[NYTr] COHA Blasted for article on Haiti Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2007 14:58:06 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [Last week the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) sent around an announcement that they were opening a web discussion on a recent, and apparently very controversial, Sep 14, 2007 article on Haiti entitled "PrC)val of Haiti B- A Provisional Report Card: Grade B+" http://www.coha.org/2007/09/14/preval-of-haiti%e2%80%94a-provisional-report-card-grade-b/ We have not found any of that promised discussion, if it's posted yet, except for a few comments in their forum which you can see here: http://cohaforum.blogspot.com/2007/09/regarding-prval-of-haitia-provisional.html and we had decided originally not to distribute their Sep 14th article. However, since NarcoNews has seen fit to post a loud denunciation of it, we will send it out following this critical article. Several weeks ago COHA also sent out an announcement about major new coverage they planned of the Manuel Noriega extradition request by France, and the maneuvering over it in the US and Panama (do they or don't they want Noriega back, etc.?) That hasn't appeared either. Perhaps it's just the disorganization of a new academic year, or growing pains, but COHA -- which in the past excelled in their scholarship, care and accuracy, has been rather uneven lately. See the Sep 21, 2007 Narconews article at the URL below for extensive embedded links. -NY Transfer] NarcoNews - Sep 21, 2007 http://www.narconews.com/Issue46/article2784.html The Council on Hemispheric Affairs Deserves an F for Article on Haiti Conflicting Reports from the Research Organization Raise Questions about Its Reporting in Haiti By Joe Emersberger Special to The Narco News Bulletin COHA, The Council on Hemispheric Affairs, recently published a piece by one of its research associates, Michael Glenwick, entitled bPrC)val of Haiti b A Provisional Report Card: Grade B+.b In it, Glenwick recycles the smears that contributed to Haitian President Aristidebs ouster in 2004 and, subsequently, to the worst human rights disaster in the Western Hemisphere. There can be no serious dispute about the scale of the bloodbath under Gerard Latortuebs coup installed government b one that was backed (quite predictably) by the US, Canada, France and the UN Security Council. Less predictable, and in some ways more important, was the backing Lortortue received from progressive and bindependentb institutions. Glenwickbs article moves COHA decisively into the camp of NGOs and media outlets that have served Haitibs neo-Duvalierists so effectively in recent years. This represents a significant loss. Shortly before and after the coup, COHA stood admirably apart from the corporate media herd in its analysis of events in Haiti. The opening paragraph of Glenwickbs article says that Latortuebs baccomplishments were meager at bestb and that those years were bunstableb and bwasted.b In the next paragraph Glenwick says that bhundreds b if not thousands b of opposition party members were murderedb under Latortue. One is left wondering how many Haitians would have to die before Glenwick would condemn Latortue rather than offer modest praise and mild rebukes. In contrast, COHAbs Jeesica Leigh wrote a piece in 2004, co-authored by COHA director Larry Birns, about Latortuebs government entitled bA brutal regime shows its true colors.b Citing no evidence, Glenwick equates Aristide to Latortue by writing that Aristidebs time in office was an bequally rocky periodb but then goes on to assess Aristide much more harshly than Latortue by writing bPerhaps due to the attempted coup in late 2001 b or, just as likely, his own insensitivity to inclusive rule b Aristide seemed to manifest a show of lassitude to the rule of law as well as indifference to democratic institution building. He encouraged citizens to use violence when needed to fight the nationbs armed opposition, and civil liberties and political/human rights were in short supply.b People who care to look for evidence to evaluate Aristidebs human rights record, especially compared to Latortue, Cedras, Duvalier, would come to quite a different conclusion. A scientific survey by Athena Kolbe and Royce Hudson found that at least 4000 political murders were perpetrated during Latortuebs time in office b overwhelmingly by government security forces and their proxies. In contrast, after scouring Amnesty International reports, Perter Hallward, a UK based researcher, wrote bAmnesty Internationalbs reports covering the years 2000-03 attribute a total of around 20 to 30 killings to the police and supporters of the FL [Aristidebs party] b a far cry from the 5,000 committed by the junta and its supporters in 1991-94, let alone the 50,000 usually attributed to the Duvalier dictatorships.b Pierre Esperance, one of Aristidebs most vehement, and dishonest, critics claimed in a (successful) funding request to the Canadian government that 100 people had been killed (not all Aristide opponents) during the blast several monthsb before the coup which he described as the worst period under Aristide.* These numbers do not only reveal that Aristidebs track record was vastly superior to his opponents, they also show why it was inevitable that some of his partisans would conclude that violence was justified. Even during most of his second term Aristidebs supporters were more likely to be killed than his opponentsb supporters.[6] Glenwick completely disregards the massive amount of violence Haitibs poor have been subjected to, and the threats they continually faced, to join the chorus of pious Western intellectuals who condemn Aristide for having said that the poor have the right to defend themselves. Many of those intellectuals also argue that the U.S. has the right to bomb defenseless countries thousands of miles away in bself defense.b The hypocrisy is as breathtaking as it is unnoticed by countless writers who have condemned Aristide for bincendiaryb speeches. Astonishingly, Glenwick refers to the presidential election that Preval won as bHaitibs fairest election in decades.b In reality, as COHA accurately reported at the time, the election was a bcaricature of the real thing.b Preval won, not because the election was fair, but because his opponents were so despised that they couldnbt win an election they had rigged. Prominent Aristide allies such as the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, So Ann, and Yvon Neptune were in jail on trumped up charges. Thousands of other Aristide supporters were also in prison, exiled or in hiding. Aristide strongholds were subjected to state sanctioned terrorism by the Haitian National Police (fully supported by UN troops). Again, much of this was documented by COHA (for example, in a piece entitled bHaiti b And you call this an election?b among other articles.) Another barrier placed in the way of participation by Haitibs poor was the number of polling stations. About ten times more stations were available when Aristide was elected in 2000. COHA reported bmany Haitians will have to walk more than two hours just to reach a voting center.b Haitians endured huge lineups and travel time in order to vote. When it was clear Preval was headed for victory in the first round a last ditch attempt at fraud was attempted. A truckload of ballots marked for Preval was found in the trash. Huge, non-violent demonstrations pressured Latortuebs regime to honor the results. Glenwick noted that Preval was ba close friend and political comrade of Aristideb but did not explain the significance of Prevalbs victory. Preval was untarnished by participation in the coup or association with Aristidebs opponents. Haitibs ambassador to the US, in a letter to the New York Times, used Prevalbs candidacy to imply that Aristidebs Lavalas movement was not being persecuted.[10] Preval received the endorsement of the Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste, who was not allowed to register from prison as a candidate in the election. If Glenwickbs characterization of Aristidebs government had been accurate then Preval would never had stood a chance in a fair election, never mind one designed to disenfranchise most of the people who would vote for him. The Herculean efforts required to elect Preval were not replicated during the legislative elections. The turnout was much lower than in the presidential election. Unpopular parties heavily backed by foreign democratization agencies obtained disproportionate power, but Glewnwick approvingly refers to this outcome as a necessary check on Preval. Glenwickbs fear is that, like Aristide, Preval might demonstrate binsensitivity to inclusive ruleb (i.e. be reluctant to capitulate to politicians unable to win in fair elections). Much of the material required to refute Glecnwick is on COHAbs website. Did Glenwick read any of it? Did COHAbs editors? Should we expect a retraction of the articles COHA published in the past that refute Glenwick? Without engaging in Orwellian bdoublethinkb COHA must choose to either stand behind Glenwickbs analysis or their past work on Haiti. I hope people contact COHA director Larry Birns (larry.birns@gmail.com) and respectfully ask him which COHA articles he stands behind. *Documents obtained under Freedom of Information act by Anthony Fenton, a Canadian independent journalist See also: COHA: bTravesty of Justice in Haiti: Chamblain Goes Free, Latortue and Gousse Cement Their Authoritarian Credentialsb http://www.coha.org/2004/08/25/travesty-of-justice-in-haiti-chamblain-goes-free-latortue-and-gousse-cement-their-authoritarian-credentials/ COHA: bGiving Haitian Self-Rule a Bad Nameb http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2004/04.30_Haiti_Press_Release_2.1.htm COHA: bPowell Returns to Haiti Today to Witness Some of the Damage that His Policies Have Wroughtb http://www.coha.org/2004/12/01/powell-returns-to-haiti-today-to-witness-some-of-the-damage-that-his-policies-have-wrought/ COHA: bHaitibs Ship Sails on Without a Captain and With a Very Disreputable Crewb http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2004/04.94%20Haiti%20UN%20the%20one.htm COHA: bAiding Oppression in Haiti: Kofi Annan and General Helenobs Complicity in Latortuebs Jackal Regimeb http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2004/04.98%20Haiti%20Heleno%20the%20one%20.htm See Haiti Analysis at http://www.haitianalysis.com/ for more information on Haiti. [Joe Emersberger contributes to HaitiAnalysis.com] * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================