Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/backgrd/HAITI.BKG

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BACKGROUND NOTES:  HAITI
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
NOVEMBER 1994

Official Name:  Republic of Haiti

PROFILE

People
Nationality:  Noun and adjective--Haitian(s).
Population (est.):  6.9 million.
Annual growth rate:  1.8%.
Ethnic groups:  African descent 95%, African and European descent 5%.
Religions:  Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 10%; voodoo practices
widespread.
Languages:  French (official), Creole (official).
Education:  Years compulsory--6.  Attendance--primary school 45% of
school-aged children; secondary 15%.  Literacy--25%.
Health:  Infant mortality rate--101/1,000.  Life expectancy--56 yrs.
Work force (est.):  2.8 million.  Agriculture--67%.  Industry and
commerce--20%.  Services--13%.

Geography
Area:  27,750 sq. km. (10,714 sq. mi.); about the size of Maryland.
Cities:  Port-au-Prince (1993 est. pop. 1.5 million).  Other Cities--Cap
Haitien (65,000).
Terrain:  Mountainous; rest is plain.
Climate:  Warm, semiarid; high humidity in many coastal areas.

Government
Type:  Elected government.
Independence:  1804.
Constitution:  1987.
Branches:  Executive--President.  Legislative--Senate (27 Seats) Chamber
of Deputies (83 Seats).  Judicial--Court of Cassation.
Administrative Subdivisions:  Nine departments.
Political parties:  Numerous.
Suffrage:  Universal at 18.

Economy
GNP (1992 est):  $1.5 billion.
GNP growth rate:  -9%.
Per capita GNP (est.):  $320.
Natural resources:  Bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, marble,
fisheries.
Agriculture (20% of GNP):  Products--coffee, sugarcane, rice, corn,
cacao, sorghum, pulses, fruits.
Industry (30% of GNP):  Types--sugar refining, textiles, flour milling,
cement, light industrial products; processing, grading and packing
coffee, cacao, mangoes, and essential oils.
Services (50% of GNP):  Types--commerce, government, tourism.
Trade (1992):  Exports--$86 million:  light manufactured products,
coffee, cocoa, mangoes, essential oils.  Major market--U.S. (about 75%).
Imports--$172 million:   consumer durables, foodstuffs, industrial
equipment, petroleum products, construction materials.  Major market--
U.S. (about 60%).
Official exchange rate (fixed in Constitution):  5 gourdes=U.S.$1.  A
free foreign exchange market exists in which the U.S. dollar traded in
the first half of 1994 for approximately 15 gourdes.


PEOPLE

Haiti is one of the world's most densely populated countries, with
approximately 250 people per square kilometer (650 per sq. mi.).  About
95% of the Haitians are of African descent; the rest of the population
is mostly of mixed African-Caucasian ancestry.  A few are of European or
Levantine stock.  About 70% of the people live in rural areas.

French is one of two official languages, but it is spoken by only about
10% of the people.  All Haitians speak Creole, the country's other
official language.  English is increasingly spoken among the young and
in the business sector.

The state religion is Roman Catholicism, which most of the population
professes.  Some have been converted to Protestantism by missionaries
active throughout the country.  Haitians, however, tend to see no
conflict with voodoo traditions of African origin co-existing with
Christian faiths.

Although public education is free, less than half of Haitian school-aged
children attend school.  Private and religious education provide perhaps
75% of programs offered.  Though Haitians place a high value on
education, most families cannot afford to send their children to
secondary school.

Recent large-scale emigration to the U.S., and secondarily to Canada and
Caribbean neighbors, has created what Haitians refer to as the "Tenth
Department."  About one out of every six Haitians lives abroad.


HISTORY

The Spaniards used Hispaniola (of which Haiti is the western part and
the Dominican Republic is the eastern) as a "jumping-off point" to
explore the rest of the Western Hemisphere.  French buccaneers later
used the western third of the island as a point from which to harass
English and Spanish ships.  In 1697, Spain ceded the western third of
Hispaniola to France.  As piracy was gradually suppressed, some French
adventurers became planters, making Saint-Domingue--as the French
portion of the island was then called--one of the richest colonies of
the 18th-century French empire.

During this period, African slaves were brought to work the sugarcane
and coffee plantations.  In 1791, the  slave population--led by
Toussaint Louverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines, and Henri Christophe--
revolted and gained control of the northern part of Saint-Domingue.

In 1804, local forces defeated an army deployed by Napoleon Bonaparte,
established independence from France, and renamed the area Haiti.  The
defeat of the French in Haiti is widely credited with contributing to
Napoleon's decision to sell the Louisiana territory to the United States
in 1804.  Haiti is the world's oldest black republic and, after the
United States, the second-oldest republic in the Western Hemisphere.
Haiti actively espoused and assisted the independence movements of Latin
American countries.  Haitians had already fought beside American troops
during the American Revolution, at the battle of Savannah.

Two separate regimes (north and south) emerged after independence but
were unified in 1820.  Two years later, Haiti conquered Santo Domingo,
the eastern, Spanish-speaking portion of Hispaniola.  In 1844, however,
Santo Domingo broke away from Haiti and became the Dominican Republic.

With 22 changes of government from 1843 until 1915, Haiti experienced
numerous periods of intense political and economic disorder.  In 1915,
the United States intervened militarily during an especially unstable
period.  U.S. military forces were withdrawn in 1934 at the request of
the elected Government of Haiti.

In 1957, Francois Duvalier was elected president following a year of
political turmoil during which six different governments held power.  He
became president for life in 1964 and maintained absolute political
control until his death in 1971.  During Duvalier's rule, a small black
middle class emerged, but Haiti suffered from domestic political
tension, severe corruption, severe repression, and economic stagnation.
The United States suspended all economic and military assistance to the
government of Francois Duvalier in 1963; aid was resumed only in 1973.

Duvalier's son, Jean-Claude, assumed the presidency and continued many
of his father's policies.  Although the country experienced a true
period of economic recovery and investment, Jean-Claude ultimately
failed to provide the leadership necessary for Haiti's sustained
development.  As a result, the country stagnated politically and
economically, and public discontent mounted.  On February 7, 1986, after
months of tension and civil disorder, Jean-Claude fled Haiti for France.

A military regime--the National Governing Council (CNG)--led by General
Henri Namphy inherited power following the flight of Jean-Claude
Duvalier.  In late 1986, the CNG organized local and Constituent
Assembly elections.  In March 1987, a national referendum approved a new
and thoroughly democratic constitution.  The CNG cancelled general
elections scheduled for November 1987, however, amid popular discontent
and regime repression.

In January 1988, in elections marred by the refusal of most major
candidates to participate and by low voter turnout, Leslie Manigat was
elected president.  Manigat, a moderate conservative, was toppled by the
military after only four months in power, and General Namphy again took
control.  Namphy was in turn overthrown by elements of the military in
September 1988, and another military regime, headed by General Prosper
Avril, took power.  Avril permitted the formation of an Electoral
Commission to prepare for long-awaited elections, but Avril's
increasingly authoritarian leadership eroded public confidence in his
commitment to democracy.  On March 12, 1990, faced with escalating civil
unrest, Avril resigned in favor of Supreme Court Justice Ertha Pascal
Trouillot, who became Provisional President.

In elections held in December 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a Roman
Catholic priest and long-time opponent to Haiti's former dictatorship,
was elected President by an overwhelming majority.  The election was
witnessed by international observers from the U.S., UN, and OAS and was
declared to be Haiti's first free and honest election.  Voters also
elected members of parliament and mayors of Haiti's major towns.
Aristide was inaugurated on February 7, 1991.  However, on September 30,
1991, Aristide was overthrown by dissatisfied elements of the military
and left the country first for Venezuela, then for the U.S.

From October 1991 to June 1992, an unconstitutional de facto regime, led
by Joseph Nerette as President and Jean-Jacques Honorat as Prime
Minister, governed with the support of a parliamentary majority and the
armed forces.  In June 1992, both Nerette and Honorat resigned, and
parliament, with the support of the armed forces, approved Marc Bazin as
Prime Minister to head a new de facto government.  No replacement was
named for Nerette as President.  Bazin's mandate was to negotiate a
solution with President Aristide, in exile in the U.S., and to end the
economic embargo and diplomatic isolation of Haiti imposed after
Aristide's ouster.  In June 1993, Bazin resigned and the UN imposed an
oil and arms embargo, which brought the Haitian military to the
negotiating table.


POLITICAL CONDITIONS

President Aristide and the then head of the Haitian Armed Forces,
General Raoul Cedras, signed the UN-brokered Governors Island agreement
on July 3, 1993, establishing a 10-step process for the restoration of
constitutional government and the return of President Aristide by
October 30, 1993.  As part of this process, Robert Malval was sworn in
as Prime Minister on August 30, 1993.  The military derailed the process
and the UN reimposed economic sanctions.  Prime Minister Malval resigned
on December 15, 1993, but remained as acting Prime Minister for 11 more
months.

In May 1994, the military installed a third de facto regime,
illegitimately selecting Supreme Court Justice Emile Jonaissant to be
provisional president.  The UN and the U.S. reacted to this
extraconstitutional move by tightening economic sanctions and their
enforcement in May 1994 (UN Res. 917).  By the end of July 1994, the
international community suspended all commercial air passenger flights
with Haiti, and Haiti's military restricted travel across the land
border with the Dominican Republic.  On July 31, 1994, the UN adopted a
resolution (940) authorizing member states to use all necessary means to
facilitate the departure of Haiti's military leadership and restore
constitutional rule, including the return of President Aristide.

In August 1994, Haiti had parallel governments, the illegitimate
military-backed Jonassaint regime that controlled the government
apparatus in Haiti, and the constitutional government, whose members--
like President Aristide--were in exile or who, like acting Prime
Minister Malval, were blocked from carrying out their duties.

Parliament, with a parallel leadership in the Senate that mirrored the
dual governments, was unable to function effectively.  The political and
human rights climate continued to deteriorate as the military and the de
facto government maintained repression and terror, sanctioning
widespread assassination, killing, torture, beating, mutilation, and
rape in open defiance of the international community's condemnation.

With UN authority to use all necessary means to facilitate the departure
of Haiti's military leadership and restore the constitutional
government, including President Aristide, President Clinton dispatched
former President Jimmy Carter, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee Sam Nunn, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Colin Powell to Haiti on September 16, 1994, to meet with the de facto
Haitian leadership.  The purpose of their trip was to discuss the
departure of the de facto leaders within the framework of goals
established by President Clinton and the UN Security Council.

Facing imminent military intervention by the United States and a
coalition of multinational forces, the regime leaders agreed to step
down from power by October 15.  The agreement signed by former President
Carter and the military-installed Haitian President Jonaissant included
the following:  the Haitian military and police agreed to work in close
cooperation with the U.S. military mission to achieve a smooth
transition to the return of President Aristide and constitutional
government to Haiti.  The regime consented to retirement by Generals
Cedras and Biamby and Lt. Col. Francois in accordance with UN
resolutions 917 and 940 when a general amnesty would be voted into law
by the Haitian Parliament, or by October 15, 1994, whichever came first.

The de facto authorities also agreed to work with the Haitian Parliament
to expedite this action and accept that their successors would be named
according to the Haitian constitution and existing military law.  The
agreement also guaranteed that the economic embargo and economic
sanctions would be lifted without delay in accordance with relevant UN
resolutions, and that forthcoming legislative elections would be held in
a free and democratic manner.

On September 19, U.S. forces began a remarkably peaceful deployment to
Port-au-Prince and other points throughout the country to establish a
safe and secure environment for the legitimate government to take up its
responsibilities.  During the next several weeks, about 20,000 U.S.
troops and a battalion of nearly 300 from CARICOM nations, under the
command of U.S. General Henry Shelton, deployed to accomplish this
mission.

The security offered by their presence made it possible for the Haitian
Parliament, including 11 pro-Aristide members who returned from exile in
the U.S. and Canada, to pass amnesty legislation.  The legislation
itself does not grant amnesty but defines the president's  authority to
do so.  The parliament has also begun work on bills to establish a new
police force and other key measures.

The transition period leading up to President Aristide's return on
October 15 included the return of his cabinet members to their
ministries, the reinstallation of Port-au-Prince Mayor Evans Paul to his
office, the resignation of the leader of the militant anti-Aristide
group FRAPH and the confiscation of some 4,000 weapons, and finally, the
resignation from office and the departure of Cedras, Biamby, and
Francois from Haiti.  Cedras and Biamby, accompanied by family members
and some staff members, departed for exile in Panama on October 13.
Francois was offered exile in the Dominican Republic on October 4.

Among the challenges President Aristide faces since returning to Haiti
are to implement his call for peace and reconciliation and to put into
place his plan to revive a free market economy.  Within a month of
Aristide's return, his nominee for Prime Minister, businessman Smarck
Michel, and a new cabinet were sworn in.  The formation of a new
government whose composition is aimed at a consensus of Haiti's major
political, economic, and social forces should accelerate democratic and
structural change in the Haitian Government.

Aristide also named a new civilian Minister of Defense, Wilthan
Lherisson; a new Commander of the Haitian Armed Forces, Brig. Gen.
Bernardin Poisson; and a new Chief of Police, Col. Pierre-Stanislao
Neptune.  It is expected that these new leaders will help promote
respect for democracy and human rights within their institutions.

International Support

Nearly 30 countries have committed to participate along with the U.S. in
the multinational force:  Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium,
Benin, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Israel, Jordan, the Netherlands,
Norway, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, and the U.K., in addition to 12
of the 13 members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM):  Antigua and
Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana,
Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis,  St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The multinational force will ultimately give way to the UN Mission in
Haiti (UNMIH), which will consist of 6,000 peacekeepers who will
maintain a secure environment and ensure a smooth transition to
democracy.  As an intermediate measure, UNMIH will help restore
democracy by professionalizing the military, training a new Haitian
police force, maintaining civic order, and protecting Haitian Government
personnel and facilities, as well as the staffs of human rights and
humanitarian organizations.  The United States will make a significant
contribution to UNMIH, particularly in support forces.  UNMIH will work
in concert with the UN Secretary General's Special Representative on
Haiti.  Experts from many countries are working with the legitimate
government already to assist in reforming and restructuring Haiti's
police and armed forces.

Principal Government Officials
President--Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Prime Minister--Smarck Michel
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Claudette Werleigh
Ambassador to the U.S.--Jean Casimir

The embassy of Haiti is located at 2311 Massachusetts Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20008 (tel. [phone]).


ECONOMY

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the
poorest in the world.  A comparison of social and economic indicators
reveals that in the 1980s Haiti was falling behind even other low-income
developing countries.  Haiti's relatively dismal economic performance is
in part the result of a severe shortage of cultivable land,  continued
reliance on traditional technologies, declining GDP, rising prices,
under- and unemployment rates estimated as high as 60%, and emigration
of large numbers of skilled workers.  Weak development management
capability and an acute scarcity of financial resources further
constrain growth.

The consequences of the 1991 coup and the irresponsible policies of the
de facto authorities greatly accelerated the economic decline begun in
the early 1980s.  After the 1991 coup, the OAS adopted voluntary trade
sanctions against Haiti aimed at restoring constitutional rule to the
country and resulting in commercial restrictions between Haiti and the
U.S., its largest trading partner.  The international sanctions
culminated in a May 1994 UN embargo of all goods entering Haiti except
humanitarian supplies, such as food and medicines.  By May 1994, the
Port-au-Prince industrial park, which employed some 35,000 workers in
the late 1980s, was largely inactive.  The assembly sector, heavily
dependent on the United States as its main market for exports, employed
more than 50,000 in the early 1980s, but has effectively ground to a
halt following successively tighter economic sanctions.

New investment and commercial bank lending virtually disappeared, as
businesses waited for political change and an end to the embargo.  The
country's physical infrastructure (ports, roads, bridges, markets,
electricity) continued to erode and will require large investments of
capital in the near future to restore the country to its pre-coup
status.

As political stability returns to Haiti, tourism, the assembly industry
and light manufacturing hold promise as potential sources of foreign
exchange.  Remittances from relatives abroad (primarily in the U.S.)
serve as a significant means of support for many Haitian households.


FOREIGN RELATIONS

Haiti is one of the original members of the United Nations and several
of its specialized and related agencies and the Organization of American
States (OAS).  The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the UN
Development Program (UNDP), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
maintained resident representatives in Haiti prior to the 1991 coup.
Both the IDB and the UNDP contributed economic assistance to Haiti in
the past, as did the European Union, under the terms of the Lome Accords
to which Haiti became a full member in December 1989.  Most assistance
was suspended following the 1991 coup.  Other donors include the United
States (the largest single country donor), Canada, France, Germany, and
Japan.

Haiti maintains diplomatic relations with most countries in Latin
America and Europe, although many of these countries do not maintain
embassies in Haiti.

A previously adopted UN resolution lifted UN-sponsored sanctions the day
after President Aristide's return to Haiti.


U.S.-HAITIAN RELATIONS

U.S. policy toward Haiti is designed to foster democracy, promote the
observance of fundamental human rights, and help alleviate poverty in
the hemisphere's poorest country.  The U.S. has taken a leading role in
organizing international efforts at the UN, the OAS, with CARICOM, and
individual countries to achieve this objective.

President Clinton's decision to dispatch U.S. forces to Haiti was based
on the need to "protect our interests, to stop the brutal atrocities
that threaten tens of thousands of Haitians; to secure our borders and
to preserve stability and promote democracy in our hemisphere, and to
uphold the reliability of the commitments we make and the commitments
others make to us."

After September 19, 1994, the U.S. lifted most of its unilateral
financial, visa, and travel sanctions against Haiti and accelerated this
process following the return of President Aristide.  The U.S. has been
the largest single country donor to contribute economic aid to Haiti
since 1973, when the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
resumed its assistance programs.  The overall goal of the USAID program
is to establish conditions necessary for the majority of Haitians to
improve the quality of their lives.  The USAID program has three basic
objectives:


--  Strengthening governance and responsiveness in public sector
institutions and strengthening private sector participation in an
emerging civil society;

--  Supporting sustainable private sector economic growth; and

--  Protecting and developing the human resource base.

Since the 1991 coup, U.S. development assistance has been largely
channeled through nongovernmental organizations, due to lack of a
constitutional government counterpart.  During this period, the USAID
program has been guided by two principles:  preventing the deterioration
of humanitarian conditions and restoring constitutional democracy.  For
fiscal year 1995, USAID has committed about $200 million for Haiti's
economic recovery, as well as humanitarian and democratic governance
programs.  The economic recovery funding ($87 million) includes $24.5
million for payments of its arrears to international financial
institutions and $45 million for balance-of-payments and budget support.
The international community is expected to provide approximately $550
million in the next year.

U.S. humanitarian aid programs have included funds to promote and
protect human rights by providing medical care to victims of abuses,
including rape and beatings, assisting families in hiding, and
establishing small-scale safe havens.  Led by the U.S., the
international community feeds about 910,000 people each day.  More than
2 million people (one-third of the population) have access to basic
health care services financed by USAID.

USAID funding of $40 million for democratic governance, plus
contributions from other donors, will focus on several areas of need for
sustaining democracy, including:  the restoration of government
operations, elections, formation of an independent system of justice
with the establishment of a police force separate from the military,
reintegration of Haitian soldiers into civilian life, and expansion of
the capacities of local government.  In the long run, these may be the
most critical steps, and they are essential in transforming the
relationship of the Haitian citizen to the Haitian state.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador --William Lacy Swing
Deputy Chief of Mission--Vicki Huddleston

The U.S. embassy in Haiti is located on Harry Truman Blvd., Port-au-
Prince (tel. 22-0200).

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