Haiti is burning. In the past week, armed rebels across the country have been literally setting fire to the homes and businesses of supporters of Jean-Bertand Aristide, the nation’s first democratically elected President. Worse, some rebels have set fire to the supporters themselves. This on an island with 8 million people and a police force of just 5,000 to protect them.
Democracy is a recent and tenuous innovation in Haiti, where opposition-as-blood sport is a tradition rooted in the island’s 200 years of turbulent history. Regime change has always come by coup d’etat. Arisitide’s opposition runs the gamut from armed thugs to civic activists. They want him out. He’s refusing to go. And the insurgents are saying they won’t back down. Crisis in the Caribbean.
Guests:
Christian Wisskerchen, senior member, Haiti Support Group
Robert Maguire, director, Trinity College (DC) Haiti Program
Georges Michel, Haitian journalist and historian, and drafter of Haiti’s constitution.