Uh oh. He could be next on the US hit listt! Those poor people having the audacity to chose someone of their liking.

Preval is already on the hit list.  When NPR's Michelle Wallace led off tonight's story on Haiti by saying that Preval's lead in the race has caused people to worry about Aristide's influence in Haiti then you know that things are going to run downhill. I was actually shocked to hear her utter those words because Aristide's influence is not the story except from the perspective of the Condi Rice,  the Bush Administration and foreign policy veterans of the Clinton Administration.

Our news media is so terrible! If the BBC was covering this story some mention might be made of the role of Aristide, but more attention would be given to the fact that the deposed Aristide's protege, Preval, has apparently retained the confidence of the Haitian people. NPR is a disgrace.  Public radio it ain't. I know some people who work at NPR in Washington and whenever I attempt to talk to them about this kind of slanted coverage all I get in response is some BS about how NPR's rating numbers are up. How long, how long will this bullshit go on?

I wish Rene Preval was a defender for poor Haitians, but it is obvious that he cut some kind of a deal with President Bush to get elected! He has already promised a Cabinet post to a Haitian-Texan millionaire friend of Bush, and has told the press that if Aristide returns he would be arrested to be tried for corruption > something that Condi Rice wants done! I worked in Haiti in 1983, when "Baby Doc" was in power, and years later I helped to advise Aristide, so I know Haiti well! Also it is being reported in the press that Preval has received financial support from some members of the Haitian elite, and the World Bank backs him too, which means something is very fishy about the election in Haiti!

Please don't feel offended that I checked you. I do that with everyone untilI get familiar enough to jump toaccurate conclusions.

Reuters:

Preval's past ties to Aristide were a central theme in the campaign. Preval was the hand-picked successor to the fiery former Roman Catholic priest and during his term from 1996 to 2001 was viewed in some quarters as a puppet, patiently holding the presidency for his mentor.

Supporters in Aristide's slum strongholds adopted Preval as their candidate this year. "Preval and Aristide are twins!" they shouted at election rallies.

The wealthy elite who campaigned to send Aristide packing turned their hostility on Preval, fearing his possible victory would lead the way for Aristide, accused of corruption and despotism, to return.

Preval has distanced himself from his one-time ally but not by much. He referred to Haiti's first freely elected leader as "President Aristide" in a recent interview and has said there is nothing to stop him from returning from South Africa.

AP: (Google Cache Edition)

Preval Says He's Not Guided by Aristide

By MICHAEL NORTON, Associated Press Writer Tue Jan 17, 6:29 PM ET

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Haiti's front-running presidential candidate said Tuesday that he has emerged from the shadow of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, his former mentor who fled Haiti amid a rebellion and accusations of corruption.

"I don't want to be compared with Aristide or with anybody else. I want to be compared with myself," Rene Preval told The Associated Press in the first interview he has given since he declared himself a candidate.

Elections, set for Feb. 7, have been postponed several times because of organizational problems and violence. There was more bloodshed Tuesday as gunmen shot and killed two Jordanian U.N. peacekeepers and wounded a third in the Cite Soleil slum, a stronghold of Aristide supporters. It was the bloodiest day for the 9,000-member peacekeeping force since being deployed in June 2004.

Preval was elected president in 1995 and served until 2001.

Many Haitians fear that if Preval wins the presidency again he will bring Aristide back from exile in South Africa. Preval, who turned 63 on Tuesday, insisted he will govern without being influenced by Aristide.

Aristide was Haiti's first democratically elected leader since the Caribbean country won independence from France in 1804, but was accused by opponents of masterminding attacks by armed gangs and breaking promises to the poor. Aristide has denied both.

Preval, who has never been a member of Aristide's Lavalas Family Party, expressed concern about Haiti's violence. Pointing out the electrified wire and high walls surrounding his home, Preval said: "Fear has isolated everybody."

Since the February 2004 rebellion, the situation in the Western hemisphere's poorest nation has not improved despite the presence of a U.N. peacekeeping force charged with providing security and ushering in elections to restore democracy.

Kidnappings have engulfed Haiti's capital, snaring ordinary Haitians as well as international election workers and journalists.

Preval said the U.N. mission "should stay as long as it is necessary" to re-establish security. Aristide, by contrast, has compared the U.N. mission to French troops that invaded Haiti in 1802 to re-establish slavery.

Preval followed Aristide into exile after a bloody 1991 coup and returned to Haiti during the U.S. military intervention that restored Aristide to power in 1994.

In his 1996 inaugural address, Preval promised to turn Haiti into "a vast construction site" and "re-establish the authority of the state."

He now acknowledges he failed, but said "we didn't steal and we didn't violate human rights."

...and has told the press that if Aristide returns he would be arrested to be tried for corruption > something that Condi Rice wants done!


I don't want to defend Preval because I know relatively little about him compared to what I know about Aristide. My understanding, however, is that Preval did not say that Aristide would be arrested if Aristide returned to Haiti. Preval said that Aristide could be arrested because he was facing charges under Haitian law.  Preval has no authority at this point to have those charges dismissed.

Now we all know that those laws are a crock and the entire process under which Aristide was charged with any crimes was bogus. My sense is that Preval thinks so too but that he is wary about directly challenging these laws at this time because he prefers not to do anything that would cause further conflict in the country. Preval has an 800 pound gorilla to his north that is perfectly willing to use its resources to incite violent opposition to his presidency if he should be elected.

I am sure that there aspects of Preval's behavior that legitimately makes Jay Randal, me and lots of other folks nervous but I am reminded of something that my maternal grandmother used to tell her children: When you have your hand in the lion's mouth you have to move slowly.

Thanks P6! But justthing Those Haititans having the temerity to DEMOCRATICALLY ELECT someone of their liking. The nerve! Hey who knows, perhaps one day we, American Blacks, will be afforded a real opportunity to chose elective offiicals who really represent our interest. Check out Black Cmmentator this week for further clarification of my point.

"When you have your hand in the lion's mouth you have to move slowly."

PT, that reminds me of one of my favorite African proverbs: "Once you have crossed the river you can be rude to the crocodile."

One of the reasons that I loved the proverbs she used is that I really do believe that they came straight from the old country.  Her people, including her father, were moved to Louisiana from the infamous Pierce Butler plantation off the coast of Georgia when they were purchased in 1857 in what the New York Times called the "largest slave auction ever held in the United States". Butler's descendants had driven the "business" into bankruptcy.

There were two more that I loved to hear her say:  when one of my cousins would complain to her about someone having mistreated or betrayed them she would say that a cow always needs its tail more than one summer to swipe the flies from its face. In other words, that person is going to need you again long before you ever need them.

When she thought someone was not taking enough credit for something they had done or was speaking in a self-deprecating way about their accomplishments or how they were dressed, she would tell them that it's a mighty poor frog that won't praise its own pond.

Many, many years ago when I was reading Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart  I ran across a similar  proverb in the book that was used by one of the characters. Although the animal that was referred to was a lizard the meaning was the same. Blew me away.

The wisdom of our elderfolk is a beautiful thing. And they managed to hand bits of it down to us often without attribution or acknowledgement of the source. What you found in Achebe's masterpiece was probably no mere accident.

What you found in Achebe's masterpiece was probably no mere accident.

There is an intense connection that exists between us no matter how long we have been away from the Motherland or how much some of us and some them want to deny that connection. It will always be there.