This is a new approach to politics in Haiti which have traditionally only been accountable to a small few in the Groupe de Bourdon business cartel. People like Dr. Carey may not even realize they are being used to advance partisan agendas and further divide our country.
While I hesitate to even engage with rumormongers, it is important to ensure that the facts are laid out so I will address a few of the more egregious errors in his analysis.
First, Mr. Conille meets the legally mandated residency requirements for Prime Minister according to the Haitian Senate and the House of Deputies. Mr. Conille is eminently qualified for the position having worked for 20 years in Haitian politics and led the UN Special Envoy’s office post-earthquake. There is nothing in Mr. Conille’s record that indicates he is a Duvalierist. I know Mr. Conille well and I can assure you – he is focused on the future – not the past.
Second, Martelly never turned to the “remnants of the Duvalier dictatorship to secretly finance his well-oiled, professional campaign.” Rather, President Martelly along with thousands of supporters in Haiti and the Diaspora financed his campaign directly because he believed he could make a real difference and represented a new type of Haitian politician. All campaign contributions were donated according to Haiti’s electoral law. Dr. Carey has absolutely no foundation to make his accusations on this front.
Third, Dr. Carey asserts that President Martelly reached some super secret agreement with his funders to reinstate the army. In fact, the new Haitian Defense Force is being launched for four very strong and very public reasons:
1. It is a direct request of the Haitian people who are increasingly concerned by the track record UN’s peacekeeping mission in Haiti which has been involved in scandal after scandal, including the introduction of cholera, the murder of a young man in the camps, sex scandals and corruption, as well as most recently the documented rape of a young Haitian man for more see:
a. http://solutionshaiti.
b. http://solutionshaiti.
c. http://solutionshaiti.
2. Haiti is a sovereign country with real needs to protect its borders from drug trafficking and gangs;
3. The police are overwhelmed and need to primarily focus upon domestic issues; and,
4. In all countries, the military helps maintain infrastructure and helps with disaster and emergency response. Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake and had to rely upon the US military for stabilization, rescue and recovery. Our airports and ports were under the control of the US military. Should the Haitian government not be able to respond to these types of crisis themselves? We should have to wait for the US military to arrive? The people are demanding protection and security. President Martelly is planning a modern, efficient and professional army that is being developing in concert with international partners.
1. It is a direct request of the Haitian people who are increasingly concerned by the track record UN’s peacekeeping mission in Haiti which has been involved in scandal after scandal, including the introduction of cholera, the murder of a young man in the camps, sex scandals and corruption, as well as most recently the documented rape of a young Haitian man for more see:
a. http://solutionshaiti.
b. http://solutionshaiti.
c. http://solutionshaiti.
2. Haiti is a sovereign country with real needs to protect its borders from drug trafficking and gangs;
3. The police are overwhelmed and need to primarily focus upon domestic issues; and,
4. In all countries, the military helps maintain infrastructure and helps with disaster and emergency response. Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake and had to rely upon the US military for stabilization, rescue and recovery. Our airports and ports were under the control of the US military. Should the Haitian government not be able to respond to these types of crisis themselves? We should have to wait for the US military to arrive? The people are demanding protection and security. President Martelly is planning a modern, efficient and professional army that is being developing in concert with international partners.
Fourth, Dr. Carey goes through considerable efforts to link every single Martelly appointment to Duvalier. For example, he states, “Constantin Mayard-Paul, the attorney for Claude Raymond and Papa Doc’s godson, has a son, Thierry Mayard-Paul, who is the president’s chief of staff. Another brother, Gregory Mayard-Paul, is a legal adviser.” What? He states that another advisor was the Ambassador to the Holy See under Duvalier. So everyone who worked for Duvalier or Aristide should be shut out of government? Me. Thierry Mayard Paul 50 years old and Me Gregory Mayard Paul 46 never hold public office in Haiti until now. The two brothers owned a successful private law firm. Thierry served a few months pro bono in a commission hired by Preval to reform the judicial system. Dr. Carey surely does not understand the situation in Haiti given a comment as preposterous as this. There are very few qualified and experienced government officials in Haiti. Just because one may have worked under a previous regime does not indict them. There are reformers within every system. It seems Dr. Carey is advocating some sort of a witch hunt in Haiti. We prefer not to go that route and follow his derided path of “cohabitation”. In fact, many many advanced democracies in this world have competing political groups, including the US, the UK, and Canada. A democracy incorporates all voices.
Fifth, Dr. Carey’s reporting on me was lazy and inaccurate. I never orchestrated an armed rebellion. I trained all of Haiti’s political parties on how to operate more effectively; observed elections; and worked with civil society groups to help them effectively message their platforms. I was never “removed” from my position at the International Republican Institute. After 15 years at the Institute, I resigned and launched my own Washington Democracy Project.
Sixth, Dr. Carey’s lazy analysis continues when he states that the reasons for Mr. Conille’s acceptance by the Haitian parliament are “not difficult to fathom”. He goes on to hurl accusations that Mr. Conille wants to reinstate terror at the hand of an army because his father was a minister under Duvalier. How incredibly ridiculous. Mr. Conille has broad based support because of his track record in Haiti and because he represents a new future for Haiti.
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