Essential The Official Contemporary Haitian Geopolitics/Event thread

[loyola llothta]

‘An electoral movement’

In May 2011, with Martelly’s inauguration just days away, USAID provided a grant of $98,928 to Chemonics to support MTK. According to Chemonics’ internal activity database, the grant was for cleaning up the capital “in advance of the presidential inauguration.” Chemonics and USAID declined to be interviewed for this story. In an emailed statement, USAID said that Chemonics used the money to provide hand tools to MTK to clean the streets as part of a “civic engagement” program.

Both Chemonics and USAID, in separate emails, used the exact same language to describe MTK, calling the group a “network of community-based organizations” — and not a political organization. However, one person who was an MTK member from 2010 to 2014 and who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, explained that from the very beginning, MTK “was a political movement.”

The former MTK member explained that before the election, many Haitians bought pink membership cards declaring themselves the Base of Michel Joseph Martelly (BMJM). The pink cards were supposed to get people jobs with the new government as well as discounts at local businesses. It was also a tremendously successful way to obtain personal information on thousands of potential voters. At the time, analysts noted the similarity to the infamous Tontons Macoutes, the brutal secret police active under François “Papa Doc” Duvalier’s dictatorship, which had a similar system of membership cards that yielded patronage and privileges for holders.

The first round of the election was fatally flawed from the beginning. With over a million people still displaced by the earthquake and a cholera epidemic sweeping the country, there was predictably massive disenfranchisement, with most would-be voters simply staying home. Initial results released by the electoral authority put Manigat and Préval’s preferred successor, Jude Célestin, in the runoff election.

For days, throngs of Martelly supporters took to the streets of the capital seeking to push their candidate into the second round. They were clad in their signature pink and loudly declared their support for MTK. Many also carried their pink membership cards. Manigat, his eventual rival in the second round, dubbed the street supporters Martelly’s “pink militia” and warned of the threat to political tolerance that they represented.

“It was an electoral movement,” a current member of MTK, who held various positions in the organization and spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals, said during a recent interview in Port-au-Prince. “After the first round, it was us in the streets protesting … This is the movement that put Martelly into power.”

The former MTK member said that at first members were given BMJM cards but that after the election they were given new cards, with MTK emblazoned on them. He showed both his now expired cards.

Street pressure and U.S.-led diplomatic pressure succeeded in overturning the first round results, in what Organization of American States (OAS) whistleblower Ricardo Seitenfus later described as a “silent coup.” A mission nominally from the OAS but in reality funded in large part and controlled by the United States government, according to analysts, went to Haiti to analyze the results. What the OAS recommended was unprecedented. Without any statistical basis, the mission said Martelly came in second, ousting Célestin from the runoff. In a private meeting in 2011, the head of the OAS statistical team, Fritz Scheuren, acknowledged that in all his years, he had never otherwise seen an example of an election outcome being reversed without a recount.

In a January 2015 interview in his home in the historic Pacot neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, the prime minister at the time, Jean-Max Bellerive, said that when he first received the OAS’ report on the elections, it was clear that the conclusions it reached were not supported by the evidence in the report. According to Bellerive, Mulet would not accept a result that put Célestin in the runoff. Hillary Clinton, the U.S. secretary of state at the time, traveled to Haiti in late January 2011 to push for overturning the first round election. “We tried to resist and did, until the visit of Hillary Clinton. That was when Préval understood he had no way out and accepted” the OAS report, Bellerive said.

 

[loyola llothta]

Consolidation of power

Sitting in an air-conditioned office behind the gates of Auction City in Haiti’s wealthy Pétionville neighborhood, Georges Racine, the president of MTK, defended the group’s social mission and discussed the relationship between the movement and the party.

“We started the organization based on the needs in Haiti, and so we began to train first responders,” he said, adding that the initial goal was to have MTK first responders in every locality in Haiti. And group members have appeared alongside Haitian first lady and current Senate candidate Sophia Martelly at big events, such as Carnival. Members have been invited to the National Palace to receive certificates for their first-aid training. “At first there was more support,” he said, but now “sponsors are afraid to back the organization because they see it as political.”

But he insisted that MTK is “totally separate” from Martelly’s political party, Parti Haitiene Tét Kale (PHTK). He wasn’t as sure in 2012 after the formation of PHTK, however, when Haiti’s leading daily, Le Nouvelliste, asked about MTK’s relationship with the party. “I can’t tell you if it's a movement, if it’s a party. Contact me on Monday, and I’ll be able to give you more information,” he told the paper.

Michel Martelly, a famous kompa musician who frequently performed for members of Haiti’s brutal military under Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, eventually emerged triumphant from the rubble of Haiti’s flawed elections. But he did so without a true political base. Having campaigned on the ticket of a small party, Repons Peyizan, he arrived in office without any congressional allies and with less than 5 percent of the electorate having voted for him.

USAID was quick to point out that “Mouvement Tet Kale is not the same thing as the Tet Kale Party, which came into being in 2012 — a year after the inauguration and the grant.” But Bellerive explained that in Haiti, politicians ride electoral movements to office then consolidate their party afterward. It was no different with Martelly, he said.

In PHTK headquarters, behind a palatial gate and surrounded by lush trees, party representative Roudy Chute explained the role of MTK over the loud hum of an air conditioner. “MTK was a campaign movement, but we needed a political party, and the president agreed,” he said. “So we took from MTK and formed PHTK.”

“After we formed PHTK, some wanted to stay outside the party so they wouldn’t be limited in what activities they could participate in,” he said. “We get help from outside … MTK exists because we need them.”

Racine, who is active in PHTK, acknowledged that during the election he and other supporters formed MTK in order to “help Martelly.” Asked about his role as head of MTK and his political activism, Racine responded that he “wears two hats.” A Martelly campaign poster from 2010 stared back from the doorway. Racine became secretary of state for the interior, the powerful ministry in charge of internal security, in 2011, though he later quietly resigned after questions arose about his Haitian citizenship.

While waiting to speak with Racine, Al Jazeera witnessed an SUV with tinted windows and government plates drive into the parking lot. Georges Racine’s wife, Magalie Racine, stepped out. Her mother, a powerful Tonton Macoute, ran a notorious torture camp during François Duvalier’ dictatorship, and the family’s ties to figures from that era run deep. In early 2013 she became minister of youth, sports and culture, which has been at the center of corruption allegations involving the first family for years.

 

[loyola llothta]

Ongoing support?

In MTK’s storage yard, boxes of old clothing stood at least 15 feet high amid cluttered rows of old appliances and furniture. A young man who milled about as trucks came and went, dropping off goods and leaving with fresh cargo, explained that much of the equipment came from Haitian customs, which provides seized goods to Auction City, a large auction yard and also the headquarters of MTK, to be sold. Georges Racine confirmed this. That relationship predates the election of Martelly.

Racine initially said the group received no funds from the U.S. government, but after being presented with evidence of the funding, he acknowledged that USAID provided some support right after the election in 2011. “They stopped after, I think because of apprehension. They never said it, but I suspected it was because they saw us as political,” he said. When he first approached the U.S. government for funding during the campaign, officials offered to build the movement’s first center, but they later backed off, he said.

USAID confirmed by email that “this is the only such grant provided by USAID/OTI, through Chemonics, to MTK.” But whether deliberately or not, the U.S. government continues to provide support for the movement. Racine said that he has had trouble raising funds for MTK and that the main support for the movement at this point comes from Auction City.

Since at least 2003, the U.S. Embassy has sold its old equipment, including cars, through Auction City, providing ongoing indirect support to Racine and his political groups. A former USAID official, who was not authorized to comment on the relationship and asked not to be identified, confirmed that Racine “has big auctions, often of equipment from the international community, specifically USAID … They know him very well.”

 

[loyola llothta]

Upcoming elections

With no functioning parliament since January, Martelly has scheduled elections by decree, with first round legislative elections scheduled for Aug. 9. Still, a majority of Haitians in a recent poll said they don’t believe elections will be held. If they are, Martelly’s political party will be in a position of strength.

Jean Andre Victor, the coordinator of the opposition platform MOPOD, said in his small office, piled high with old folders and paperwork, that the government consolidates power in order to weaken opposition parties. “Elections for elections’ sake are nothing,” he said. “The international community sees elections as Election Day, but it’s the process that matters to us.”

Having spent three years consolidating its network, without having to compete in any elections, PHTK was able to register more candidates than any other political party. Victor and others allege that nearly half the 128 registered political parties are closely aligned with the president’s party, with their presence on the ballots serving only to obfuscate and divide the vote.

But if PHTK is successful, it won’t be because of the base of support that pushed Martelly into the presidency. Disillusionment with his government set in quickly. A recent poll showed his approval rating nearly 20 points lower than the national average in the all-important West department, home to the many poorer neighborhoods from which his supporters emerged to take over the streets in 2010.

The former MTK member sat back in his plastic lawn chair, his frustration with the movement clearly evident. “Before the election, they’re your friends, but after, they’re gone. Those that seek change will be disappointed … There is no change with MTK,” he said, shaking his head.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

Is shyt gonna go down again?



@loyola llothta @ZoeGod @Intruder v3.0

 

[intruder]

Is shyt gonna go down again?



@loyola llothta @ZoeGod @Intruder v3.0

Yup

shyt about to be lit in celebration of 7 Février. Hope they don't burn down the town again. Flights might get suspended again if shyt get out of hand like last time in July

 

[Bawon Samedi]

Yup

shyt about to be lit in celebration of 7 Février. Hope they don't burn down the town again. Flights might get suspended again if shyt get out of hand like last time in July

Well damn...

 

[intruder]

Well damn...

I'm fine with protests. That's how you get heard and hey change. Someone needs to be held accountable for the Petro Caraïbe money that just evaporated.

But burning down cars and businesses in a country that has over 60%+ unemployment is absurd. All you're doing is putting more people out of work, plummeting your own currency .

Last time during the protests in July them cats tried to burn down Brasserie Creole which employs THOUSANDS of people. Some may argue their owners are part of part of the problem okay sure. But you burn the shyt down and thousands of people would be unemployed in a country where unemployment is over 60%. Next thing you know less and less businesses feel secure investing in Haiti for fear of losing their investment. The few industries that remain can just cross the border and relocate in DR. So all that "Haiti open for business" crap we been promoting the last 15 years goes down the drain.

Haitians need to learn to transition from one government to another without bloodshed. I was there and lived through the coup in 1986 when Duvalier was ousted. Then Henri Nemphy. Then again in 1988 when Manigat was ousted. Ertha Trouillot followed. Then Prospere Avril and then Raoul Cedras. Then Arristide's ousting in 1991. By the time I was 15 I seen more dead bodies than some war vets.

 

[get these nets]

I'm fine with protests. That's how you get heard and hey change. Someone needs to be held accountable for the Petro Caraïbe money that just evaporated.

But burning down cars and businesses in a country that has over 60%+ unemployment is absurd. All you're doing is putting more people out of work, plummeting your own currency .

Last time during the protests in July them cats tried to burn down Brasserie Creole which employs THOUSANDS of people. Some may argue their owners are part of part of the problem okay sure. But you burn the shyt down and thousands of people would be unemployed in a country where unemployment is over 60%. Next thing you know less and less businesses feel secure investing in Haiti for fear of losing their investment. The few industries that remain can just cross the border and relocate in DR. So all that "Haiti open for business" crap we been promoting the last 15 years goes down the drain.

Haitians need to learn to transition from one government to another without bloodshed. I was there for the coup in 1986 when Duvalier was ousted. Then Nemphi. Then again in 1988 when Manigat was ousted. Ertha Touillot followed. Then Avril and Cedras. Then Arristide in 1991. By the time I was 15 I seen more dead bodies than most war vets

Coup, or coup d'etat is part of the fabric of Haitian history, though. Literally. I think it's hard for people to think of alternative methods when violence has been used so often to voice frustration.
We both know that rioting/ violence is counterproductive, but the danger is that sometimes it works. So people are always going to think that it's the best way. The street violence that erupted last year directly caused the govt. to walk back that proposed fuel tax.,

 

[intruder]

Coup, or coup d'etat is part of the fabric of Haitian history, though. Literally. I think it's hard for people to think of alternative methods when violence has been used so often to voice frustration.
We both know that rioting/ violence is counterproductive, but the danger is that sometimes it works. So people are always going to think that it's the best way. The street violence that erupted last year directly caused the govt. to walk back that proposed fuel tax.,

Yes but what many people who don't understand how things go in Haiti. shyt like many times rivals will pay looters to loot their competitor's businesses during these times. They take advantage of when shyt is hot in the country and next thing you know your business is up in flames.

Don't believe me? Ask anyone who's lived or been to Haiti often and they'll confirm this.

 

[get these nets]

Yes but what many people who don't understand how things go in Haiti. shyt like many times rivals will pay looters to loot their competitor's businesses during these times. They take advantage of when shyt is hot in the country and next thing you know your business is up in flames.

Don't believe me? Ask anyone who's lived or been to Haiti often and they'll confirm this.

I believe you. People settle scores and do evil things in the midst of riots.
When Baby Doc fell ,people were accusing people they didn't like of being Macoute so that mobs would kill them...just to settle personal beefs.
I read that, heard on the special Haitian radio , and relatives told me accounts of it happening.
So I definitely believe you about merchants paying or tricking looters to vandalize competitors.
Angry people are easy to manipulate.


Since you schooled me about the "Bali Boulevard" sample, I don't doubt or question anything you write about Haiti

 

[get these nets]

One picture is worth more words.

The dates are very fuzzy, but if you can see at the lengths of their terms/reigns, posters tells the story of Haitian political instability

 

[intruder]

"Bali Boulevard"

Sixto da GAWD

When Baby Doc fell ,people were accusing people they didn't like of being Macoute so that mobs would kill them...just to settle personal beefs.
I read that, heard on the special Haitian radio , and relatives told me accounts of it happening.
So I definitely believe you about merchants paying or tricking looters to vandalize competitors.

Yeah i remember that too. I was young but i remember me and my dad and my older sister standing by our house gate watching the mobs go down the street to burn down this makout's house in Arcachon 34 when we lived in Carrefour. My dad went to go see And i wanted him to take us with him but my mom gave him the evil look. lol. But anyway he came back and said not only the makout's house got burned down but they were threatning to burn down other people he was just cool with;s cribs.
Think I was like 7 or 8.

 

[Secure Da Bag]

Sixto da GAWD

Maurice Sixto - Wikipedia

 

[Bawon Samedi]

I'm fine with protests. That's how you get heard and hey change. Someone needs to be held accountable for the Petro Caraïbe money that just evaporated.

But burning down cars and businesses in a country that has over 60%+ unemployment is absurd. All you're doing is putting more people out of work, plummeting your own currency .

Last time during the protests in July them cats tried to burn down Brasserie Creole which employs THOUSANDS of people. Some may argue their owners are part of part of the problem okay sure. But you burn the shyt down and thousands of people would be unemployed in a country where unemployment is over 60%. Next thing you know less and less businesses feel secure investing in Haiti for fear of losing their investment. The few industries that remain can just cross the border and relocate in DR. So all that "Haiti open for business" crap we been promoting the last 15 years goes down the drain.

Haitians need to learn to transition from one government to another without bloodshed. I was there and lived through the coup in 1986 when Duvalier was ousted. Then Henri Nemphy. Then again in 1988 when Manigat was ousted. Ertha Trouillot followed. Then Prospere Avril and then Raoul Cedras. Then Arristide's ousting in 1991. By the time I was 15 I seen more dead bodies than some war vets.

I understand what you mean.

But also.



It seems the govt aint tryna budge.