Coup D'Etat - Haiti Observer Blog

Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy died Tuesday afternoon in the Dominican Republic from lung cancer, according to his niece Elisabeth Delatour Préval. Namphy lived in exile in the Dominican Republic following the 1988 coup. He never returned to Haiti. He died at the age of 85.

Lt. Gen. Henri Namphy was head of interim National Council of Government that took charge of Haiti on Feb. 7 1986, after Dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier fled into exile in France. He briefly served as president before his ouster in a military coup. Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril, would replace Namphy in another coup led by members of the Haitian Armed Forces.

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In the past some people would try to take Haiti National Palace while it was occupied. As a result, this often resulted in bloody Coup D'etat, leaving many people dead. This time, former Deputy Arnel Belizaire has a better plan. While Haiti National Palace is unoccupied, he wants to head an army of no more than 120 soldiers to take over the National Palace.

Who would disagree? The National Palace is vacant. It should be an easy coup D'Etat

What do you think?

Haitian Kreyol

Arnel Belizaire vle pran Palè Nasyonal la ak 120 sòlda

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Haiti became an independent country on January 1, 1804. For the past 210 years since the first day of its independence, the country has had 44 Presidents so far. There is a very amusing and unprecedented fact behind the reign of these 44 Presidents-- 23 of them were ousted in Coup D' Etat. The story of ousting Presidents started with the first leader of the nation, Henri Christophe, who was a former slave and a key leader of the Haitian Revolution. He was elected President of the State of Haiti on 17 February 1807. Christophe committed suicide by shooting himself with a silver bullet rather than risking a coup and assassination. Since then the game of Coup D' Etat never seems to end in Haiti. Here is the list:

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If anyone had hoped to spend a quiet day in Port-au-Prince on September 30, that was not the case. On this important date which marks the anniversary of a 1991 military coup that ousted former Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide, the country's Capital was anything but peaceful.

Large crowd of Lavalas supporters attempts to march from the church where Aristide led services when he was a Catholic priest to his house in Tabarre. However, well equiped riot police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protest

Kreyol pale, Kreyol kompran.

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2014 is not a leap year. So, that means 28 days are all we will have. Still, while the date February 29 will not come around again for another two years, this man-made measurement of time cannot postpone the 10th anniversary of the overthrowing of the Aristide administration.

As chronicled in part 1 of a 3 part series by writer Yves Engler for the newsletter Dissent Voice, the government of Canada's Jean Chrétien, the then Prime Minister, organized an initiative to which French, Canadian and American officials were invited. The object of the "Ottawa Initiative on Haiti" was to have the country's democratically elected President ousted so the army could be reinstated and the country put under a trusteeship by the United Nations, much like that for Kosovo.

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While most Haitian Senators did not see a big deal with the letter Senator Simon Dieuseul Desras addressed to the Chilean government recently, Senator Wencesclas Lambert did not see it that way. According to Wencesclas Lambert, Simon Dieuseul Desras clearly calls for foreign troops to overthrow a legitimate government.

Simon Dieuseul Desras ask for Coup d'Etat according to Wencesclas Lambert

According to Wencesclas, this is:
- "High treason"
- "Crime of lese Fatherland"
- "Senator Desras should be removed from office"

Senatè Simon Dieuseul Desras panse oubyen Senatè Wencesclas Lambert Pa konn Li oubyen Li Li tèt La Tet Anba

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As a successful protest against the government of Michel Martelly ended on November 18, new manifestation for the "Dechoukage" of the regime is scheduled for November 29 in front of the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince. My question is that should the government be given a chance or be out no matter what?

Here is where the discussion lies and depending who you are, you will likely fall into one of the following categories:

Are you for "Rache Manyok Bay Ter-a Blanch"

Are you for "Give Michel Martelly a Chance"

Now, let's see who is right and who is wrong

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Elie Lescot became Haiti's 31st president in 1941. Born into the mulatto elite class, Lescot began his political career after the death of his wife. He served in the Chamber of Deputies, Parliament's lower house, later becoming a political appointee under presidents Borno and Vincent.

His position as Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (DR) led him to become an ally of DR President Trujillo. Trujillo's political capital helped Lescot win the presidency, despite the Chamber of Deputies opposition of him.

Elie Lescot immediately wielded power by installing himself as Commander of the Military Guard and populating government posts with Caucasian and mulatto elites. Haiti's majority black populace detested him for his prejudice.

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A small colony of Germans colonized St. Domingue, as Haiti was known then, in Bombardopolis. The government of Haiti (GOH) received them warmly, and made them citizens when Haiti won independence from the French. By the 1850s, Germans became permanent residents.

But Germans' motives for settling there spelled trouble for GOH later on. They began meddling in the country's internal affairs, with several failed coup d'etats. As an example of their greed for power, they coerced GOH into paying exorbitant indemnities for a minor incident involving a Haitian-German at the Port-au-Prince dock. Haiti paid quickly to halt threats of violence to Port-au-Prince.

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Jean Dominique spent his early career first educating farmers on how to be self-sufficient under the thumb of wealthy land-owners. He then went on to making two notable firsts in the broadcasting world, opening the first film club in Haiti as well as Radio Haiti, the first station to broadcast in Creole. He went on to have multiple run-ins with the Duvalier regiments and was exiled in New York until his return in the mid 80's when he became a member of the Lavalas party which won the 1990 election.

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