However, this is not a game of chance or just a great photo opps but rather a real situation with real people who possess real issues that are complex and oftentimes dangerous.
One look at Thursday’s (February 5th, 2004) lead photo in The Tribune showing Mr Mitchell exiting a private jet fresh from talks with Haiti’s opposition parties and a novice would have thought that Mitchell was indeed Prime Minister of the Bahamas and not Perry Christie.
I have warned Mr Christie to be careful just how much of his duty as commander in chief he assigns away to Mr. Mitchell.
Though it is within Mr Mitchell’s portfolio to handle matters relating to foreign affairs, it is not his mandate to sandwich the Bahamas between opposing factions, immersed in very hostile negotiations where an entire country’s political stability is at stake.
The bottom line is that the Bahamas cannot fix the situation in Haiti and neither can CARICOM with all of its resources, make any significant dent in the intense desire of the Haitian opposition and a large majority of its people to see its current President leave office.
Recent international reports are confirming that the political situation in Haiti is worsening by the day and from the looks of things, President Aristide’s days are numbered as he may find himself kissing self-exile for the second time.
The Haitian crisis is not a simple one, nor should it be taken lightly and that is why we must tread lightly during these very sensitive talks because if the opposition forces believe that CARICOM, and by extension the Bahamas, are subtly campaigning for Aristide’s stay in power, it could spell trouble for us at home and abroad if and when the opposition forces take control of the Island.
According to a UK based online newspaper reporting from Haiti, at least seven people – including three police officers – were killed in a raid this past Thursday in Gonaives, a day after an armed opposition group staged a bloody assault, seizing partial control of Haiti’s fourth-largest city.
The event is being described as the biggest uprising yet aimed at overthrowing President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
“Hundreds of people looted a burned-out police station shouting, “The revolution has begun!’ with all social classes agreeing that Aristide must go.
It is further claimed that attackers freed more than 100 prisoners in the seaside shanty town of Raboteau, the armed group’s stronghold, hundreds of demonstrators shouted: “Aristide must go! Too much blood has flowed! Some even rode in a lorry wearing looted police uniforms and brandishing stolen weapons.
The account of the current state of affairs in Haiti complements what Mitchell himself confessed on his return from Haiti this week, that talks with Haiti’s opposition was “intense and difficult.
Mitchell also articulated “their view remains that they should not negotiate with President Jean Bertrand Aristide at all, and they have the view that they are in the ascendancy in Haiti.
However, even more serious was the opposition’s insistence to Mr Mitchell, CARICOM and his associates that they do not wish for the international community to do anything that will interfere with their political strategy.
These are strong statements coming from a group of men and women who wish not to be taken lightly or have their intelligence disrespected by those who may be covered more with the scent of President Aristide’s interest.
What Mr Mitchell has to settle in himself is that no matter how sincere, as a small nation and equally as an individual with no real international experience in this type of sensitive negotiations, that the hard core reality is that the situation in Haiti can and will only be fixed by those with Haiti’s best interest at heart and that is by the Haitian people themselves.
Not even the Americans, who are perhaps strategising from a distance, are involved as deeply as we are and they are the world’s super power.
What Mr Mitchell as minister responsible for our foreign affairs has to realise is that it is no longer prudent for us to waste precious time trying to do the impossible by trying to save Haiti, but to now maximise our time and resources to safeguard our boarders for what no doubt will be a massive exodus in short order.
The Bahamas government needs to stop talking and start moving towards implementing an aggressive plan along with our US counterparts to strengthen our boarders by ensuring all our military officers and reserves, Defence Force, Police and Immigration officers, are all well prepared and ready to handle the massive migration which is bound to occur as a result of the forthcoming insurgence in Haiti.
The Bahamas has to now brace itself, as we are accustomed to during an approaching hurricane, for the increase demand this situation will place on us as a tiny nation.
The government also needs to host talks with local Haitian leaders, including Haitian pastors, to ensure that all local tempers remain cool while and post the possible coup d’�tat.
We must ensure that Bahamians are also well prepared by disseminating accurate information to calm fears or concerns and to ensure the protection of our national sovereignty.
Though Mr Mitchell’s insistence that The Bahamas get deeply involved in trying to bring resolution to Haiti’s historical political turmoil was by himself considered noble, by far his actions could instead be interpreted by Haiti’s opposition as being covert, sympathetic almost towards the plight of President Aristide.
This perspective, accurate or not, could spell trouble for us in Haiti and at home, perhaps this time Mr Mitchell has gone too far. Time indeed will be the judge.
Steve Simmons
Letter to the Editor, The Tribune
