Bolivian Troops in Haiti

Andrés Soliz Rada, January 19

On November 5, 2006, the Haitian Anti-Imperialist League addressed an open letter to Presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia and Lula da Silva of Brazil asking them to withdraw their troops from Haiti, where they are part of the United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of that country, in conjunction with the United States, France, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Croatia, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Jordan, Malaysia Morocco, Nepal, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines and Sri Lanka (www.anarkismo.net).

The letter reminded Evo and Lula that the UN “is an instrument in the hands of the imperialist powers, especially the North American imperialist superpower.” It added that the attitude of other, conservative, neoliberal and reactionary presidents is understandable, but one might hope for a more balanced and just attitude from other authorities with a better sense “of the tragedy suffered by our country, once again a victim of the interventionist policy of the United States”.

New Massacre

The request went unheard and last December 22, 400 soldiers of the occupation force, led by the Brazilian general José Elito Carvalho Siquiera, with the support of helicopters, armoured vehicles and heavy artillery carried out a massive attack on the poor neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, the capital, resulting in the deaths of at least 17 persons and wounding 40. The repression was ordered by the UN Security Council, and carried out by soldiers from Brazil, Bolivia, Chile and Uruguay. The cruelty of the invaders went so far as to prevent Red Cross ambulances from attending to the wounded.

This “Christmas” gift was in retaliation for the December 16 protest in the streets by the poor people of Port-au-Prince against the fraud in the municipal elections of December 3 and against the foreign occupation. The pretext was that the attack was aimed at suppressing kidnappers and bandits, but they exist in all areas of the city and not only in the slums (www.rebelion.org 28-12-06).

The Executive Power and the Parliament

In the second meeting of the cabinet of the newly-installed Bolivian government, in February 2006, the Minister of Defence, Walter San Miguel, reported that he was sending a request to parliament to authorise the sending of Bolivian troops to the Congo and that this was the tenth mission our country would carry out under UN agreements.

As Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, I opposed the initiative, arguing that if Bolivia supported the military occupation of other countries how would we oppose similar aggression against our country, especially at a time when we were preparing to initiate profound structural changes in Bolivia? The question is very timely, now that the foreign press, once again, is speculating on the possibility that UN “blue helmets” will be sent to put down the existing social and political conflicts in our country — just as the news media did during the governments of Carlos Mesa and Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé. The election victory of Evo Morales, with 53.7% of the votes, is no guarantee that no foreign intervention will occur. The Haitian president, Jean Bertrand Aristide, was overthrown for the first time in 1991 after winning the elections with a 67% vote.

San Miguel explained that we were fulfilling previous commitments and this would be the last time this authorisation would be sought. This reasoning was backed by the Head of State and the other ministers. It should be mentioned that the presence of foreign troops in the Congo resulted in the “rampant sexual exploitation” of Congolese women. The Uruguayan contingent alone left 59 girls and teenagers pregnant in 2006, amidst growing scandals over corrupt practices in the oil-for-food barter program involving senior UN officials. (Indymedia, 3-01-05)

Four months later, a new request was made to parliament to send troops to Haiti. The former vice-Minister of Government, Rafael Puente (who attended the cabinet meeting in the absence of the Minister Alicia Muñoz), spoke out against this, using arguments similar to mine. The President told him that the matter had been clarified when the question of the Congo was discussed. In Parliament, only senators Antonio Peredo and Gastón Cornejo refused to endorse the Executive’s requests. Later I heard that Senator Peredo was reprimanded by the Presidential Office for his attitude.

Not one parliamentarian had the courage to request a report, even less so an interpellation, of the Minister of Defence for these decisions.

Nobel Peace Prize

Many international personalities and organizations, including Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Rigoberta Menchú, Leonardo Boff, Hebe de Bonafide, the Human Rights Assembly of Ecuador, the Bolivarian Circles of Venezuela, the “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo” in Argentina, and the National Cadre School for the Defence of the Cuban Revolution are actively campaigning to have the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Evo Morales. It is important that the campaign include a call on the Head of State to withdraw Bolivian troops from the Congo and Haiti, in the elementary interest of defense of the national sovereignty and self-determination of peoples.

The case of Haiti, situated geographically between Cuba and Venezuela, has a special connotation in the politics of North America, which seeks to maintain a base between these two countries opposed to its policies of subjugation of Latin America. Let us recall just one fact. In 1919, the Marines shot 10,000 Haitian farmers during the U.S. occupation. In the wake of the massacre of December 22, Eduardo Galeano wrote the following: “Haiti is a country thrown on the rubbish heap by never-ending punishment to its dignity. There it lies, like so much scrap.” (Página 12, Buenos Aires. 5-4-07). This cannot continue happening with the participation of a government determined to carry out a democratic and cultural revolution.