Category Politics

If it is about politics, find it here.

Jun 2 2012

My Position On The Publication Of The Amended Version Of The 1987 Constitution

Per Lucien Jura, the spokesperson for the Office of the President, President Martelly will publish this month in the Moniteur, the country’s official newspaper, the highly contested and controversial amended version of the 1987 Constitution.

Public opinion is split on whether the president should publish it or not. As it can be noticed, I refrain from positioning myself on that simply because I am clueless in terms of its content. I hope the president is well advised and, if he decides to publish it, knows exactly what he is getting himself into.

The question I and others are asking ourselves is, why is it that a document of such magnitude and importance is not being made available to the public online and other venues for everyone to access it and have a political position on it in terms of its publication? By not doing so, the president and his close and trusted advisers are giving the impression that there are things in there they are hiding and do not want the general public to know about. They need to keep in mind that in politics, impression or perception is reality. So they do need to be very careful in their approach.

Because I refuse to extrapolate or do the Haitian “voye monte,” I choose not to have a political position in terms of whether the amended version of the 1987 Constitution should be published or not as the President is poised to do some time this month. Also, because it has been kept with such a top secrecy, my instinct tells me there are things in there the authorities do not wish to be known by the general public. So for those two reasons, I do not back up the idea of publishing it without it being placed under the microscopic lens of the people. If in spite of all the opposing counsels from high profile and respected constitutional analysts in the caliber of Gerard Gourgue, Georges Michel and others, President Martelly decides to publish the document, whether the consequences of such action are politically positive or negative for his presidency and the country as a whole, he must keep in mind that he will be held accountable.

May 29 2012

Towards A Renascent Haiti: It’s SECURITY, Stupid!

The sine qua non condition for the Haitian Diaspora to return home, foreign investors to come invest in our economy, and tourists to visit the country is to secure the nation. This is something most of us agree upon. We disagree, however, on the steps to be taken to get to that.

We talk a lot about what is needed for Haiti to start being a working country again, but not so much about how to make it possible. Restoring a sense of security inside the country is not complicated, and that could become a reality in a year if we are serious about it. We simply have got to take these three bold steps:

  1. The institution of the Haitian military (a professional military) with a clear and well defined mission, which is to defend, serve and protect the nation at any cost against foreign invaders and domestic and foreign terrorists. We do not need to start in full strength. We could start small (500 to 1000 well trained and equipped troops) and expand as we go and as our means allows.
  2. The institution of a structured and professional intelligence agency to be the eyes and ears of the government on matters pertaining to our national security. We must get these domestic terrorists terrorizing the population at their points of planning before they could carry out their missions or hit their next high-value targets (HVTs).
  3. The institution of capital punishment by means of “Pe Lebren” to punish these terrorists is paramount.

These terrorists are not to be played with; rather, they ought to be captured and brought to justice. And we can only be effective in our engagement when these three instances –the police force, the military and the intelligence agency –could operate in unison towards accomplishing one clear and well defined mission.

We need to take “Pe Lebren” off the streets and turn it into a punishment to be administered by the judges in the justice system. No one citizen will have the right to “Pe Lebrenize” another citizen. In other words, self-procurement of justice will automatically place the citizen in violation of the law. And anyone who does that will be dealt with in accordance with the legal treatment your case necessitates.

We need to “Pe Lebrenize” these terrorists in broad daylight so we could send a clear message to those who are contemplating on ways to hit their next HVTs. Such deterring measure will tell the next or aspiring terrorists that if they do not stop, if they persist in their mischievous operations, they are destined to face the same fate.

We are not the ones to believe in the rhetoric that poverty breeds crimes. Being poor cannot be a justification to commit crimes as one can be poor in dignity. So the notion that these terrorists cling to their criminal activities because of their socioeconomic situation is preposterous and does not resonate too well with us.

We are not aiming at seeing the emergence of a crime-free Haiti. That is not what we are aiming at. We have got to be realistic. What we want to achieve, however, is to put these terrorists out of their nuisance state. So we have a choice to make in this situation: either we regain control of the country so the Diaspora could return home, foreign investors could invest in the economy, and tourists could vacation in Haiti again as it used to be back then or let these terrorists have their way and turn the place into a crime state.

A renascent Haiti is possible if we all believe it is and accept to do what is necessary to make it happen. Everything starts with securing the country. So the security steps we will be undertaking in the days, weeks and months to come will determine the type of Haiti we want to have. Make no mistake that we have to work hard, diligently and intelligently to strengthen our economy through a job creation strategy. But that will not happen if we cannot secure the country and protect the people’s lives, investments and properties.

May 18 2012

National Security: A Haitian Defense Ministry For Strategic Reasons

Rodolphe Joasil, Haitian Minister of Defense

Some people are criticizing the Martelly-Lamothe administration for the creation of the Ministry of Defense. They argue that it is a waste of our scarce resources to have a Defense Ministry as an independent organization of the Haitian government -since we already have an agency called the Direction of Civil Protection, and let alone we do not even have a military institution. I don’t think these folks quite understand the real philosophy behind the creation of the Ministry of Defense, though.

The Ministry of Defense, per Minister Joasil’s strategic approach during his brief presentation of the institution’s mission, purpose, and agenda at the televised Cabinet Meeting on Wednesday, is going to play a very important role, one of an umbrella institution, in coordinating the efforts of many agencies such as the Direction of Civil Protection, the Office of Management of Mount Hospital, the National Intelligence Agency amongst others.

We do not really need to wait for when we have a national military for us to start doing certain things. For example, we can introduce in or add to the national police two well trained and equipped specialized brigades with mission to police our forests (to prevent the rampant deforestation) and man our border with the Dominican Republic (to control the movement of people and goods across the border).  These brigades too, once constituted, along with the aforementioned agencies, will fall right under the commanding authority of the Defense Minister.

I would like to urge these people going ballistic over the creation of the Ministry of Defense, which former Senator Joasil is commissioned to head, to not let the name “Ministry of Defense” throw them off. In my humble opinion, that ministry’s real name should have been Ministry of National Security with mission to coordinate the efforts of all these independent agencies so that they could communicate with each other and act in a concerted manner for effectiveness purposes.

It does make sense to detach the Ministry of Defense from the Interior Ministry. The Ministry of Defense is too vital of an institution to let it stay as a sub-institution inside the Ministry of Interior. From a strategic standpoint, I do understand quite well what President Martelly and Prime Minister Lamothe are trying to do by separating these two entities. If you really want to effectively secure our homeland, you have got to give the Defense Ministry its autonomy and allow it to operate outside the realm of the Interior Ministry. After the tragedy of September 11, here in America, we did the exact same thing with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which Secretary Napolitano is currently the head of. As the new threats and challenges emerge, we have got to keep restructuring government to render it more effective in its mission of delivering “real-time” service to its people.

May 11 2012

Charnette Orelien Has Made History in Irvington, NJ

The people in the West Ward of the city of Irvington, NJ has spoken loud and clear Tuesday night –when they elected Charnette ORELIEN to represent them in the Municipal Council.

A native of Haiti, Charnette ORELIEN migrated to the US in 1996; she has been a resident of that ward since.

She is a graduate of Essex County College, Rutgers University and Seton Hall University. Needless to say, education plays a major role in her life.

Tuesday night, she has made history. In the city of Irvington’s 320-year history, she is the first Haitian American to win a seat in the city’s Council. Mind you, more Haitians reside in the city than any other ethnic group.

Charnette has decided to challenge that seat in the West Ward because she believed she could win and make a difference in the lives of her constituents.

She has won the election imposingly. According to the website of the Essex County Clerk Office, a total of 946 voters voted in the West Ward, of which she amassed 456 or 48.20%; John F. Brown, the distant second person in line, obtained 291 or 30.76%.

This crushing victory would have not been possible had it not been for the outstanding work of her staff and ground team of volunteers, the Haitian-owned radio stations and her technology/internet team (on Facebook, Twitter, etc…) to mobilize the people in the West Ward and get them out to vote on Election Day.

The turnout was very low, compared to the thousands of Haitian registered voters residing in that ward. That shows we still have some serious work to do if we dream to elect a Haitian mayor in that city in the years to come. So the community outreach effort we had going on through the massive civic education campaign -which got Charnette to win -must pursue its course.

Anyhow, her campaign strategy must become the model to follow and impetus to capitalize on, for it has produced the expected results. She did not do anything the ones who preceded her, those who did not get the chance to get that far in their attempts, could not do. Maybe they did not know any better. Like it is said in our Haitian Creole, “sa w pa konnen pi gran pase w.”

May 6 2012

Kretyen Yo Tou Sipoze Vote

Gen anpil nan mesye pastè yo k ap preche yon levanjil Wòyòm Selès, kote y ap di fidèl yo ke politik pa yo a se nan syèl pou yo fè l. Sa se yon gwo pwoblèm.

Menmjan Kretyen an gen yon vi relijyez li pa ta renmen wè ki pa kodyòm ak Pawòl Bondye a, se konsa tou li gen vi sosyal ak sivik li tou ki pa sipoze neglije. Li sipoze patisipe nan pwosès demokratik la tou kòmsadwa. Kidonk, li sipoze vote.

Li iresponsab pou yon pastè ap di fidèl li pingga yo vote pou lemond; se pou Jezikris pou yo vote. Nou tande jan de pawòl degrenngòch sa yo touttan nan yon seri de legliz.

Fidèl yo ap viv nan sosyete a tou. Kidonk, desizyon k ap soti nan pouvwa anplas la, yo afekte vi fidèl yo tou. Se pa vi payen yo sèlman non ki afekte. Se sa k fè Kretyen yo tou sipoze patisipe nan pwosès demokratik la.

Si w pa vote pou w di men ki moun ou vle ki pou jere zafè pèp la, ou pa ka ap kritike, ap soteponpe lè bagay yo ap mal fèt. Se pou Jezikris ou te di ou t ap vote, se pou w fèmen bouch ou lè zafè w ap mal jere.

Vote, pou Kretyen an, se yon dwa ke li ye -menmjan li se yon dwa pou l jwenn bonjan ledikasyon, lasante, elatriye. Wi, l ap batay pou l ale nan syel, men pandan li sou latè a, se yon devwa li ye pou l vote, pou l patisipe nan desizyon k ap pran pou detèmine ki moun ki pou dirije zafè peyi a. Si l pa patisipe nan pwosès la epi zafè peyi a ap mal jere, li fè pati de moun sa yo ki responsab bagay yo ap mal pase a. Kidonk, li sipoze vote.

May 1 2012

If Lucien Jura Cannot Do His Job, He Needs To Be Fired

Lucien Jura -President Martelly's spokesperson

Don’t we have a press team in the National Palace in Haiti assigned to record and report on President Martelly’s daily activities? If so, what is so difficult for these guys to videotape President Martelly’s major activities -the ceremony that took place at Toussaint Louverture International Airport yesterday morning during the President’s arrival from his hospital stay in Florida, for instance -and post them on his Facebook page, Twitter and Youtube Channel (if the National Palace has one, that is) for everyone interested to check out?

What are these guys doing in the Palace, seriously? I did not get the chance to watch the ceremony at the airport because I had some other obligation to honor. If somebody did not care enough to post on Youtube some bootleg clip of the ceremony, I would have not gotten the chance to see what went down minute by minute. Shouldn’t that be the job of the President’s press team?

Since we are talking about the President’s press team not doing its job, why does it seem so difficult for Lucien Jura, the gentleman said to be President Martelly’s spokesperson, to give a “press briefing” every morning to the National Palace Press Corps to inform the world on the President’s politics on certain key domestic and international issues?

Why do you think Jay Carney, President Obama’s Press Secretary, makes it a duty to stand before the White House Press Corps every morning to brief the world on what needs to be known about the politics of President Obama and his decisions on the major key domestic and foreign issues of the time? He does it because such is within the realm of his responsibility as a spokesperson. If he does not do it, who else is going to? You expect Rush Limbaugh, a vicious opponent of President Obama, to use his platform to do it for him? I don’t think any Obama sympathizer would want Limbaugh to be President Obama’s spokesperson.  I would not.

Lucien Jura is supposed to be the mouthpiece of President Martelly. If he cannot do his job, he has no business to be kept in his function. I am sure he was hired for the job because President Martelly believed he could do it EFFECTIVELY. That choice, I presume, was not made based on favoritism. So if his performance has proven ineffective, he needs to be fired. Plain and simple!

The reason why President Martelly is constantly being hammered left and right by his political opponents is because his mouthpiece, Lucien Jura supposedly, who is to be articulating his political positions, is not being effective in his function of spokesperson.

It seems as though Lucien Jura is there to diffuse political bombs thrown at the President, not to be preemptively on the offensive. And the best way to be and stay preemptively on the offensive is to inform the general public about the FACTS -especially when your opponents are using misleading information to torpedo you. When/if you fail to do so, you leave it up to your opponents to pollute the minds of the people with propaganda politics, which will negatively impact your political tenure.

In conclusion, President Martelly’s press team needs to be more proactive and aggressive in its function. Politics is a contact sport. If you cannot play tough, do not get inside the ring, for you will be slammed and stepped on. Sadly, Lucien Jura’s ineffectiveness as a spokesperson makes President Martelly look like a punk, someone who is being bullied, trashed, slammed or/and hit and not doing anything to retaliate. This is unacceptable. I am sick and tired seeing the President being portrayed as such. Again, if Lucien Jura cannot do his job EFFECTIVELY, he needs to be let go.

Apr 24 2012

Mario Andresol Needs To Act With Boldness

Mario Andresol, the Haitian Police Chief

This nonsense about a component of the Haitian National Police going on strike because some of their peers got shot dead, for the most part in the line of duty, needs to be stopped rigorously.

This is not the way to proceed. As part of their training at the Police Academy, I am certain they were made aware of the guidelines that underscore how complaints and grievances must be properly channeled through up to their commanding officers.

This cancer needs to be radiated at its gestation to prevent it from becoming a gangrenous precedent for the good functioning of the institution.

What these police officers are doing is like déjà vu all over again to me. That is the same nonsense we had to deal with back then –on the last days in the life of the Haitian military –with the foolishness about the “ti sòldas” protesting against their commanding officers. This is plain ridiculousness at its best.

Like the military, the institution of the police is apolitical, meaning it stays away from the political chatters taking place in its surroundings.

In 2006, I could not fathom to witness an installation of the United States Army going on strike demanding the resignation of G. W. Bush, their Commander in chief, for having “wrongly” committed troops in Iraq, having caused the lives of thousands of their comrades. That would have not happened. The day you see such foolishness happens in this country, you must make it your hint that America is definitely going down.

This is not the way the military/police force operates. These folks very well know that, why are they doing what they are doing? Why does it have to be in Haiti for such foolishness to take place?

I am urging the Police Chief, Mario Andresol, to open an investigation immediately to find out who these police officers are; they must be dealt with according to the prescriptions in the institution’s internal code of conduct. This is unacceptable. As far as I am concerned, they need to be kicked out of the force; they need to be made an example out of, so that such misbehavior never has to reproduce itself.

Apr 17 2012

President Martelly Was Flirting With Death

Yesterday afternoon, aboard a commercial airplane, President Martelly was rushed to the Miami hospital he was operated on probably as a result of preliminary signs such as dyspnea (difficulty breathing), tachypnea (shortness of breast), coughing and chest pain on inspiration. After meticulously examining the case, the medical staff came up with pulmonary embolism as the diagnosis.

Briefly, pulmonary embolism is a situation that occurs as a result of a circulating thrombus (blood clot) blocking the circulation of the blood at the level of the lungs. That is the basic definition.

Sequential compression devices (SCDs)

Prolonged bed rest resulting from a major invasive procedure places the patient at risk for post-operative thromboembolism. So to avoid such complication, they usually attach to the patient’s lower extremities sequential compression devices (SCDs) -stockings that wrap around the legs and periodically inflate and deflate with air -to accelerate the venous blood return. Ambulating the patient immediately after surgery also reduces the risk of thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

From a pathophysiological standpoint, since the exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) for oxygen (O2) taking place in the lungs is compromised (as a result of the blockage), the patient’s supply in O2 decreases -which eventually, if not rushed to the ER to be treated urgently, will cause cyanosis (a bluish or purplish coloration of the skin as a result of a low circulating oxygen saturation), low blood pressure, tachycardia, tachypnea, collapse and sudden death. So needless to say that pulmonary embolism is a serious condition.

Now, in the case of President Martelly, what could be the cause of such condition? Well, since he just had a right shoulder arthroscopy to treat a damage joint, this will be the main focus in the investigation of the case. But other underlining conditions -hypertension, diabetes, etc… -could cause that as well. So it is imperative to have a clear understanding of the president’s medical history to pinpoint what exactly is the root cause of the condition.

Pulmonary embolism is a treatable condition. Normally, they will proceed with anticoagulant to undo or dissolve the clot. So while the patient is in the hospital, they will probably heparinize him or her with heparin to be tapered down as the patient is being put on warfarin (coumadin) before being sent home still on warfarin (coumadin) therapy.

While on warfarin, the president will have to have his blood studied every month to determine the effects of the therapy and if he must be taken off the drug.

President Martelly was literally flirting with death. So it was a good thing that he was rushed to the hospital to receive the appropriate and most needed medical care. Otherwise, the unexpected, which is death, could have resulted. Per the press release issued by his office, his health is in stable condition. I wish him a speedy recovery.

Apr 6 2012

Martelly in Miami: A Surgery Of Controversy

President Martelly of Haiti

According to an official statement issued by the Office of the President in Port-au-Prince, President Martelly left Haiti Wednesday to Miami, Fl where he will undergo a surgical intervention in his right shoulder. No mention of the nature and scope of the surgery is made. He will return a week later, precisely on Thursday, April 12, 2012 to resume his activities.

Apparently, the fact that he is traveling abroad for medical reasons does not please many. Some are arguing that he should not be traveling to the US to be operated on; he should stay home and be treated by Haitian doctors and nurses only for the sake of inspiring confidence in the Haitian health care system. Are these people serious, really?

Of course, that is what every president would hope to see. But such is not the case for Haiti. And who said he will not be operated on by a Haitian orthopedist in Miami -one of our own who had studied in Haiti and left the country for political reasons or because he or she was not valued enough in his or her own country?

This argument, which I consider as a blame on the president’s account, would have made sense had Martelly been president for the past 26 years and nothing been done to structure our health care system and the delivery of care in the country.

Remember, Martelly has been in power for only 11 months; it took years to bring our health care system and the practice of the science of medicine to such a situation of chaos.

His predecessors are done messing up everything, now they want to hold him accountable for the state of affairs in the country. At some point in time, the practice of medicine in Haiti used to be one of the best in the region; it is not so anymore for years.

Aristide and Preval, these two Lavalas guys, for the twenty years they were in power, did not do anything of substance to make sure that their successors would not have to travel abroad should they need care as basic as emergency. They messed it up for all of us. So if blames need to be cast, they need to direct them at these two guys, not Martelly. In fact, did Rene Preval not have to travel abroad, to Cuba precisely, to have his prostate cancer taken care of? I did not hear all these chatters when that happened. Why now I am reading about all these jabbers? I guess Cuba is not foreign to Haiti, America is. Seriously, these healthcare nationalists need to find better ways to show their nationalism.

Mar 30 2012

Calling On Former High-Ranking Haitian Military Officers

Members of the demobilized Haitian military

I understand that these demobilized military guys want the return of the Haitian military. I do not think anyone with the Haitian blood flowing through their veins could ever reject or oppose to that. The return of a professional Haitian military is paramount to the country’s national security and prestige.

The argument is not whether the return of the Haitian military is feasible or not as it is recognized in the Constitution of the land; it is, rather, how should we proceed and what should be its mission and purpose.

I have heard many making the argument that we do not need to return with the Haitian military. I must ask these people this simple question: If you say we do not need our own military, what do we still need MINUSTAH troops in the country for? They are not there working for free; they get paid for what they do. Would it not make sense to replace these foreign troops occupying our land with our own folks -who know our culture, speak our language and are from us? I doubt anyone would disagree with that.

So until someone can show me how it is not going to be in the country’s best interest to reactivate or reinstate the Haitian military, I am standing strong and resolute for the return of the Haitian military as stipulated in the 1987 Constitution.

The way these so-called former members of the armed forces are proceeding to make their voices heard, however, is not going to help their cause. Rather, it will turn off people with the pen power to satisfy their concerns.

In terms of public relations, they are doing their movement a disservice. They are not being properly represented and portrayed in the press nationally and internationally. When I and most people look at them, to be honest with you, it is disheartening, appalling and disgusting. We look at them as a group of armed thugs in the heart of some jungle receiving military training for the sole purpose of terrorizing their own population of civilians -raping, killing, kidnapping, destroying, stealing, etc… Not a good image to project and promote when you want people to listen to you.

So I am calling on former military officers in the caliber of General Herard Abraham to come to the rescue of these so-called prior service military personnel. They will constitute a sort of a leadership council to represent these guys and push to the forefront their revendications. In other words, this body will play the role of a lobbying team to talk on behalf of these guys -whom no one in the international arena will ever sit down to talk to.

It is imperative that certain well respected former high-ranking military officers come forward to form this lobbying body to represent these guys. We all know that nature abhors a vacuum. So if nothing is being done urgently to structure and galvanize this movement and give it an allure of serious, I guarantee you someone from their ranks will emerge and proclaim himself or herself the leader of this movement. And when that happens, it will be very hard to ask this self-proclaimed leader to step aside and allow someone with the leadership skills, education and knowledge to lead the movement. Meanwhile, they have weapons in their hands; no one can foresee what may happen. It is very dangerous to allow someone with demands that cannot be met to have a weapon in his hand and become bitterly frustrated. You can expect the unexpected to occur. So we do not need to let things get to this point of no return, especially when we could do something to prevent that.