Sunday, June 5, 2022

Haiti and Regis Debray

 I don't know if you saw the series on Haiti in last week's Times--pretty good-- "pretty, pretty good "as Larry David might say.

One section concerns the reaction of the French to Aristide's call for reparations. Who do you think led the so-called Commission that France formed to "consider" the question, and by consider I mean "absolutely refuse to consider," and then went to Haiti to not-so-subtly threaten Aristide with the fate of Allende if he didn't drop it? 

None other than Regis Debray--- the erstwhile champion  of Third World liberation struggles, Castro's biggest fan. 

And the epilogue: while he Aristide wasn't murdered, he was indeed removed from power by the US with French connivance.



8 comments:

  1. https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article261734482.html

    May 24, 2022

    No, the U.S. did not try to overthrow President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti
    By JAMES B. FOLEY

    The New York Times’ recent exceptional reporting * on the cruel indemnity imposed by France on newly independent Haiti in the early 19th century and its profoundly damaging impact on the impoverished country to this day, unfortunately, was marred by a gross distortion of recent history.

    In particular, the assertion ** that the United States collaborated with France to mount a coup against Haiti’s democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a claim made by former French officials, is not true.

    It is true that, as U.S. ambassador, I consulted with key international counterparts in Haiti, including the French, in the diplomatic effort I led to forge compromise among the political protagonists and to prevent the deteriorating situation from collapsing altogether.

    The responsibility of Aristide and his associates for employing criminal street gangs to intimidate and terrorize political opponents was, in this context, a matter of acute concern for the United States and its international partners. But it was never U.S. policy to seek or support the ouster of Aristide, whom we recognized as the country’s duly elected leader....

    * https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/world/americas/haiti-history-colonized-france.html

    ** https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/world/americas/haiti-aristide-reparations-france.html

    James B. Foley was the U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Haiti from May 27, 2003 to August 14, 2005.

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  2. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/world/americas/haiti-history-colonized-france.html

    May 20, 2022

    The Root of Haiti’s Misery: Reparations to Enslavers
    By Catherine Porter, Constant Méheut, Matt Apuzzo and Selam Gebrekidan

    https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/world/french-banks-haiti-cic.html

    May 20, 2022

    How a French Bank Captured Haiti
    By Matt Apuzzo, Constant Méheut, Selam Gebrekidan and Catherine Porter

    https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/world/haiti-wall-street-us-banks.html

    May 20, 2022

    Invade Haiti, Wall Street Urged. The U.S. Obliged.
    By Selam Gebrekidan, Matt Apuzzo, Catherine Porter and Constant Méheut

    https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/world/americas/haiti-aristide-reparations-france.html

    May 20, 2022

    Demanding Reparations,and Ending Up in Exile
    A firebrand Haitian president tried to hold France to account for its years of exploitation. He soon found himself ousted from power.
    By Constant Méheut, Catherine Porter, Selam Gebrekidan and Matt Apuzzo

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  3. And the epilogue: while he Aristide wasn't murdered, he was indeed removed from power by the US...

    [ As shown, there is no evidence to think this correct so that the US removed Aristide is just conjecture. ]

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  4. Anon: The point stills stands re: Debray's despicability.

    But I have to laugh at the ambassador's comment about Aristide's gangs.The US had no problem with Duvalier's Ton-ton Macoutes.

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  5. The whole French demand for payments from Haiti was amazing really - I knew nothing of that history. It is a good thing we won the War of 1812 or we would have been paying up to the King!

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  6. The point stills stands re: Debray's despicability.

    But I have to laugh at the ambassador's comment about Aristide's gangs. The US had no problem with Duvalier's Ton-ton Macoutes.

    [ Both points are important. About Debray, I completely agree. About the former ambassador's letter and gangs, I wonder why Mr. Foley did not write to the New York Times with his argument while the gangs argument fails when considering the role of gangs in the past.

    Fine, I am inclined to believe Mr. Aristide on the matter of his removal. Also, I do know for sure that the US sought to stop the return to Haiti of Aristide. ]

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  7. Mr. Quinn,

    An important post.

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  8. Anon: The idea that the US didn't remove Aristide is a joke. So the US Ambassador said we didn't. Do tell. Human beings have been known to lie. Bigly.

    Aristide was kidnapped. The kidnapping was witnessed and called a kidnapping before Aristide said he was kidnapped.

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