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APPENDIX II
SEPTEMBER 29, 1992
Address by Mr. Jean Bertrand Aristide,
FOR A CIVILIZATION FOUNDED ON PEACE UNITED NATIONS, SEPTEMBER 29, 1992 May the United Nations and the Organization of American States meet together in Haiti, so that all fine-sounding resolutions be finally transformed into visible, fruitful action. Leve Kanpe pou n reziste. Jis demokrasi a retounen. Mr. President: In the name of the people of Haiti, I am happy to greet you, Sir, and offer you our warm congratulations on your election to the presidency of the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly. I am equally pleased to salute your predecessor, Mr. Samir Shihabi, and the new Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, to whom I extend my most sincere congratulations on his assumption of his position of weighty responsibility. Distinguished Diplomats, How happy I am to greet you and to welcome the sister nations that have just arrived in this great family of ours! As always, the Haitian people cannot refrain from sending special greetings to President Carlos Andres Perez and the Venezuelan people. Mr. President, On the threshold of the third millennium, the clear signals of political pollution invite us all to dialogue in order to bring progressively about a civilization founded on peace. The end of the cold war has offered the world new prospects of peace and cooperation. Nevertheless, hotbeds of tension and the outbreak of new regional conflicts have darkened the picture of international relations. Political pollution at a global level has produced armed conflicts, wars, massacres, and coups d’état against democracy. Therefore, in all humility, we would like to share with you eight democratic beatitudes for a civilization of peace. THE FIRST DEMOCRATIC BEATITUDE
The condemnation of the coup d’état of September 30, 1991 is an expression of the desire of the United Nations to defend the democratic principles and rights of the Haitian people, and we would like to thank you warmly for that. The advent of this civilization of peace, on a global level, necessarily involves restoring constitutional order to Haiti, where blood is flowing, corpses are piling up, and repression is intensifying.
Five days before the coup d’état of September 30, 1991, here, at the United Nations forum, the people of Haiti cried out:
Today, on behalf of the 3,000 people assassinated by the enemies of democracy, the Haitian people cries out, with the SAME conviction and from the SAME rostrum, the SAME cry: “DEMOCRACY OR DEATH!” Anyone desirous of peace must defend democracy. La pè ak demokrasi La pè ak demokrasi La pè ak demokrasi May peace return to Haiti! And may peace, like wise, be restored to Yugoslavia and Somalia. The Republic of Haiti condemns the acts of terrorism and genocide that have brought about such a paroxysm of horrific deeds. We appeal to the international community to make itself responsible for progressively creating a civilization of peace. THE SECOND DEMOCRATIC BEATITUDE Blessed are those who promote economic growth, because peace and economic poverty are incompatible.
Mizè ak la pè Lègen la gè nanvant,
Since the World War II, global production fell for the first time, by 0.5 percent last year. In developing countries, economic and social conditions have deteriorated dramatically. Hence subhuman poverty, drug abuse and an increase in crime.
Today 1.2 billion poor people live in the developing countries.
But the fundamental principle of international public law is the principle of equality. In this context, Aristotle reminds us that politics requires a reciprocal and symmetrical relationship in which citizens are placed on an equal footing with each other and not above or below each other. Tout moun se moun. Likewise, in his work entitled Political Justice, Otfried Hoffe, while occupying the Chair of Ethics and Political Philosophy, has reminded us that “on the whole, Plato and Aristotle offered us a florilegium of reasons to demonstrate that life in common is profitable to all those participating in it”. Relationships, therefore, are ruled by Laws; Laws that must be respected. Laws that must not be transgressed. Laws in a society of law. JUSTICE MUST BE, AS IT WERE, THE OXYGEN OF THE ECONOMY How can we bring about a civilization of peace unless there is human and economic growth at the world level? It is in this world where: unfortunately, every year almost 3 million children die from vaccine-preventable illnesses. One out of three children suffers from serious malnutrition. Why so much suffering? Must suffering and opulence necessarily be at daggers drawn? The South accounts for 77 percent of the world’s population. In Latin America, 17 percent of landowners control 90 percent of the land. More than one third of the rural population own but 1% of arable lands. How can one speak of peace when equal civil rights become socio-economic inequality? That is a bitter contrast; that is a startling contradiction, owing to violations of human rights. In our country — Haiti — it is even worse. The exploitative structures that we inherited must be democratically transformed into structures made up of participation and justice — participation by everyone; justice for all; and transparency in all matters. Hence, we will no longer be burdened by this colonial heritage that is so clearly reflected in the following statistics:
Incumbent on us is the great responsibility to promote productive, gainful employment. We will manage to do so by applying judicious macroeconomic politics and effective mesoeconomic measures. Therefore, as always, we will have to locate the human individual in the very heart of development, enable the market to function properly, remedy any defects, introduce material infrastructures, support activities of public interest, develop harmonious relations with the private sector, and struggle against corrupt structures. The constitutional process will safeguard participation for all and justice for all. Unity in diversity is indeed the very outline of a political topology in which differences of view can be democratically harmonized. THE MORE EQUALITY THERE IS IN CIVIL RIGHTS,
THE LESS Chodyèa pa dwebouyi yousèl
bò Jistis pou nou tout. The Republic of Haiti shares the suffering of those peoples who are impoverished, starving and abandoned. There are many of those dispossessed people who are in vain seeking the return of what is due to them. In addressing our thanks in advance to all those friends of Haiti who wish to send humanitarian aid to Haiti, we would like to ask you to coordinate the channeling of humanitarian aid with the constitutional Government of the Republic of Haiti and those non-governmental organizations that are accompanying the march of the people of Haiti toward democracy. Despite the controversy that has surrounded the idea of an embargo, the people of Haiti would like to repeat “Yes” to an embargo. Let us have a real, total, and complete embargo at last. Secondly, let us put a stop to the flood of new weapons being pumped continually into Haiti. Thirdly, if a total blockade is required to achieve this, the Haitian people will welcome it. Mr. President, My Dear Friends of the International Community, For the efforts you have already made, and for the support you intend to offer us, a thousand thanks! One year is too long. THE THIRD DEMOCRATIC BEATITUDE
NO TO GETTING
OFF SCOT-FREE! The refusal to give one’s blessing to impunity is part of the lexicon of justice and morality. Article 42.3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Haiti lays down that: “Abuses, acts of violence and crimes perpetrated against civilians by a military official in the exercise of his duties shall come under the authority of the Courts of common law.” In less than one year, 3,000 persons have been assassinated; there have been over 40,000 political refugees; hundreds of thousands of citizens have fled throughout the country; more than a hundred journalists have fallen victim to the terror of the military; the press has been muzzled; priests have been arrested, beaten up and imprisoned; the life of Monsignor Willy Romélus has been threatened; priests, nuns and members of grassroots ecclesiastical communities or Ti Legliz have been continually persecuted. Rural, popular, socio-professional and trade union organizations have been systematically dismantled or targeted. Many parliamentarians have been persecuted. One Deputy was assassinated in cold blood. Blood is flowing; the corpses are being heaped up. Never has Haiti experienced such a ferocious and bloody dictatorship. Rejected by all states of the world, these criminals have nevertheless been recognized by the Vatican — the only state that has elected to give its blessing to crimes that it should have condemned in the name of the God of Justice and Peace. What a scandal! Because of this impunity, on June 2, 1992, these criminals burned down the Lafanmi Selavi orphanage. On February 5, 1991, these same criminals burned four street-children and destroyed their orphanage. On September 11, 1988, these same criminals burned down St. Jean Bosco’s Church, killing some 50 human beings in broad daylight while they were celebrating the Eucharist. They have destroyed human lives. Let the force of love In the light of this peace, in which, as Anaxagoras said, “the visible is a window on the invisible”, one may well wonder:
In the meantime, love and peace to the Pope, because we gain no merit in loving only those who love us (Luke 6:32). THE FOURTH DEMOCRATIC BEATITUDE
World military expenditures add up to $2 million per minute. Since 1945, there have been approximately 150 wars, which have caused a total of 20 million deaths. The developing countries’ military expenditures have increased over the last three decades from $24 billion to $173 billion. Peace is promoted by reducing the arms purchases and increasing expenditures on human development. Unfortunately, in our country, military expenditures have led not to peace but to the massacre of a nonviolent population. An army of 7,000 men accounts for 40 percent of the national budget. Striking contradiction! That is not to mention drugs: some officers are implicated up to their necks in drug trafficking, a source of corruption par excellence. In the face of so much corruption, millions of victims seem to be echoing Cicero when he asked, “Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?”: “How long will you continue to abuse our patience, Catiline?” The people have categorically rejected that army. We have no need of it, they constantly repeat. “Police, yes, but this army of criminals, no,” they say to anyone who will listen. In keeping with the Constitution, we, the President of the Republic of Haiti, respond to the people in these terms: Yes to the army, but as it is, no. The army should be freed from Cédras and his clique, who have been responsible for the death of several thousand people. Once liberated, it will be integrated and brought up to professional standards, and, in accordance with the Constitution, we will set up a police force separate from the army. So much, then, for preserving peace. A constitutional and democratic state excludes despotism, tyranny, anarchy, and absolute power, because absolute power corrupts absolutely. Mister President, The Republic of Haiti would be very happy to see the United Nations set up commissions made up of defenders of individual rights to inquire into violations of fundamental rights committed since September 30, 1991. Their presence in Haiti is essential to extend our good experience after the elections of December 16, 1990. Let the United Nations and the Organization of American States meet together in Haiti, urgently, so that finally fine-sounding resolutions can yield visible and fruitful action. THE FIFTH DEMOCRATIC BEATITUDE
Deliberate injustice creates two parallel paths: submission and resistance. We, the sons and daughters of Dessalines, Toussaint Louverture, and Charlemagne Peralte, say no to submission and yes to resistance. Tolerant toward the intolerant, nonviolent toward the violent, flexible toward the intransigent, the Haitian people must make their resistance and mobilization for liberation more dynamic in order to pave the way for a democratic society. Yes, sons and daughters of Freedom, The broad highway of Resistance will once again lead us to political stability, a prerequisite for economic development. From February to September 1991, we had seven months of peace; seven months of political stability; seven months of “Lavalassian” security! Zenglendo, pa! Fanm vanyan, Pazapa, Those seven months of security, of course, made it possible for us to obtain $511 million in gifts or loans from 15 international donors. I pay homage to the women of Haiti, who, through their spirit, were able to make more dynamic the teaching of RESISTANCE. Kanta pou jenès Ayiti Toma a menm,
se sa nèt. Through active, nonviolent RESISTANCE, let us energetically mobilize to defend human rights. Contempt for human life imperils everything our Haiti and all humanity hold dear. Pèdi pou pèdi, se yo k pou
pèdi. 30 septanm 91, nou bite Leve kanpe pou n reziste. Jou va, jou vyen Perseverance, said Plutarch, is invincible. RESISTANCE, we say,is organic. The Republic of Haiti offers encouragement to all those men and women on the five continents who are resisting the forces of conflict. We have been following closely the Middle East peace negotiations and hope that they will result in a peace agreement, which all men and women urgently need. THE SIXTH DEMOCRATIC BEATITUDE
Indeed, truth remains the foundation of justice. Man can use science to kill truth, and the same is true of political power. When leaders seek truth through objectivity, they contribute to the maintenance of peace. Therefore, ethics must rise up to oppose any manipulation of the TRUTH or any acceptance of a polluted truth. For us Haitians, men and women alike, our existence is linked to the very roots of our being. Those roots bring us to the sap of the naked TRUTH, of “Lavalas” policy. We take from it the sap of liberating TRUT Hand democratic ethics. From Socrates to Heidegger, from Hegel to Jean-Paul Sartre, over and above philosophical differences, our political ethics makes it essential for us to seek TRUTH from the very source of objectivity, for a peaceful civilization, within the TRUTH. That is why we choose a constitutional democracy and not a schizophrenic democracy with its implications of psychopathic breakdown, structural dislocation, verbal stereotypes, and hypertrophy of the collective super-ego. As always, we need a political philosophy that furthers social peace and the realization of national interests. National interests — Yes! This can be seen today in the determination of over 90 percent of the Haitians to continue to say “No!” to the usurpers after 12 months of resistance. Fatherland, first of all! Yes, it is noble to die Myèl pou yon bann ak yon pakèt The sun of this peace will shine in many countries. The Republic of Haiti joyfully welcomes the presence of the United Nations in Cambodia, where there is such a thirst for justice and peace after two decades of war and isolation. It will shine one day in the Caribbean and Latin America. During the first 100 years following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in America, we lost more than 90 million human beings. This was the start of the practice of genocide. May the blood of our ancestors fertilize the Caribbean and America. May their spirit fortify us and guide us towards the triumph of the CIVILIZATION OF PEACE. THE SEVENTH DEMOCRATIC BEATITUDE
When the black man does not live in peace, May the peace of the blacks be with the
whites! The poor man cannot enjoy his peace. May the peace of the rich be with the
poor! According to Aristotle, politics demands a reciprocal and symmetrical relationship in which citizens are side by side and not one atop the other. To forge unity in diversity, The aspiration to peace is inherent in human nature. May it fertilize political praxis, guaranteeing the growth of cultures and respect for human rights. The right to live in freedom; The right to work; The right to eat one’s fill; The right of one and all to a seat at the table of democracy. Living in profound communion with our sisters and brothers in South Africa, the Republic of Haiti vigorously condemns the system of apartheid. It is indeed a modern vestige of slavery, eroding human dignity day after day. THE EIGHTH DEMOCRATIC BEATITUDE
FREEDOM! DIGNITY! AND PRIDE! These are the values written in letters of gold on the brow of this heroic people marching with head held high in search of peace. Five hundred After 500 years, thousands of political
refugees May the true face of the Haitian people
FREEDOM! DIGNITY! PRIDE! YES! AMEN YON SÈL NOU FÈB, ANSANMNOU FÒ, ANSANM, ANSANM NOUSE LAVALAS.
National interests — Yes!
Pazapa,
FREEDOM! DIGNITY! AND PRIDE! Such are the values written in letters
of gold
The United Nations,
Chodyèa pa dwebouyi yousèl
bò Jistis pou nou tout.
Let it be so! Inthe name of thepeople
May the peace of the rich be with the
poor!
To forge unity in diversity,
Ala yon pèp gen fyèl!
MAY THE DOOR ALLOWING FOR A RETURN
FINALLY BE OPENED Jou va, jou vyen
Anyone desirous of peace must defend democracy.
May peace return to Haiti!
To defend human rights Jou sa a! a a a
To guarantee the peace Jou sa a! a a a
To be a place of dialogue Jou sa a! a a a
OCTOBER 28, 1993 |
Blessed
are those who defend democracy; may peace prevail among them.
Mizè
ak la pè
Blessed
are those who heroically say
Blessed
are those who reduce arms expenditures and increase expenditures
for human development.
Blessed
are those who resist political pollution, for they will make the
sun of peace shine.
Blessed
are those who defend the truth, for they are a source of justice
and peace.
Blessed
are they who, regardless of class and race, love one another the
Lavalas way.
Blessed
are those who, on the threshold of the third millennium, discover
the true face of the Haitian people.
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