Dr. Ron Daniels – The Unfinished Haitian Revolution: Democracy in Crisis in the First Black Republic

Dedicated to the Memory of Boukman

Vantage Point Special
Articles and Essays by Dr. Ron Daniels

This day, August 14th, is one of the most significant in world history. On this day in 1791, the Vodun Priest Boukman gathered enslaved and colonized Africans in a woody area called Bwa Kayiman in northern Haiti for a mass assembly and sacred ceremony that changed the course of history. The purpose for the ceremony was to call upon the African Gods to provide the spiritual armor for a rebellion to free Haitians from the brutal imperial grip of France.

The ceremony achieved its mission. It reenforced and intensified the longstanding resistance to French colonial rule, with legions of Haitians relentlessly and ferociously fighting the “superior” military forces of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Inspired by Boukman and led by Toussaint Louverture, Alexandre Petion, Henri Christophe and Jean Jacque Dessalines the Haitian Freedom Fighters decisively defeated Napoleon’s expeditionary force in the battle of Vertieres in November of 1803. This amazing victory pathed the way for Haiti to declare its independence on January 1, 1804, thereby becoming the first Black Republic in the world. It was the first time in human history that an enslaved people defeated their “slave masters” to create an independent nation!

The rest is history. a tortured history because the US, France and all of the European colonizers set out to torture, to punish Haiti for shattering the myth of white supremacy by isolating, blocking stigmatizing, marginalizing and in the case of the US, occasionally invading the First Black Republic . There was a legitimate fear that Haiti’s example would be an inspiration to enslaved and oppressed people everywhere – which indeed it was.

Unfortunately, this tortured history has prevented Haiti from fulfilling the promise of the Revolution right up until the present — which brings us to the current crisis in Haiti which I have been writing about, and through the Haiti Support Project working with the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy (HAFFD) to resolve.

Two hundred and thirty-three (233) years after the momentous gathering at Bwa Kayiman, the First Black Republic is facing its gravest crisis in recent history. As noted in previous articles, Haiti is in danger of becoming a narco-state with much of the Capital controlled by well-armed, competing alliances of gangs akin to criminal syndicates. These syndicates are terrorizing the population, raping women, killing innocent civilians and blocking access to hospitals, schools, food and desperately needed humanitarian assistance. Under these dangerous circumstances, establishing a system of governance has been extremely difficult, with a bleak outlook for a return to anything resembling normalcy.

However, as I have also previously reported, despite these apparently dire circumstances, a broad ranging umbrella organization called the Montana Accord Movement, which is supported by hundreds of civil society, faith and political organizations and leaders has devised a plan and process for the creation of a people-based democracy. This plan and process has the potential to change the course of history in a positive manner for the First Black Republic. Extensive civic engagement and dialogue with the masses of the Haitian people in a meaningful way to secure input and buy-in to the substance of a new system of democracy and development is the most important aspect of the Montana Accord plan and process.

Fortunately, with the support of CARICOM, the US, Canada and the Core Group of nations and multilateral organizations and agencies a Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) has been selected and a Prime Minister appointed to address the urgent need for security and humanitarian assistance to stabilize the conditions for the Haitian masses. The TPC is also tasked with implementing a plan for holding elections which includes extensive civic engagement with the people, a national conference to discuss and adopt recommendations for democracy and development and the establishment of an Electoral Commission to overseas free and fair elections. This plan mirrors the recommendations in the Montana Accord plan and process.

Sounds promising, but as I pen this article there are major problems, obstacles and barriers which pose a danger to the promise of a new people-based democracy as envisioned by the Montana Accord Movement:

1. Though the Montana Accord and Fanmi Lavalas have huge constituencies on the ground, they were only allotted one (1) seat each on the nine (9) Member Presidential Council which has seven (7) voting members and two (2) Non-Voting Members . This set-up the potential that Montana and Famni Lavalas could always be outvoted on e issues before the Council. However, a compromise was reached where a Five (5) – Two (2) vote rather than simple majority is required to enact various measures.
2. A major problem is that the US and CARICOM agreed to include actors on the Council who have reputations for corruption and/or association with gangs and violent elements in Haiti. It was almost predictable that corruption and scandals would rear their ugly heads to create credibility problems for the TPC. Sure enough, as reported by recent articles in the New York Times and Miami Heraldand confirmed by HSP’s sources on the ground, three Members of the Council are alleged to have demanded bribes from members of government to keep their jobs. Civil society organizations are understandably in an uproar about what appears to be credible allegations of corruption.
3. It also appears that a majority of members on the Council would like to give the appearance of embracing the major elements of the Montana Accord plan and process while planning to sabotage it. For example, some Members are calling for a National Conference to be held within three months, which is impossible given the security situation and insufficient time to comprehensively engage the population.
4. It also appears that the Members would like to create an Electoral Council with representation from the political parties and civil society organizations as reflected on the TPC. Such a formula would make the Electoral Council a hyper-partisan rather than non-partisan body; a sure prescription for various constituencies to constantly question the legitimacy of elections.
5. Though all of the issues above pose a degree of danger to the Montana Accord plan and process for creating a people-based democracy, the most serious danger is the growing control of neighborhoods and vital agencies and institutions in the Capital and other cities and towns by gangs. The expanding rule of the gangs also adversely impacts the ability to get urgently needed humanitarian relief to large numbers of people who are barely surviving in desperate conditions.
6. Finally, the issue of the Prime Minister’s mandate and accountability has emerged as a contentious problem. The issue is the degree to which the PM is obliged to report to, be guided by and be accountable to the TPC. There are accusations that the PM is acting without proper consultation with the TPC. This is not a new problem in Haitian society. However, failure to address it can lead to unnecessary wrangling and infighting that will ultimately prove counterproductive.

All of these difficult problems and issues must be fixed. Last week the Montana Accord Monitoring Bureau issued a scathing analysis of the current status of the crisis and encouraged the population to demand solutions to correct the problems with the TPC and related matters.

HSP competition that it is imperative that the issues outlined above be addressed to avoid scundering an amazing opportunity to create a new Haiti. Accordingly, we urge CARICOM, the US and the Core Group of nations and multilateral agencies and institutions to actively and constructively engage key centers of power and stakeholders in Haiti as follows:

1. To preserve the credibility of the TPC those Members who have been accused of bribery and other offenses should be replaced with alternates until their cases are adjudicated.
2. Community engagement and civic participation are the requisite center pieces for the plan to create a new Haiti. Therefore, sufficient time must be afforded for the process to achieve the desired outcome. Accordingly, the TPC should be encouraged to develop an implementation strategy for civic engagement/participation incorporating town hall meetings, forums, neighborhood gatherings, radio and television discussions, etc. over a period of at least twelve (12) months, culminating with a National Conference or Convention to adopt a People’s Platform for Democracy and Development. The international community should provide the resources for the TPC to retain consultants and specialists to design a process to achieve this goal.
3. It is absolutely essential that the Electoral Council be seen as non-partisan and beyond reproach. Therefore, the international community should engage consultants and resources persons to work with key actors/stakeholders to develop a truly non-partisan Electoral Council to administer elections and inform that nation of the results.
4. CARICOM should take the lead in mediating the issues between the TPC and the PM to clarify lines of authority and accountability so that these two vital interrelated arms of governance can effectively act in concert.
5. Finally, all of the plans, solutions and resolutions outlined above will be for naught unless the stranglehold of the gangs on life in Haiti can be broken. At a minimum, this will require Kenya and other nations that have pledged to send police officers as part of the United Nations approved Multinational Security Support Mission to honor their commitments immediately. Other options may also have to be considered. If the gangs continue to terrorize the nation, the plan and process for developing a people-based democracy will fail.

HPS continues to believe that the Montana Accord plan and process offers the greatest promise in decades for moving beyond “business as usual” to transform the First Black Republic into a people-based democracy. We will continue to work collaboratively with HAFFD in advising Black America’s legacy organizations to press the Biden-Harris Administration to be guided by the Montana Accord plan and process and to utilize US human and material resources to ensure its success. In addition, we will continue to work with HAFFD to build a strong solidarity network and movement in the US in support of the plan and the process.

Democracy in the First Black Republic is in danger, but as we reflect on the vision and courage of the freedom fighters convened by Boukman at Bwa Kayiman more than two centuries ago, “we who believe in freedom cannot rest” until a genuine people-based democracy is achieved in Haiti as the fulfillment of the Haitian Revolution!