Simon D. Desras - President of the Haitian Senate

The members of this congressional committee charged to investigate on President Martelly’s alleged foreign citizenship are expected to travel to Washington, D.C. to get to the bottom of this issue dominating the headlines for weeks -so they say.

They know this trip will not bring to light anything substantial, yet they still want to make it. Let me show you why I say that.

Under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, it stipulates explicitly that “No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written of, the individual to whom the record pertains…” Of course, there are exceptions to this clause; these exceptions, however, do not cover the action sought to accomplish by these senators.

The possible dual citizenship of President Martelly, a foreign dignitary, does not constitute a threat to the national security of the United States. Therefore, as Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts had stated, no US institution, including the US Congress, has jurisdiction over matters internal to the Republic of Haiti.

In light of all this, would it not be fair to ask if these guys are really coming to the US to accomplish what they say they will come to accomplish? In all earnest, I strongly doubt that getting to the bottom of this dual citizenship nonsense is exactly what they are coming here to do.

In my humble opinion, I think they are coming to the US to see their concubines and kids they do not get to see often, not to do anything having to do with the so-called investigation. While they are here, they will also use the moment to go shopping for expensive suits and pieces of jewelry, electronics, automobiles and other stuff they will not find in Haiti.

These guys need to stop taking the Haitian people for a bunch of dummies. Their actions have brought us enough shame already; they need not to add anymore to the load. We have enough of these guys making all of us pass for the ridicule of the world. I hope they can for once exercise their judgment to spare us the shame I can foresee in the horizon.