Upcoming Elections Keep Control of Haiti in U.S. Hands, Says Panel

 The Haitian elections this coming October and November are just another way for the United States, the United Nations, France and the rest of the European Union to maintain its power over the island, stated several panelists in a TransAfrica conference last weekend (April 8-9) at the University of Maryland. The panelists for the Saturday session “Haiti: One Year After The Coup” detailed the political disorder that still defines the former French colony in the eyes of the world’s news media, while outlining the often-colonial relationship America and Europe has had with the first independent Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was the victim of a February 2004 coup two years before his second term in office ended. Aristide’s ouster last year was the second time the Haitian president was forced from office before his term expired. The first coup, masterminded by rival political leaders, occurred in 1991. Aristide was restored to power in 1994 with military help from the United States. He stepped down in 1995, but was re-elected in 2000. [more]