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Haiti's Voodoo Politics: Democracy, Past, Present--Any Future?
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14530 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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3 / 1988 |
2,962 Words |
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Bob Roberts
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The carnage of the Haitian people on election day--Sunday, November 29, 1987--demonstrated just how far a dictatorship will go to hold on to the power of government. With over two dozen killed and more than 100 wounded, the ghosts of the Duvalier regimes inflicted serious damage to the Haitians' fragile march toward democracy.
What occurred that bloody Sunday was not simply the events of one day, but a culmination of months of intimidation by supporters of the former dictators and a mockery of the democratic system.
During the 29 years that Francois "Papa Doc" and his son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier ruled Haiti, they held power by using their private paramilitary force, the Tonton Macoutes to terrorize the people. By torturing or killing opponents during the night and leaving the bodies for others to see, they instilled a fear in the population that kept many opposition voices quiet. This fear was augmented by voodoo practiced by most Haitians, who believed that the bogeymen (Tonton Macoutes) were the forces of evil.
When Baby Doc fled Haiti on February 7, 1986, the event was viewed as a departure of the "bad," making way for the "good." In some areas the Tonton Macoutes were hunted down and killed by their neighbors in retaliation for the years of tormenting. Their elimination, it was hoped, would prevent a resurgence of the terrorizing power they had held. The army reported that the Macoutes' weapons had been confiscated. Wise and more stable political leaders called for a stop to the vigilante actions, which saved most of the Macoutes from death.
With no true skills, and unemployment at 50 percent and above, the former Macoutes had little prospect of finding jobs. Many therefore traded their blue Tonton Macoutes uniforms for Haitian army greens. The Haitian people were relieved that the attacks ceased.
The National Governing Council (CGN) was appointed to rule Haiti upon Duvalier's departure from the country. Headed by army Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy, who was close to the Duvalier family and served as chief of staff and deputy commander of the presidential guard during the Duvalier dictatorship, the CNG promised to lead the country to democratic elections and a new president by February 7, 1988.
A long march
Haiti's first step in the march toward democracy was the election of representatives to a Constituent Assembly where a new constitution would be written. Having no familiarity with or confidence in free elections, less than 10 percent of the almost three million eligible voters turned out for the October 1986 balloting. However, representatives were elected and a new constitution was written.
The new constitution prohibited those close to the Duvalier regimes from holding public office for 10 years, severely limited the powers of the president, and guaranteed civil rights to the people. Although it was a massive document, which no one backed in its entirely, it received support because many believed that it was an important step toward democracy. On March 29, 1987, over 50 percent of the eligible voters turned out and approved the new constitution by more than 99 percent. Confidence in the democratic system was growing
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