Haiti Police Chief: 4 Suspected Killers Of President Have Been Slain, 2 Arrested
Source: NPR/AP
Haiti Police Chief: 4 Suspected Killers Of President Have Been Slain, 2 Arrested
July 7, 2021 9:23 PM ET
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti's police chief says four suspected killers of President Jovenel Moïse have been fatally shot by police and two others arrested in an apparent hostage-taking situation.
Léon Charles said late Wednesday that three police officers held hostage were freed.
The killing of Moïse early Wednesday, and the wounding of his wife, was sure to bring more chaos to the unstable Caribbean country already beset by gang violence, soaring inflation and protests by opposition supporters who accused Moïse of increasing authoritarianism.
Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said the police and military were in control of security. The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has a history of dictatorship and political upheaval. The streets of Port-au-Prince were empty and quiet.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2021/07/07/1014022342/4-suspected-killers-of-president-jovenel-moise-have-been-slain-2-arrested
Short article. The rest is a recap of earlier AP story.
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of European colonization. And in their case, they battled for and won their independence (Algeria did similar) but with a huge price tag attached, where they were saddled with overwhelming debt as a result to compensate the slave-owners for loss of their "property".
Haiti paid $21 billion to compensate France for the loss of a colony and slaves
Tarik Ata
Sep 15, 2020 · 3 min read
Haiti is a nation which has been persistently impoverished ever since its independence in 1804, following the most successful slave rebellion in history the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) and has remained impoverished primarily due to the nations external debt. Haiti was formerly under French colonial rule (1625–1804) and was known as Saint-Domingue, and was one of France’s most profitable and valued colonies. Which France ensured it would be compensated for the loss of. Shortly after Haitian independence in 1804, France demanded that the newly formed country pay the French government, French slaveholders and for French recognition of Haiti as a sovereign state, a total of 150 million francs; with France frequently threatening Haiti with its warships if Haiti did not cooperate.
Not only did France demand compensation but also that Haiti discounts its exported goods to France by 50%, leaving Haiti to operate almost as a colony despite it being a sovereign state (Jacobin, 2017). France in 1834 reduced Haiti’s “Independence Debt” to 90 million francs (the modern equivalent of $21 billion) and was to be paid back over 30 years, as a form of compensation to plantation owners who lost “property” and the “theft” of slaves (Sommers, Race, Reality, and Realpolitik: U.S.-Haiti Relations in the Lead Up to the 1915 Occupation, 2015, p. 124). Haiti continued to pay this “Independence Debt” to France up until 1947 by which point Haiti was forced into a position of submission and forced to adopt new loans in order to pay France as well as new creditors like the U.S. All of which only led to the furthering of the nations suffering.
Haiti was invaded by the U.S. in 1915 who sought to maintain hegemony in the Western hemisphere — in what is known as the Monroe Doctrine — with the U.S. fearing the anti-American revolts against the Haitian leader Vilbrun Guillaume Sam and how this would affect debt repayments. Other fears were the effect these revolts would have on U.S. business interests and when the anti-American leader, Rosalvo Bobo, rose to prominence and became president the U.S. hastily intervened to protect their economic dominance and interests (Brian & Segal, Haiti: Political Failures, Cultural Successes, 1984, p. 28).
The U.S. squashed the growing resentment towards America and gained control of the financial institutions (banks, the national treasury, etc.) to guarantee debt repayments to the U.S. and France. Washington forced Haiti into economic stagnation by designating a total of 40% of Haiti’s national income to debt repayments to France and the U.S (Ibid, p.29). For the following 19 years, Washington led advisors ruled Haiti with the Marine Corps providing the muscle. The crises left by the “Independence Debt” enforced by France, has left Haiti in a state of despair and saw them ravaged by imperialist powers despite the sovereignty of the nation.
https://medium.com/illumination/haitis-debt-to-france-338bdab8dfa8
Since then, some banks have waived the debt but not all.
So those in power would grab the most of what was left of the resources for themselves (and families and friends) in an attempt to appear to be "legit" and elegant heads of state to the world. And that ended up starting the cycle of coup, installation of the opposition leaders, retribution by that new government against the previous one, coup, installation of a new opposition, retribution by that government, over and over.
The one who sortof briefly deviated from that was Aristide, but then some of his own officials and supporters were still engaging in the same habits and tactics against the opposition. And since he had been in exile twice, it seems that may be why "someone" decided to remove that option from this guy.
The issue there now, coupled with that debt and exploitation/destruction (by natural causes like that earthquake) of natural resources, is that you have multi-generational bitterness, with threads of a revenge mentality due to the factionalism.
Only the U.S. had the forethought of trying to create a non-parliamentary government system that attempted to try something different. In a way, the U.S. system basically spread the corruption across many levels and entities vs concentrating it at the head of state (and that head's loyal adherents), and it kept the military under civilian control (at least for now).
Just unbelievable!
repay its debts? Debts the citizens had no hand in creating?
I keep getting a deja vu on this..a sign in my bosses cubicle...
"The beatings will continue until moral improves"....
