Anything Prose

Police Force versus Army

The Haitian Support Group is against the formation of an army for Haiti, seeing such a development as the fastest road back to the history of dictatorship.

Some would argue, maybe too abstractly, that a democratic, universal-service military is the greatest insurance policy against such dictatorship.

So far, the argument for a police force -- not an army -- has the saints on its sides. Who, however, is reading history correctly?

Click on this LINK to open an important position statement from a leader of the Haitian Support Group.

Human Camera -- Port-au-Prince

Yesterday, with Aristide fleeing in a U.S. jet while Colin Powell is on the phone to desparately find a country somewhere on the globe that will offer the reverend safe haven, I figured the big news would be covered in The Wall Street Journal. (The WSJ is the only paper from New York, London or Paris that arrives in Montréal before noon of the day it appears.)

They ran the story on Page 3 with only a tiny summary on the front page, so I bought Canada's Globe & Mail instead and got the latest news.

But, as we saw in Afghanistan and Iraq, when you read The Independent or the Guardian (both English) you are offered a more humanly objective view compared to any of the major American papers treating a situation even remotely touching on U.S. strategic and economic interests.

Click to see how The Independent offers cinema verte on one day in the Caribbean capitol without trite expressions about the politics.

Click this LINK, and a local file will appear on your screen.

HAITI: SOME KNOWNS, MANY UNKNOWNS

The only thing clear is that Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre was sworn in as president within six hours after Aristide's departure.Beyond that, given Haiti's chronic unpredictability, anything is possible.

For the local copy of an article today in the Miami Herald, click on this LINK.