11 WHITE ROSES A REMEMBRANCE DELAYED

Nov 18 2017

President Jovenel Moise is about to revive our Forces Armees d’Haiti.

This is long overdue and – as an important moment in Time – must have some explanations of past events that could, should still be addressed in spite of the passage of Time,

CAP HAITIEN – SEPTEMBER 26, 1994 TO BE SPECIFIC AND I WILL  END THIS ARTICLE  WITH THOSE SAD, HORRIFIC MOMENTS THAT SHOULD FOREVER SHAME AMERICA.

I AM NOT OPTIMISTIC.

The truth about Aristide is now accepted, but many of the Aristide/Lavalas falsehoods from the past live on today. The International Communities opinions of our Forces Armees d’Haiti is one of these misconceptions.

Aristide’s election was made possible because of  overall security provided by the FAdH, coordinated by then  Colonel Raoul Cedras, who happened to be one of Aristide’s best friends. Cedras’ wife, Yanick, helped Aristide in his orphanage. Yanick’s brother  Rene Prosper was Aristide’s Interior Minister.

They were “family.”

When FADH chief General Abraham was fired, for stealing money from the sale of FADH Marchetti jets, Cedras replaced him.

The   8.5 months of Aristide’s presidency were bloody chaos as he destroyed the infrastructure and necklaced people. 27 FAdH members were necklaced.

September 29, 1991 –  finally, society had had enough of Aristide and, like a ripe carbuncle being squeezed, Aristide was popped into exile.

The soldiers wanted to kill him. His life was saved by Cedras. Aristide’s own Parliament wanted him gone and voted against his return. It was President Bush that blocked the Article 149 replacement of Aristide, that would have seen a new replacement elected December 6, 1991, and the rest is an unfortunate history.

Every time Aristide gave his word, it was broken. He has managed to preserve this record up until today.

There was finally an agreement to meet in an effort to reach a settlement, after many aborted concepts.

And so, the Governors Island Accord was drafted and signed by General Cedras, and Aristide. Even this simple thing was disrupted by Aristide. He refused to sign the same copy of the Accord as that signed by Cedras. He believed Cedras would work Voodoo on him.

Dante Caputo initialed Aristide’s copy in place of the Cedras signature.

SEE APPENDIX BELOW FOR ACTUAL DOCUMENTS

The Governor Island Accord saw General Cedras step down as Commander in Chief of the FAdH.

As a protective element, it was stipulated  he be replaced by one of the existing General Officers, in accordance with Military, and other regulations. This would see either General Duperval or Mayard selected.

This was a most important factor since the International Community recognized the predictable attempt to grab dictatorial power, on the part of Aristide. The FAdH was the key, countervailing element in the equation.

There were other line items in the Accord, but the COMCHIEF was key to Haiti’s survival via the control of Aristide.

The Accord stipulated elections in December.  This time frame would have seen Aristide defeated at the polls. The election timing was an important part of the International Community strategy to present the appearance of supporting Aristide’s return, while guaranteeing his neutralization through the continued existence of the FAdH and quick elections.

Everyone would be satisfied and Aristide would be set on a shelf.

The Forces Armees d’Haiti was to be upgraded into an “Army of the People” trained and equipped for public service, drug interdiction, mobile medical clinics, road and school construction, reforestation…..

Looked like a real plan for Haiti’s future!!

Everyone always underestimates the duplicity of Aristide and Bill Clinton.

CLINTON HATED THE FADH BECAUSE IT THWARTED HIS EARLIER DEMANDS.

And so, the game began as Aristide initiated an ongoing obfuscation of things, all the time making it look like Cedras, and the FADH were blocking progress. Cedras simply wanted the agreement to be honored.

Nothing more..

With the help of America’s Black Caucus, Jessie Jackson, Ira Kurzban… and many other Americans of high moral standards, supported by Aristide’s unregulated access to Haiti’s frozen $60,000,000 plus a Panama account that absorbed phone fees, Aristide mounted a massive, expensive propaganda campaign against General Cedras, his one-time best friend, the FADH and Haiti’s Parliament (the Lavalas Parliament) that stood against his criminal stupidity.

Some suggest Aristide passed brown envelopes filled with $100 bills to the Clintons, but that would be too much to believe, wouldn’t it?

Clinton claimed Cedras and the FADH were the problem and planned an invasion to remove him when all that was required, to have him resign, was completion of the terms written into the Governor Island’s Accord.

Simple?

No!

The invasion was in motion when Jimmy Carter, Collin Powell and Senator Sam Nunn flew into Haiti for talks with Cedras and President Jonaissaint.

Yet again, the terms of the Governor Island’s Accord were accepted.

23,000 American troops were dumped into Haiti and our Fate was sealed through the collusion of Aristide with Clinton.

Aristide was returned to a cold public reception, in spite of news reports to the contrary.

Anthony Lake Clinton’s NSA Adviser with Aristide.

Lake would become Godfather to Aristide’s children.

Hardly an unbiased concept

They never planned to honor the Governors Island Accord. From the outset President Clinton and his partner Aristide planned to ignore the Accord.

They would destroy the FADH.

They would derail the electoral process.

Aristide immediately set out to delay elections.

He wouldn’t appoint a new COMCHIEF in accordance with the Accord terms: With the collusion of Clinton and General Shelton Aristide forced the appointment of a new General Officer, in the form of Fire Chief Lieutenant Colonel Poisson.

Brigadier General Poison was then ordered, by Aristide, to disband the Forces Armees d’Haiti. This was completely and totally unconstitutional, illegal, immoral but – with President Clinton behind you, and 23,000 American troops intimidating everyone, who would stand up to the power??

Some potential threats to the Clinton/Aristide betrayal were taken into custody. These civilians were held for months under conditions that would cause a scandal – years later – in Iraq.

Some were “water-boarded,” while others were treated to different sensory deprivations – such as being placed in cardboard boxes – that had held fridges. These were set in the sun until the occupant passed out.

Several of today’s leading businessmen can attest to this if asked today. I know one who was water-boarded and another who spend several days in a cardboard box.

The original plan saw cooperation between the American forces and the FADH.

This seemed to start well with a small detachment of the 10 Mountain Division taking up residence in Grand Quartier General. The unit, led by Captain Bartholomew, immediately became “brothers” with the Haitian soldiers. So good was this relationship that the 10th Mountain team was withdrawn. Some Americans cried when saying goodbye to their new friends who had done everything possible to make the Americans feel at home..

After all – that is Haiti!

This would never do.

The game plan saw American forces humiliate, taunt and embarrass Haitian soldiers  in front of Lavalas crowds, effectively breaking down our basic element of law-and-order.

In Cap Haitien this was taken to an extreme.

On September 26, 1994 American Marine Colonel Tom Jones phoned FADH Colonel Josephat. Josephat was commander of the Cap Haitien Casserne. Colonel Jones advised Josephat that his Marines would be carrying out a maneuvers through they area and the Haitians should not be concerned. Josephat explained this to his men and went home at the end of the day.

Colonel Josephat would receive a number of calls, from his men, as time passed.

“Marines are surrounding the casserne…”

Col. Josephat: “Don’t’ worry.”

“They are setting up machine guns..”

Col. Josephat: “Don’t worry, they are on maneuvers..”

There was one FADH soldier at the entrance, with an Uzzi. There was a .38 caliber revolved in the casserne – nothing else.

The FADH soldiers were playing dominoes.

Suddently, the Marines opened fire, shredding the casserne with automatic fire that continued for some 5 or 10 minutes.

There was no return fire. All the Haitians – with the exception of one asleep on the second floor – were killed, their bodies horribly mutilated.

The Marines went upstairs and shot the sleeping Haitian. He survived but is crippled.

This was a simple attempt to destroy the control capabilities of the FADH. It worked and there was no law-and-order in Cap Haitien. This saw Lavalas mobs destroy the business community as the Marines stood by.

An NPR reporter – definitely not an FADH fan – returned to Port-au-Prince, horrifeid. “It was a massacre!!” he reported.  “No one fired from the casserne. There isn’t a bullet hole in any surrounding building. The casserne is Swiss cheese.”

As the dust settled Colonel Josephat demanded the court martial of Marine Colonel Tom Jones. General Cedras waffle, as did the rest of the FADH staff, intimidated by the American might.

Colonel Josephat resigned in disgust.

The Americans refused to return the FADH soldiers’ bodies and General Cedras obfuscated.

One lady refused to accept the situation.

She went to General Shelton and refused to be derailed, or intimidated. When he pointed out the various difficulties, she said she would, personally, travel to Cap Haitien to retrieve the bodies.

Shelton descibed the probable condition of the bodies, and health dangers involved with exhuming them after days in the ground. She bought chemicals, to treat the bodies, face mask and gloves.

She sewed body bags.

She purchased coffins

Shelton described the impossibility of travel between Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien. She demonstrated her resolve and he retreated.

The General  finally realized he was confronted by an individual with more  spine than the entire FADH command structure.

Shelton  sent the coffins to Cap Haitien in a helicopter and returned the bodies to Port-au-Prince, but he was not finished with his obstruction. The Americans would not supply security for the funeral , so the lady had graves dug in the Military Hospital yard, during a terrible rain storm, and decorated the site with palm trees from her garden.

Lavalas thugs stoned the workers and destroyed her car.  Lavalas thugs did their best to disrupt and prevent the funeral ceremony. Perversely, all of the dead were Lavalas supporters, but that is Haiti!

October 3, 1994 this brave and determined lady saw our murdered soldiers laid to rest.

I can still remember the smell of this American crime and the heartbroken relatives who gathered, in the rain, to bury their loved ones.   Without these men, kids did without food and school.

General Cedras with families at funeral

With Jovenel Moise’s revival of our Forces Armees d’Haiti I would hope that the real spirit of our long dormant  military is remembered.

It was made of of good people, who tried to do the best thing. A very, very small percentage were less honorable, but no greater a percentage than is found in any other public force.

The Haitian public loved their military, in spite of propaganda to the contrary.

Perhaps someone will remember our 11 BROTHERS WITH 11 WHITE ROSES.

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/26/world/mission-to-haiti-in-haiti-disorders-follow-clash-in-haitian-city.html?pagewanted=all