The Election That Wasn’t

the left-leaning Radio Soleil, led the protests, and their action, reinforced by a reported threat from the American Embassy to cut off assistance under AID, obliged the CNG to restore the CEP’s prerogatives. But this taste of “people power” only inflamed the protestors, who continued to demand, in a general strike, that the military abdicate. All through July and into early August the street demonstrations continued. Soldiers were instructed to fire over the heads of the rioters, but either because their aim was bad or because they feared for their lives, there were many fatalities. Innocent women and children fleeing for their lives were slain. A presidential candidate, Yves Votel, was gunned down on October 13 with a copy of the constitution in his hand, protesting the disappearance of prisoners of the CNG who were being held at the federal prison next to the Palace.

Who were the instigators of the demonstrations that were bringing Haiti to the edge of anarchy? I heard three answers when I was in Haiti in August. The first, popular among American conservatives but not believed by the Embassy, was the Communist Party. The Party’s small size is not necessarily an argument against its effectiveness. But the Haitian Communists are so unpopular among the peasants (small landowners), and even among the unemployed who still hope to be rehired, that this answer is improbable.

SR

About the Author

Selden Rodman

Featured Tags

the left-leaning Radio Soleil, led the protests, and their action, reinforced by a reported threat from the American Embassy to cut off assistance under AID, obliged the CNG to restore the CEP’s prerogatives. But this taste of “people power” only inflamed the protestors, who continued to demand, in a general strike, that the military abdicate. All through July and into early August the street demonstrations continued. Soldiers were instructed to fire over the heads of the rioters, but either because their aim was bad or because they feared for their lives, there were many fatalities. Innocent women and children fleeing for their lives were slain. A presidential candidate, Yves Votel, was gunned down on October 13 with a copy of the constitution in his hand, protesting the disappearance of prisoners of the CNG who were being held at the federal prison next to the Palace.

Who were the instigators of the demonstrations that were bringing Haiti to the edge of anarchy? I heard three answers when I was in Haiti in August. The first, popular among American conservatives but not believed by the Embassy, was the Communist Party. The Party’s small size is not necessarily an argument against its effectiveness. But the Haitian Communists are so unpopular among the peasants (small landowners), and even among the unemployed who still hope to be rehired, that this answer is improbable.