Why We Shouldn't Support Plan for New Army in Haiti

Melinda Miles, Director, Let Haiti Live at TransAfrica

Last week, a proposal from Haiti’s President Michel Martelly to create a new Haitian army was breaking news. Haitians have been talking about the possibility of the former Haitian army, known by its French acronym as the FAd’H, being reconstituted since it was disbanded in 1994. In recent years, proponents for the reconstitution of the army have used the ongoing presence of foreign soldiers in the UN peacekeeping mission (known by its acronym, MINUSTAH) as one of the reasons to bring back a national military force.

President Martelly’s proposed plan does not resonate with Haitians, despite their desire to see MINUSTAH withdraw. This is because they know that Haiti doesn’t need a national army any more than it needs a foreign one. The necessary first step to withdrawing the MINUSTAH was the same in 2004 as it is today: the strengthening and professionalization of Haiti’s civilian national police. Haiti’s justice system has long been in need of massive reform as well.

In light of the many crimes perpetrated by the FAd’H, as well as the role the military has historically played in overthrowing governments, it would be a mistake to create a new army while Haiti’s democracy is still so young. Since Haiti’s first democratic elections, only twenty years ago, only two presidential terms have been completed without interruption.

Furthermore, the current Haitian government may have passed the minimal requirements of the international community to be considered legitimate, but the abysmal turn out at both the first and second round of elections is cause to question its popular mandate. Only two decades into the democratic process, elections are plagued with disenfranchisement and lack meaningful participation; many Haitians are apathetic to a contest they feel is happening only within a tiny political elite.

Other aspects of the proposed plan for national security and defense are cause for concern. In President Martelly’s plan, human rights defenders and journalists have been grouped together with casinos, hotels and brothels to be under surveillance by a new intelligence force. Advocates of justice and human rights also question the wisdom of compensating the very soldiers who perpetrated a coup d’etat against Haiti’s first democratic government, while the victims of the subsequent three year military regime – characterized by extremely violent repression and countless assassinations – have yet to receive any kind of reparations.

“Offering a military solution to social problems is like calling a mechanic to fix a heart problem.” – Community Organizer and Journalist Etant Dupain

In order to know what Haiti needs today, we must look to the Haitian people and how they articulate their priority needs. The most vulnerable people in Haiti right now are the internally displaced people, homeless families living in the camps of Port-au-Prince. Up until now, soldiers have been unable to provide the protection these people need. The escalating rates of gender-based violence are inarguably the most dramatic indicator of this insecurity, and soldiers are not the solution. Formed Police Units (FPUs) of the peacekeeping mission have been the most successful and adequate response.

Haiti’s National Police was created in the wake of the demobilization of FAd’H in the mid-1990’s, however it has yet to reach the minimum number of police officers necessary to patrol a country of ten million. MINUSTAH’s original mandate was explicit about the need to train and professionalize the Haitian National Police, as well as to strengthen their capacity to provide stability and security to the Haitian population.

Haiti’s insecurity, the crime and instability so frequently noted by experts and the media, stems from deeply rooted social problems. Haiti suffers a stark inequality between a tiny elite that controls a truly unjust majority of the country’s wealth and resources, and the large, deeply impoverished Haitian masses, who live in abject poverty characterized by lack of access to the most fundamental necessities of life: water, shelter, food, and health care. A military force, whether it be the reconstitution of the FAd’H, the new army proposed by President Martelly, or the well-meaning but long-overstayed UN peacekeeping mission, cannot solve these problems and have even acted to exacerbate the long running economic apartheid that plagues Haitian society.

Before any Haitian government can consider forming a new military force, it should undertake a broad consultation with the Haitian population. This cannot be a surface level dialogue with “civil society” but must be a true conversation with the Haitian people. A truth, justice and reconciliation commission would go a long way towards healing the wounds inflicted by the decades of corrupt and violent actions of the FAd’H. A national discourse about the needs of the country – from border patrol, to forest protection, to disaster response – must analyze all possible solutions in order to determine the best answer to these compelling needs. The dialogue must also carefully establish the methods of management and training, the process of recruitment, and the systems of accountability that would be put in place to ensure the integrity of any such force.

For these reasons, TransAfrica strongly urges the U.S. government to discourage any proposal from the current Haitian government to build an army or any armed forces at this time. Furthermore, TransAfrica implores the United Nations, the UN Special Envoy’s office, members of the U.S. Congress, and all other international actors who care about the future of Haiti to dissuade the Haitian government from pursuing a costly and dangerous endeavor at this critical moment in Haitian history.

TransAfrica supports an explicit timeline for the withdrawal of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) that is based on the successful completion of concrete benchmarks from its mandate, most specifically, the training and professionalization of Haiti’s police force. TransAfrica recommends that U.S. officials and policy makers support the reform of Haiti’s justice system, including judicial capacity training and legal support, and the development of a capable police force, complete with the training, equipment and resources necessary to provide the Haitian people with the security they deserve. A strong Haitian National Police will certainly render the Haitian state more independent and autonomous, paving the way for a complete withdrawal of foreign soldiers of the UN Peacekeeping Mission, hence restoring Haiti’s dignity and national sovereignty.