6550: Antoine comments on reshuffling the deck (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Guy Antoine <GuyAntoine@windowsonhaiti.com>

The highly intellectual and supposedly righteous opposition indeed 
cannot wish away the hard fact of the 2000 elections: Jean-Bertrand 
Aristide won the popular vote, and at least in today's Haiti, this 
means that he will be the new President, come February 7, 2001.  
Facts are facts.  A win is a win.  A loss is a loss.  And you have to 
move on.  Unless you wish for a coup.  And that's the end of the 
dialogue as far as I can see.  If others can  rationalize their way 
through another coup d'etat, I take my hat off to them.  They live 
in a parallel universe that I cannot reach due to the constraints of 
my personal make up, a universe which I have absolutely no use 
for, thank you very much. 

How long into the new millennium will the opposition dedicate itself 
to the task  of "obstructing" and "delegitimizing" before addressing 
the real purpose of any opposition party: to offer an earth-bound 
alternative and a smarter solution to the country's harsh realities.  
Nothing is to be gained from the continued belittling of the intelligence 
of the majority of the Haitian people.  If they are right, they are right.  
If they are wrong, they are wrong.  Yes, we should abide, "dully" 
if you will, by their will.  It's their reality, not the reality of most of us 
in Corbettland who comfortably live outside of Haiti.  It's not not the 
reality of most outside the country who call for a revolution. In my
book, to call for a bloody revolution, you must be in the thick of it.  
If you call on others to bear arms, you should be willing to die 
alongside them.  Anything else is elitist.  Nothing less, nothing more.

As for those who live in Haiti who think ill of Haiti's President-elect, 
well THAT'S JUST FINE.  IT IS YOUR GOD GIVEN RIGHT 
TO OPPOSE HIM. But, beware, being ANTI-ARISTIDE cannot 
by itself constitute a political movement.  You must clearly define 
an alternative program so people will finally know WHAT YOU 
STAND FOR.  Before the majority jumps on your bandwagon, 
you must first construct the bandwagon.

And until you do... we opt for the prescriptions of the Constitution 
of Haiti and for a State of Law.  We will support the dominant 
political force in Haiti today, Fanmi Lavalas, and hold it accountable 
to its constitutional duty, and to our ideals of good government and 
social development.  If they perform in a positive way, with tangible 
results, they will deserve reelection in 2005.  If they do not, they will 
likely get kicked back to the farm.  That's the way it's supposed to 
work, folks... for Haiti too!

But am I dreaming?  In the other universe, we hear talk of a parallel
government!  Will they also hold parallel elections?  Will they have
a parallel public administration?  Will they have a parallel Treasury?
Will they have a parallel security force?  Will they have parallel
responsibilities?  Will they have a parallel accountability? Will they
send parallel representatives to the United Nations and the 
Organization of the American States and to the United States and
the Dominican Republic?  And shall the parallel governments ever
meet?  And if they do (a new notion of parallelism), would it be
like colliding matter and anti-matter?  And would this collison be 
good for Haiti somehow?  Help me here!  I am on this roller-coaster
and I cannot get off...  
   
Why not turn the table and restart from scratch?  God, isn't that
what we have been doing, like forever?  But you're right, let's
reshuffle the deck of cards (or to borrow a sexier idea, let's just 
get a brand new deck) until the righteous thinking intellectuals 
and the revolutionists are finally satisfied.  

Any guess as to when that shall be?

Guy S. Antoine
Windows on Haiti
http://windowsonhaiti.com