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Stanley Lucas Reponse: Joel Leon Attacks Change
Teledjol.com - Saturday December 31, 2011
Joel Leon represents the old, corrupt politics of the past
Stanley Lucas Reponse: Joel Leon Attacks Change September 12, 2011 On August 10, Haiti Liberte published an attack piece by Joel Leon on President Martelly’s selection of key advisors to his Administration, singling me out as an anti-democratic representative of the “imperialist forces” (see: http://www.anarkismo.net/article/20352 ). Clearly, Mr. Leon is once again ill-informed and levels politically charged rhetoric that does absolutely nothing to advance any democratic and productive debate in Haiti. Typically, when leveling such accusations a responsible commentator or journalist would have proof to back up such a serious assertion, but Mr. Leon falls back on old propaganda. First, he says that my appointment unveils Martelly’s ideology. The fact is that President Martelly has appointed about 10 seniors advisors based on their expertise in key issue areas. They are responsible for making policy recommendations and providing general coordination as Martelly forms his government. Advisors are not of one ideological stripe; rather, they represent a diversity of views. For example, my views on Aristide are well known, but Mario Dupuy also serves as an advisor for communications. Dupuy was Aristide’s former communications director. The one key link among the advisors surrounding President Martelly is that they represent change from the corrupt politics of the past. And this, is likely what Leon is reacting so strongly to. Second, Mr. Leon asserts that Martelly is working to dissolve the Parliament asserting that he is working to ensure that, “these senators no longer intend to serve as the sounding board for an anti-popular regime.” The fact is that Parliament has a 1% approval rate amongst the Haitian people right now. No one views them as a sounding board. And Martelly’s “anti-popular” regime now has a 77%+ approval rating. The Parliament has blocked all of Martelly’s choices for Prime Minister for the simple reason that they represent change and a break from the old, corrupt politics of the past. He points to an incident on July 24 when people allegedly through a bottle at the President at a rally in Cap Haitien. In fact, 29 people were arrested in conjunction with the incident, and were investigated. All except one were released. That one was found to have been paid by a Senator, close to Aristide, to incite violence in conjunction with the trip. I can assure Mr. Leon that in any other country in the world, people would be arrested for attacking the President. This is a standard operating procedure. Would he have attacks on a President stand without investigation? There is a rule of law to follow, and it was followed to the letter in this case. Third, he says that, “Haitian journalists are trembling with fear” at my appointment. Twenty of the top 25 radio and TV stations in Haiti regularly have me on their programs as a weekly commentator. The President has not attempted in any way to silence the press. His point was to call upon journalists to engage in a more constructive debate on the issues in Haiti. It is the role of the press to criticize and hold government accountable, but they must do that based on fact. Journalism is about reporting the truth. Fourth, Mr. Leon asserts that returning the Haitian Diaspora to the country is an effort to replace the “indigenous national cadre” of the country. Now, this assertion is one of the most troubling. Are the Diaspora not Haitian? Did they not leave because they could not scratch out a living in a country that presented no economic opportunity and where they were blocked from participating in business and government? The fact is that the Diaspora has a wealth of skills and experience that can supplement the skills in-country. No one is talking about replacing the hard working Haitians currently serving as teachers and principles. Rather, we are talking about calling upon skills and expertise to help rebuild our country, which is currently in rough shape. Mr. Leon fails to note that he currently resides in Philadelphia as so is also a part of that Diaspora. Do you love your country any less because you happen to reside overseas? Fifth, Leon gives a vitriolic and false summary of my resume and standing in Washington, DC and Haiti. I have never met Leon anywhere, but he seems to think we have met. I have never worked for the AFL-CIO. This assertion seems to be inconsistent with his characterization of me as a right wing extremist. I do not know of any right wing extremists working for the AFL-CIO. Describing Joel Leon, I posted an article about him using his pen as a sword in the vicious attacks against journalists, which were detailed by Haitian bloggers (see: http://belpolitik.com/messages.php/36199 ). I have never had any falling out with Gerard Latortue, a man I respect and have kept in close contact with for more than 15 years. I have never represented myself as the true representative of US policy above Ambassador Curran. In fact, the Inspector General of the US State Department investigated these claims by the Ambassador and found nothing to substantiate them and cleared me completely of wrongdoing. When I was at IRI, all training programs included representatives of every political party, including Lavalas. The IRI is not partisan in the US or abroad. Leon asserts that Lavalas operatives are not opposed to my return to Haiti and would never do me any harm. I have come to that conclusion based on the fact that there have been three previous attempts on my life by Lavalas operatives. He then asserts that he has been advised not to return to Haiti because he could “disappear”. This is the most ridiculous assertion yet. I believe wholeheartedly in the rule of law. Any justice I seek will be done through the courts, and there is plenty of evidence to pursue that path. I hasten to add that do not want to in any way imply that everyone in the Lavalas party is violent or corrupt. In fact, there are some top-notch people in Lavalas working to change and modernize the Party – people who really and truly care about advancing Haiti as a whole – rather than advancing themselves. They have reached out to me from time to time and it is always a pleasure to speak with them. These are the facts that you and your cronies never mention because it does not fit into the narrative you are trying to create by distorting reality. There is not one shred of truth in anything that Leon wrote about my background, except that he got my name right. His recitation is merely a rehash of old, discredited information. This is merely a desperate attempt to remain relevant in his self-imposed “second exile”. I could continue to outline the myriad falsehoods in his statements about the politics of Haiti and my track record, but I believe readers will get the point. What troubles me the most is his divisive approach to political discourse. Our country is faced with some of the greatest challenges in its 208-year history. There are so many areas in which the divergent voices in Haitian politics could come together and work to address these critical challenges. Rather, the focus continues to be on ideology and discrediting anyone who has original ideas. Mr. Leon seems to believe that US politics are playing out in Haiti with a right wing-left wing divide. This is not the case. In Haiti, the political division is between old guard and new guard. The new guard is breaking with the corrupt politics of the past and moving toward focusing on delivering results for the people. Those in the old guard are understandably worried about losing their sweetheart deals and their gravy trains coming to a stop. That is why you see a resurgence of efforts to undermine those who have always stood for democracy and rule of law and who present a new vision for the country. One in which we can actually develop politically, socially and economically. Mr. Leon’s comments are intended to rebuild support for his master, Aristide. Rather than trying to discredit my colleagues and me, why doesn’t he make a case for the policies that Aristide pursued? See: http://solutionshaiti.blogspot.com/2011/03/tr... Why doesn’t he defend Aristide’s track record? Or tout his results? Could it be that there is nothing to tout and so the only recourse is to attack others? I’ll let the people decide – that’s what we do in a democracy.
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