Haiti: Rep. Maxine Waters and 13 Other Members of Congress Urge President Bush to Oppose Payments to Thugs by the Interim Government of Haiti
PRESS RELEASE -- Washington, D.C. -- Today, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to immediately inform the interim government of Haiti that he opposes providing any payments to former members of the Haitian army. The letter also requests that he take all necessary steps to ensure that no U.S. foreign assistance funds or other U.S. government funds are diverted for use as payments to these thugs and killers. Thirteen of the Congresswoman's colleagues signed her letter. Copies of the letter were sent to Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of State Designate Condoleezza Rice. The text of the letter follows:
We were outraged to learn that the interim Haitian government
has begun to provide financial payments to former members of the dreaded
Haitian army. We urge you to oppose any payments from the interim
government to these thugs and killers who have terrorized the Haitian
population and refused to disarm, and we also urge you to make certain that
U.S. funds are not used for this purpose.
As you know, the Haitian army overthrew President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide in a coup d'etat in 1991, less than one year after he was first
elected president of Haiti. During its three-year reign in Haiti from 1991
to 1994, the Haitian army committed widespread human rights violations,
including murder, rape and torture. President Aristide disbanded the
Haitian army after he was restored to power in 1994, but its soldiers were
never disarmed.
According to recent press reports, the interim government has
agreed to provide payments over the next three months to all of the
estimated 6,000 former members of the Haitian army. The payments will
average about $4,800 per person. The cost of these payments will be an
estimated $29 million, an enormous price for the Western Hemisphere's
poorest country. The interim government has not explained where the funds
for these payments will be obtained, but Interim Prime Minister Gerard
Latortue has already distributed checks to dozens of armed individuals who
claim to be former soldiers.
These former soldiers are thugs and killers who refuse to lay
down their weapons and who currently illegally control several Haitian
towns. They are the same thugs and killers who attacked police stations,
freed criminals from prisons and assisted in the coup d'etat that overthrew
President Aristide last February. Since then, they have murdered untold
numbers of Lavalas Party supporters, terrorized the Haitian population and
demanded ten years of back pay. Remissainthes Ravix, the self-appointed
leader of the former soldiers, has even called on ex-soldiers from across
Haiti to organize a guerrilla war against the interim government. These
thugs and killers should be disarmed. They should not be rewarded for their
crimes.
We respectfully request that you immediately inform the interim
government of Haiti in no uncertain terms that you oppose providing any
payments to former members of the Haitian army. We also request that you
take all necessary steps to ensure that no U.S. foreign assistance funds or
other U.S. government funds are diverted for use as payments to these thugs
and killers.
Sincerely,
- Maxine Waters
- Barbara Lee
- John Conyers
- Raul Grijalva
- Donald Payne
- Jan Schakowsky
- Stephanie Tubbs Jones
- Major Owens
- Chaka Fattah
- Edolphus Towns
- Melvin L. Watt
- Corrine Brown
- Sheila Jackson-Lee
- Eleanor Holmes Norton
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