[PAA-Discuss] FW: Duvalier = Aristide?

Thu Feb 10 14:52:19 EST 2011

What distortions our media practices! The NYT et al, not FAIR, of course.
Lee

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From: FAIR [mailto:fair at fair.org] 
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 1:44 PM
To: leeloe at igc.org
Subject: Duvalier = Aristide?

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Media Advisory

Duvalier = Aristide?
Equation of dictator with popular ex-president distorts Haitian history,
reality

2/10/11

It was certainly surprising to see former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude
Duvalier return to the country on January 16. To say he has blood on his
hands is an understatement: The Duvalier regimes were responsible for tens
of thousands of deaths and widespread torture (Human Rights Watch, 1/17/11
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=S3eSDWx%2BFmCn6NK4UP
IEr2x%2BZIYcrKcV> ), and stole half a billion dollars from the country
(Miami Herald, 1/17/11
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=JRMFq6fEo1xT2AFOs15E
72x%2BZIYcrKcV> ).

Soon thereafter, former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide announced his
intention to return to his country from exile. Aristide, twice elected and
twice overthrown by coups, remains a popular figure in Haitian politics. His
first stint in office was remarkably peaceful (Extra!, 11-12/94
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZmsjloPxEG%2FFu474Mb
zHZGx%2BZIYcrKcV> ); his second, during which he faced armed attacks that
eventually succeeded in overthrowing his government, was scarcely more
violent (Extra!, 7-8/06
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9HqmJm7yZi5zsh9Q8ss6
mGx%2BZIYcrKcV> ). But some media accounts are expressing concern about
Aristide's return, in effect equating him with the bloody Duvalier.

USA Today columnist DeWayne Wickham wrote a piece on February 8
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=0Z%2FrT52lukPKZ2NHwq
eksDOVP61krr72>  headlined "U.S. Meekly Allows Despots to Return to Haiti."
Wickham recounted some of the horrors of Duvalier's reign of terror, but for
some unfathomable reason decided that Aristide poses a comparable menace to
Haiti: His return might "push Haiti closer to turmoil," and the two of them
are "old troublemakers...returning at a time when Haiti's democracy is most
vulnerable to the havoc they almost certainly will produce."

Wickham seemed mostly concerned about democracy:

With another round of voting scheduled for March 20, the thing Haiti needs
more than anything else now is a level of stability and calm. But what it's
likely to get once Aristide returns--and once he and Duvalier rally their
old supporters to their side--will be a return to the bloody factionalism
that punctuated their time at the helm of Haiti's government.

It might be worth pointing out that Aristide's Lavalas party--still
enormously popular--was banned from participating in last year's election,
which as a result had the lowest turnout of any election held in the Western
Hemisphere in the last 60 years (Sun Sentinel, 1/23/11
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Z6PRkFCo9U0ip9X%2BIk
Cv7mx%2BZIYcrKcV> ).

The Duvalier = Aristide equation could be seen elsewhere. A New York Times
report (2/9/11
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ws1A1UUmbN%2FyQgAjM8
quzmx%2BZIYcrKcV> ) by Damien Cave warned that "experts inside and outside
Haiti fear that the presence of the two former leaders could further
destabilize the country." The Times went on to note that "members of the
international community expressed concern that Mr. Aristide...could create
widespread instability at a precarious moment." The story does note that
Aristide was "beloved by the poor but criticized by many." Given that 80
percent of Haitians live under the poverty line (CIA World Factbook, 1/12/11
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=b5kXeaFOhVa71FVv0%2B
BHxmx%2BZIYcrKcV> ), it's hard to know what to make of that.

A short L.A. Times piece (2/8/11
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=tUlFaQZGarNvqkDscXvb
ZWx%2BZIYcrKcV> ) conveyed a similar message: Aristide "has broad popular
support but remains a polarizing figure in Haiti." That article also equated
Duvalier and Aristide, reporting that "the return of the two former leaders
comes at an unsteady moment for the country."

One would hope reporters could find a way to make a meaningful distinction
between a ruthless, bloody dictator and a popular elected president. It's
absurd to lump them together as "two former leaders" or, as the USA Today
headline put it, "despots." 

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