level, including United States Vice President Kamala Harris, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and UN Secretary General António Guterres, bearing an avalanche of economic goodies from funding for climate change to renewable energy, through development financing, and food security, to support another disastrous military intervention and enable a corrupt government to perpetuate itself through the organisation of fraudulent elections. Why are alternative common sense solutions being shunned? Why has nothing been done to stem the massive flood of guns into Haiti from the US, which civil society has been clamouring for the past two years, to be the low-hanging fruit which would render the gangs inoperative?

CARICOM also blindly recommended an extension of the UN Office’s term in Haiti, after four years of the most catastrophic track record which has seen it doing exactly the opposite of its mandate, which includes strengthening political stability and good governance, including the rule of law; advancing a peaceful and stable environment; and protecting and promoting human rights. Under BINUH’s watch Haiti has descended into the pits of hell. Yet CARICOM expressed support for this abysmal failure.

Can CARICOM rise to the challenge of taking on the leadership of the Haitian crisis? Only if it is able to emancipate itself from the tropes of stigmatisation which depict Haiti as a menace to the region, an intractable conundrum, and a contemptible poor cousin, to finally embrace her as one of their own. That means having the backbone not to accept for Haiti any expedient solution which they would not accept for their own countries. That also means understanding that the task at hand is to liberate Haiti from the stranglehold of the hegemonic powers, so the heroic people of Haiti can finally exercise their God-given right to choose a legitimate government which is a true reflection of their own will.

- Myrtha Désulmé is an advocate for Haiti. She is the founder and president of the Haiti-Jamaica Society, and represents the Haitian Diaspora in the Montana Group, a civil society movement working to resolve the ongoing Haitian crisis. Send feedback to myrtha1804@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com