MINUSTAH’s arrival in Port-au-Prince in June of last year was
a bit like letting air out of your lungs after holding your breath
for several minutes. It is such a relief that you think, momentarily,
you might not have to hold your breath ever again. That’s how
it was in June 2004 – “at least it’s not the US marines, at least it’s
the UN, at least it’s the Brazilians leading the force.”
Peacekeeping operations are the weakest link in the UN system. No
peacekeeping force can succeed with a US/French/British-dominated UN
Security Council directing its activities. Under the big three,
mandates to peacekeepers come in one of two forms – go and make it
look like you are doing something about a horrible situation or serve
as a belligerent proxy for the United States and make a horrible situation
even worse. I think MINUSTAH received both kinds of directives
in its diplomatic pouch.
But, suddenly, things seemed to have changed. MINUSTAH has a
new mission – making Haiti safe for elections! As if it received
a shot of steroids, MINUSTAH is loaded for bear. It wants to
duke it out with ex-soldiers by disarming them and, with “the gangs,” well,
by eliminating them. The recent disarmament operation near Cap
Haitien gave MINUSTAH a run for its money and netted it a laughable
pile of almost-weaponry. What a farce. Where are the shiny
M-16’s that the US sent to the Dominican Republic for the Haitian ex-soldiers
to use in their “coup?” You know, the M-16’s that the ex-soldiers used
to execute their fellow countrymen as they zeroed in on Port-au-Prince. These
are the weapons I want MINUSTAH to seize. But, we all know the
ex-soldiers are not stupid enough to produce these weapons and the
UN is never going to look for them. The ex-soldiers know what’s
on the horizon. They know they are going to need all of those guns
and then some. They know that, just ahead, they have a showdown
with Haitian self-determination.
And, hence, part two of the drama unfolds. A few days ago I
saw a headline that said “UN Begins Second Disarmament Operation.” A
chill went down my spine when I realized that the article was not about
a second attempt by MINUSTAH to disarm ex-soldiers. No, the next
disarmament operation would be in Cite Soleil and the targets would
be “the gangs.” The first disarmament of the ex-soldiers was
more than a farce; it was a cheap prelude to the real disarmament offensive – the
disarmament of the Haitian people – disarming them of their right to
self-determination, disarming them of their dignity, disarming them
of their lives.
The US has done the math. The number of Haitians that support
Aristide is so huge that when they boycott the upcoming elections,
a virtual sea of humanity will spread across the country and there
will be no way to contain it. That is, unless MINUSTAH surrounds
the poor neighborhoods now and finishes the job the Haitian National
Police (HNP) started. There is no way I can know for sure, but I speculate
that MINUSTAH is going to assume that most males between the ages of
10 and 30 are gang members. If this is true, many innocent people
are going to die. Dealing with the issue of whether you’re going
after bad guys or good guys only becomes problematic when you kill
a good guy. At that point, I figure MINUSTAH’s only option is
to bestow each good guy killed with gang membership, albeit posthumously. And
what about the women? Already vulnerable to rape by the HNP,
they could be subject to similar violence from the UN peacekeeping
troops. After all, serious allegations of sexual abuse have been
lodged against UN troops around the world, including Haiti.
We thought it was bad enough when MINUSTAH used to secure the perimeter
while the HNP went in and did their dirty work. Now, MINUSTAH
and the HNP will be in lockstep – true joint maneuvers – where the
HNP is likely to take better advantage of MINUSTAH’s superior equipment
and cover as is suggested in a recent Harvard University report on MINUSTAH operations. A few days ago, an officer in MINUSTAH
stated that Cite Soleil was like an urban jungle and that the UN tanks
would not be able to get through the crowded neighborhoods – other
methods would be needed to penetrate the slum. Perhaps, bullets
shot from helicopters late at night, Israeli-style, will glide more
easily through those narrow passage ways.
And so, a Palestine is born in Haiti – another killing field. A
lot of effort will be spent concealing the evidence and MINUSTAH will
see to it that reporters and human rights workers are denied access
to the areas. The HNP will do its part by carrying the bodies
out in pick up trucks for disposal in mass graves or, in the
case of Cite Soleil, it might be easier to dump them in the ocean.
As is often true of those who wear uniforms, MINUSTAH’S arrogance
and blind belief in its superior firepower will be its downfall. General
Heleno, you must know that the resistance to the occupation has begun
already – you can’t kill a sufficient number of people in the time
allotted to win the game. And, if you try, there won’t be enough
soap and water to wash the blood off of your hands. You can’t
contain Haitian self-determination.
And so the downward spiral starts and the situation will spin slowly
beyond your control. Before you can send word back to the Security
Council that you are in deep trouble, your masters – US, France, and
Canada – will have planted a few articles in key newspapers casting aspersions
on your leadership and you will realize that you are out on that limb
by yourself. But, the coup de grace will come when the US and
France deprive your President, Mr. Lula da Silva, of his pay-off – a
permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Finally, General Heleno, you have another big problem. There
are thousands of people, like myself, who hail from your masters’ countries
(and beyond). We know what is about to go down in Haiti – we’ve
seen it in Palestine, Iraq, Vietnam, and Guatemala. And you must
know that we have a copy of your playbook – after all, our governments
wrote it. You would be wise to assume that we are sharing that
playbook with thousands more. Each one, teach one.
Shirley Pate is the Director of the Haiti-Cuba-Venezuela Project
in Washington, DC