Aristide of Haiti - a letter to the ANC
I wrote this as a letter to ANC
by Tony Hall, 2004
I would like to join those many millions of people of African origin and those many thousands -- or millions -- of other races like myself who broadly support the progressive struggle of third world nations to achieve genuine social democracy... We would all happily say: congratulations and thanks to the ANC government for deciding to receive and host President Juan Bertrand Aristide of Haiti in South Africa.
As a South African I say: welcome Mr President, we are honoured to have you as a guest. I am quite happy to contribute my taxpayer's mite towards hosting you as long as you need to be here, until imperialist lackeys are overcome in Haiti and a semblance of democracy is restored to your country.
There is a groundswell of hurt and deep anger, not to be underestimated, against those who have tried to make an issue of this invitation, like South African DA party leaders Tony Leon and Douglas Gibson, against the strong current of international feeling about what Haiti means.
They know perfectly well, or can easily find out, what real forces are at play in the Haiti drama of recent years. But they choose to single out the elected Haitian leader, as if he is in any remote way to be compared to corrupt dictators -- which ever ones they choose to select, or ignore, according to their own politicallly debased tastes. Leon, Gibson and others are a disgrace to the political tradition of outspoken liberal humanism, from which they are supposed to have come. If someone from Soweto, in a radio talk show, calls Gibson a racist, it's not that anyone should seriously believe he's a one-on-one bigot -- it's because he plays the race card in politics. If the cap fits...
The ANC government has affirmed its position on a most fundamental issue -- and it's high time usually intelligent and fair-minded broadcasters, like John Perlman or Debra Patter, got to grips with it, so we don't get questions and debates based on the premise that Aristide was just one more corrupt dictator. So many observers and analysts have clearly explained what really went on, what the issues are, one starts getting tired of going over what should now be familiar ground. But let the writer of an article in The Guardian have the last word, because it showed so succinctly how seismic are the issues, how dangerously skewed are the times:
"...The vilification of Aristide has been carefully prepared by repeated accusations that he rigged the elections in 2000. But an exhaustive and convincing report by the International Coalition of Independent Observers concluded that ' fair and peaceful elections were held' in 2000 and, by the standard of the presidential elections held in the US that same year, they were positively exemplary.
"A major reason for the vilification of Aristide is that he never learned to pander unreservedly to foreign commercial interests and stuck to his guns over wages, education and health.
"He remained indelibly associated with what's left of a genuine popular movement for political and economic empowerment. For this reason alone, it was essential that he not only be forced from office but be utterly discredited in the eyes of his people and the world. As Noam Chomsky has said, the 'threat of a good example' solicits measures of retaliation that bear no relation to the strategic importance of the country in question. That is why the leaders of the world have joined together to crush a democracy in the name of democracy."
From this it comes home that the South African government has done the right thing, bravely so, though they know they have the support of the vast majority. But why don't they put their mouth where our money is? Please, speak up forcefully and clearly, don't murmur and temporise when bad-mouthed through the media by reactionary chauvinists. Don't let the media get away with malicious trivialising, putting the Aristide issue on TV news back-to-back with that of Shaka Zulu Assegai... (One might almost say, now that you're back Snuki, on this issue at least show some of the directive attitude you became infamous for).
The other resonance is in the question: will the ANC, like our guest, now really move away from the era of pandering to foreign commercial interests (and in our case, SA corporate giants)? Will we see real evidence of a renewed ANC, going back to genuine commitment and real action, however enormous the challenge?
The other good news yesterday was of Congress coming back to power in India, in alliance with left parties. How telling it is, that they were swept back largely by a wave of anger among rural millions, neglected for years by the right wing Hindu BJP.
So, don't be scared ANC, even the very imperfect Congress Party has benefited in the end from its pro-poor rhetoric and its open alliance with the left. That's no bad thing, in a world where all we can hope for right now, is social democracy – and that's a difficult and dangerous enterprise, god knows. Viva, secular democracy.
Tony Hall
Mpumalanga
Aristide: Picture by....
I wrote this as a letter to ANC
by Tony Hall, 2004
I would like to join those many millions of people of African origin and those many thousands -- or millions -- of other races like myself who broadly support the progressive struggle of third world nations to achieve genuine social democracy... We would all happily say: congratulations and thanks to the ANC government for deciding to receive and host President Juan Bertrand Aristide of Haiti in South Africa.
As a South African I say: welcome Mr President, we are honoured to have you as a guest. I am quite happy to contribute my taxpayer's mite towards hosting you as long as you need to be here, until imperialist lackeys are overcome in Haiti and a semblance of democracy is restored to your country.
There is a groundswell of hurt and deep anger, not to be underestimated, against those who have tried to make an issue of this invitation, like South African DA party leaders Tony Leon and Douglas Gibson, against the strong current of international feeling about what Haiti means.
They know perfectly well, or can easily find out, what real forces are at play in the Haiti drama of recent years. But they choose to single out the elected Haitian leader, as if he is in any remote way to be compared to corrupt dictators -- which ever ones they choose to select, or ignore, according to their own politicallly debased tastes. Leon, Gibson and others are a disgrace to the political tradition of outspoken liberal humanism, from which they are supposed to have come. If someone from Soweto, in a radio talk show, calls Gibson a racist, it's not that anyone should seriously believe he's a one-on-one bigot -- it's because he plays the race card in politics. If the cap fits...
The ANC government has affirmed its position on a most fundamental issue -- and it's high time usually intelligent and fair-minded broadcasters, like John Perlman or Debra Patter, got to grips with it, so we don't get questions and debates based on the premise that Aristide was just one more corrupt dictator. So many observers and analysts have clearly explained what really went on, what the issues are, one starts getting tired of going over what should now be familiar ground. But let the writer of an article in The Guardian have the last word, because it showed so succinctly how seismic are the issues, how dangerously skewed are the times:
"...The vilification of Aristide has been carefully prepared by repeated accusations that he rigged the elections in 2000. But an exhaustive and convincing report by the International Coalition of Independent Observers concluded that ' fair and peaceful elections were held' in 2000 and, by the standard of the presidential elections held in the US that same year, they were positively exemplary.
"A major reason for the vilification of Aristide is that he never learned to pander unreservedly to foreign commercial interests and stuck to his guns over wages, education and health.
"He remained indelibly associated with what's left of a genuine popular movement for political and economic empowerment. For this reason alone, it was essential that he not only be forced from office but be utterly discredited in the eyes of his people and the world. As Noam Chomsky has said, the 'threat of a good example' solicits measures of retaliation that bear no relation to the strategic importance of the country in question. That is why the leaders of the world have joined together to crush a democracy in the name of democracy."
From this it comes home that the South African government has done the right thing, bravely so, though they know they have the support of the vast majority. But why don't they put their mouth where our money is? Please, speak up forcefully and clearly, don't murmur and temporise when bad-mouthed through the media by reactionary chauvinists. Don't let the media get away with malicious trivialising, putting the Aristide issue on TV news back-to-back with that of Shaka Zulu Assegai... (One might almost say, now that you're back Snuki, on this issue at least show some of the directive attitude you became infamous for).
The other resonance is in the question: will the ANC, like our guest, now really move away from the era of pandering to foreign commercial interests (and in our case, SA corporate giants)? Will we see real evidence of a renewed ANC, going back to genuine commitment and real action, however enormous the challenge?
The other good news yesterday was of Congress coming back to power in India, in alliance with left parties. How telling it is, that they were swept back largely by a wave of anger among rural millions, neglected for years by the right wing Hindu BJP.
So, don't be scared ANC, even the very imperfect Congress Party has benefited in the end from its pro-poor rhetoric and its open alliance with the left. That's no bad thing, in a world where all we can hope for right now, is social democracy – and that's a difficult and dangerous enterprise, god knows. Viva, secular democracy.
Tony Hall
Mpumalanga
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