2004 Haitian Coup D'état
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coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
in
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
on 29 February 2004, following several weeks of conflict, resulted in the removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office. On 5 February, a rebel group, called the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation and Reconstruction of Haiti, took control of Haiti's fourth-largest city,  Gonaïves. By 22 February, the rebels had captured Haiti's second-largest city,  Cap-Haïtien and were besieging the capital, 
Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...
by the end of February. On the morning of 29 February, Aristide resigned under controversial circumstances and was flown from Haiti by U.S. military and security personnel. He went into exile, being flown directly to the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
, before eventually settling in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. Aristide afterwards claimed that he had been kidnapped by U.S. forces, accusing them of having orchestrated a coup d'état against him, a claim denied by U.S. officials. In 2022, a dozen Haitian and French officials told ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' that Aristide's earlier calls for reparations had caused France to side with Aristide's opponents and collaborate with the United States to remove him from power. This claim was, however, denied by the United States Ambassador to Haiti at the time, James Brendan Foley. Following Aristide's departure, an interim government led by Prime Minister Gérard Latortue and President Boniface Alexandre was installed.


Events prior to the coup d'état


Controversy over Aristide's election in 2000

The opposition in Haiti accused the government party of election fraud in the Haitian general election, 2000, as did Europe and the United States. The National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) stated that there were delays in the distribution of voter identification cards. U.S. Congressman John Conyers wrote: In contrast, Aristide's supporters claim that an opposition boycott of the election was used as a ploy in order to discredit it. In response to this election, European nations suspended government-to-government assistance to Haiti. The U.S. Congress banned any U.S. assistance from being channeled through the Haitian government, codifying an existing situation.


Aristide's request for reparations from France

In 2003, Aristide requested that France pay Haiti over US$21 billion in reparations, which he said was the equivalent in today's money Haiti was forced to pay Paris after
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independence from France 200 years ago. The
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, of which France is a permanent member, rejected a 26 February 2004, appeal from the
Caribbean Community The Caribbean Community (abbreviated as CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organisation that is a Political association, political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) and five associated members thro ...
(CARICOM) for international peacekeeping forces to be sent into its member state
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
, but voted unanimously to send in troops three days later, just hours after Aristide's forced resignation. "I believe that (the call for reparations) could have something to do with it, because they (France) were definitely not happy about it, and made some very hostile comments," Myrtha Desulme, chairperson of the Haiti-Jamaica Exchange Committee, told IPS. "(But) I believe that he did have grounds for that demand, because that is what started the downfall of Haiti," she says." Following the 2004 Haitian coup d'état, the appointed provisional prime minister Gerard Latortue rescinded the reparations demand.


Cross-border paramilitary campaign against Haiti's state 2001–2004

The role of rightwing paramilitary groups in violently targeting activists and government officials aligned with the Aristide government has been well documented. Freedom of Information Act documents have shown how paramilitary forces received support from sectors of Haiti's elite as well as from sectors of the Dominican military and government at the time. According to researcher Jeb Sprague, these groups also had contact with U.S. and French intelligence. Aristide’s controversial progressivism During Aristide’s second administration in 2003, he doubled the minimum wage, which impacted over 20,000 people who worked in the Port-au-Prince assembly sector. Furthermore, the Aristide government launched a campaign to collect unpaid taxes and utility bills from Haiti’s wealthy population, seeking to reign in the business elite; such developments deeply unsettled the country’s aristocracy.


Ottawa Initiative

The Ottawa Initiative on Haiti was a conference hosted by Canada that took place at Meech Lake, Quebec (a federal government resort near Ottawa) on 31 January and 1 February 2003, to decide the future of Haiti's government, though no Haitian government officials were invited. , pages 41–44 Journalist Michel Vastel leaked information about the conference that he says was told to him by his friend and conference host Denis Paradis, Canada's Secretary of State for Latin America, Africa, and the French-speaking world, in his 15 March 2003, article in
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
news magazine '' L'actualité''. In the article, he claims that the officials at the conference wanted to see regime change in Haiti in less than a year. "Michel Vastel wrote that the possibility of Aristide's departure, the need for a potential trusteeship over Haiti, and the return of Haiti's dreaded military were discussed by Paradis and the French Minister for La Francophonie, Pierre-André Wiltzer." Paradis later denied this, but neither Vastel nor ''L'actualite'' retracted the story.


Student protests

Multiple protests by Haitian students were organized in 2002, 2003 and 2004 against the Aristide government. On 5 December 2003, some of Aristide's supporters, backed by the police according to witnesses, entered the social studies department of the Université d'État d'Haïti to attack students who were rallying for an anti-government protest later that day. Dozens of students were injured and the University dean had his legs broken. This event led to more protests by students, eventually joined by other groups. A student protest against Aristide on 7 January 2004 led to a clash with police and Aristide supporters that left two dead.


''Coup d'état''

In September 2003, Amiot Métayer was found dead, his eyes shot out and his heart cut out, most likely the result of machete-inflicted wounds. He was, prior to his death, the leader of the Gonaives gang known as " The Cannibal Army." After his death, his brother Buteur Métayer swore vengeance against those he felt responsible for Amiot's death—namely, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Buteur took charge of the Cannibal Army and promptly renamed it the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Haiti. In October 2003, France tasked philosopher Régis Debray with leading a commission in Haiti to improve bilateral relations, though strictly instructed him to not discuss potential reparations. In December 2003, Debray said that he had visited the presidential palace to warn Aristide not to have a fate like
President of Chile The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...
Salvador Allende, who died during the 1973 Chilean coup, with the philosopher telling the president that the United States was planning his overthrow. On 5 February 2004, this rebel group seized control of Haiti's fourth-largest city, Gonaïves, marking the beginning of a minor revolt against Aristide. During their sack of the city, they burned the police station and looted it for weapons and vehicles, which they used to continue their campaign down the coast. By 22 February, the rebels had captured Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Haïtien. As the end of February approached, rebels threatened to take the capital,
Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...
, fueling increasing political unrest and the building of barricades throughout the capital. Haitians fled their country on boats, seeking to get to the United States. On the morning of 29 February, Deputy Chief of Mission Luis G. Moreno arrive at the presidential palace with Diplomatic Security Service officers and asked President Aristide for a resignation letter. The resignation letter was written in
Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; , ; , ), or simply Creole (), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken by 10 to 12million people worldwide, and is one of the two official languages of Haiti (the other being French), where it ...
and its wording was unclear. That same day, Canadian special forces secured Haiti's main airport after which Aristide was flown out of the country on a U.S. plane accompanied by US security personnel as the rebels took over the capital and was flown without knowledge of his route and destination. At the time of the flight, France contacted three African nations in attempts to accept Aristide, though they refused, with the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
ultimately accepting the ousted president who arrived in
Bangui Bangui (; or Bangî in Sango language, Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in the Central African Republic, largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a Fren ...
via
Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...
. Many international politicians, including members of the U.S. congress and the Jamaican Prime Minister, expressed concern that the United States had interfered with Haiti's democratic process, accusing them of removing Aristide with excessive force. According to Rep. Maxine Waters D-California, Mildred Aristide called her at her home at 6:30 am to inform her "the coup d'etat has been completed", and Jean-Bertrand Aristide said the U.S. Embassy in Haiti's chief of staff came to his house to say he would be killed "and a lot of Haitians would be killed" if he refused to resign immediately and said he "has to go now." Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York expressed similar words, saying Aristide had told him he was "disappointed that the international community had let him down" and "that he resigned under pressure" – "As a matter of fact, he was very apprehensive for his life. They made it clear that he had to go now or he would be killed." When asked for his response to these statements
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...
said that "it might have been better for members of Congress who have heard these stories to ask us about the stories before going public with them so we don't make a difficult situation that much more difficult" and he alleged that Aristide "did not democratically govern or govern well". Jamaican Prime Minister P. J. Patterson released a statement saying "we are bound to question whether his resignation was truly voluntary, as it comes after the capture of sections of Haiti by armed insurgents and the failure of the international community to provide the requisite support. The removal of President Aristide in these circumstances sets a dangerous precedent for democratically elected governments anywhere and everywhere, as it promotes the removal of duly elected persons from office by the power of rebel forces."


Aftermath

Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre succeeded Aristide as interim president and petitioned the UN Security Council for the intervention of an international peacekeeping force. The Security Council passed a resolution the same day, " king note of the resignation of Jean-Bertrand Aristide as President of Haiti and the swearing-in of President Boniface Alexandre as the acting President of Haiti in accordance with the Constitution of Haiti" and authorized such a mission. As a vanguard of the official UN force and Operation Secure Tomorrow, a force of about 1,000
United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
arrived in Haïti within the day, and Canadian, French and
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an troops arrived the next morning; the United Nations indicated it would send a team to assess the situation within days. On 1 June 2004, the
peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...
mission was passed to MINUSTAH and comprised a 7000-person force led by Brazil and backed up by
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, Chile,
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, Morocco,
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, Peru,
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, Spain,
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and
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
. In November 2004, the University of Miami School of Law carried out a Human Rights Investigation in Haiti and documented serious human rights abuses. It stated that " Summary executions are a police tactic."Griffin Report – Haiti Human Rights Investigation, 11–21 November 2004 – By Thomas M. Griffin, ESQ. – Center for the Study of Human Rights, University of Miami School of Lawbr>
Retrieved 20 April 2009.
Archived
14 May 2009.
It also stated the following:
U.S. officials blame the crisis on armed gangs in the poor neighborhoods, not the official abuses and atrocities, nor the unconstitutional ouster of the elected president. Their support for the interim government is not surprising, as top officials, including the Minister of Justice, worked for U.S. government projects that undermined their elected predecessors. Coupled with the U.S. government's development assistance embargo from 2000–2004, the projects suggest a disturbing pattern.
On 15 October 2005, Brazil called for more troops to be sent due to the worsening situation in the country. A number of figures from Haiti's past re-appeared in government after the rebellion, including Hérard Abraham at the Ministry of the Interior, Williams Régala (a former aide to Henri Namphy) and Colonel Henri-Robert Marc-Charles, a member of the post-1991 military junta.


CARICOM

CARICOM (Caribbean Community) governments denounced the removal of Aristide from government. They also questioned the legality of the new government. The Prime Minister of
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, P. J. Patterson, said that the episode set "a dangerous precedent for democratically elected governments anywhere and everywhere, as it promotes the removal of duly elected persons from office by the power of rebel forces." As reported by the BBC, on 3 March 2004, CARICOM called for an independent inquiry into the departure of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and says it would not be sending peacekeepers. Patterson said there had been no indication during discussions with the U.S. and France that the plan which CARICOM had put forward prior to Aristide's departure was not acceptable. "In respect of our partners we can only say this, at no time in our discussions did they convey to us that the plan was unacceptable so long as president Aristide remained in office. Nor did they suggest to us anything of a nature pertaining to the conduct of President Aristide in office that would cause us to come to the judgment ourselves that he was unsuited to be the President of Haïti," Mr. Patterson said. The U.S. and France have been accused of using pressure on CARICOM to not make a formal UN request for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Aristide's removal. The CARICOM initially refused to recognize the interim government, but in 2006 the newly elected René Préval resumed his country's membership in the organization.


French and U.S. involvement

In 2022, the French ambassador to Haiti at the time, Thierry Burkard, told ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', that France and the United States had "effectively orchestrated "a coup" against Aristide by pressuring him to step down and taking him into exile". He stated French involvement was likely partly motivated by Aristide's call for reparations from France. Another French ambassador, Philippe Selz, told the paper that the decision "to extradite" President Aristide had been made in advance. In response to The New York Times reporting, James Brendan Foley, United States Ambassador to Haiti at the time of the coup, criticized the report's allegation that the U.S. had collaborated with France to overthrow Aristide, stating that "no evidence was presented in support of such a historically consequential claim". He called the claims by the French officials untrue, stating that it was never U.S. policy to remove Aristide. He said that Aristide had requested a U.S. rescue and that the decision to "dispatch a plane to carry him to safety" had been agreed upon following night-time discussions at the behest of Aristide. On 1 March 2004, US congresswoman Maxine Waters, along with Aristide family friend Randall Robinson, reported that Aristide had told them (using a smuggled cellular phone), that he had been forced to resign and abducted from the country by the United States. He said he had been held hostage by an armed military guard. Aristide later repeated the same thing, in an interview with Amy Goodman of '' Democracy Now!'' on 16 March. Goodman asked Aristide if he resigned, and President Aristide replied: "No, I didn't resign. What some people call 'resignation' is a 'new coup d'état,' or 'modern kidnapping.'" Many supporters of the Fanmi Lavalas party and Aristide, as well as some foreign supporters, denounced the rebellion as a foreign controlled coup d'état orchestrated by Canada, France and the United States (Goodman, et al., 2004) to remove a democratically elected president. Some have come forward to support his claim saying they witnessed him being escorted out by American soldiers at gunpoint. Note: first page of this article is missing from The Washington Post website, but can be foun
here
Sources close to Aristide also claim the Bush administration blocked attempts to reinforce his bodyguards. The Steele Foundation, the San Francisco-based organization which supplied Aristide's bodyguards, declined to comment. According to a '' Washington Times'' article of April 2004 The US denied the accusations. "He was not kidnapped," Secretary of State Colin Powell said. "We did not force him onto the airplane. He went on the airplane willingly and that's the truth." The kidnapping claim is "absolutely false," concurred Parfait Mbaye, the communications minister for the Central African Republic, where Aristide's party was taken. The minister told CNN that Aristide had been granted permission to land in the country after Aristide himself – as well as the U.S. and French governments – requested it. According to the US, as the rebels approached the capital, James B. Foley, U.S. ambassador to Haiti, got a phone call from a high-level aide to Aristide, asking if the U.S. could protect Aristide and help facilitate his departure if he resigned. The call prompted a series of events that included a middle-of-the-night phone call to President Bush and a scramble to find a plane to carry Aristide into exile. Foley said that he traveled voluntarily via motorcade to the airport with his own retinue of security guards, including some contracted Americans. Before takeoff, Aristide gave a copy of his resignation letter to Foley's aide. The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
reported that the Central African Republic tried to get Aristide to stop repeating his charges to the press. Aristide has also denied that a letter he left behind constitutes an official resignation. "There is a document that was signed to avoid a bloodbath, but there was no formal resignation," he said. "This political kidnapping was the price to pay to avoid a bloodbath." According to the US embassy translation it reads "Tonight I am resigning in order to avoid a bloodbath. I accept to leave, with the hope that there will be life and not death." A slightly different translation was given by Albert Valdman, a linguistics professor and specialist in Haitian Creole at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. "If tonight it is my resignation that will avoid a bloodbath, I accept to leave with the hope that there will be life and not death."


See also

* Emmanuel Wilmer * List of wars: 2003–present * United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti * 2001 Haitian coup attempt


Notes


References

* * * *


External links


2019 documentary film on Canada's role in Haiti since 2003: ''Haiti Betrayed''

The 2004 removal of Jean-Bertrand Aristide
€”Timeline of events
Extensive coverage of the coup
€”Provided by '' Democracy Now!''.
Archive of broadcasts on the Haiti coup and its aftermath
€”Provided by '' Flashpoints''.
Haiti Watch
€”Provided by ZNet.
''PBS NewsHour'' coverage




€”Naomi Klein's article in ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
''
A political website dedicated to political activism on Canada's role in Haiti

CIIA Development and Inequality Symposium Paper (March 2006)
€”Paper examining repression in the post-coup period and link to Canadian policy
"Review of Peter Hallward, ''Damming the Flood: Haiti, Aristide, and the Politics of Containment'' (2008), Randall Robinson, ''An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President'' (2007), and Alex Dupuy, ''The Prophet and Power: Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti, and the International Community'' (2006)"
''NACLA Report on the Americas''. November–December 2008. Issue Vol. 41, No. 6. By Jeb Sprague.

by Max Blumenthal, '' Salon.com'', July 2004
Operation Secure Tomorrow
by GlobalSecurity.org * Walt Bogdanich and Jenny Nordberg, 29 January 2006
"Mixed U.S. Signals Helped Tilt Haiti Toward Chaos"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:2004 Haitian coup d'etat 2000s coups d'état and coup attempts 2004 in Haiti 2004 riots Conflicts in 2004 February 2004 in North America Military coups in Haiti Riots and civil disorder in Haiti