AMERICAN NEEDS TO LISTEN TO THE HAITIANS OPPOSED TO OUTSIDE INTERVENTION

When There Is Such Strong Opposition From Haitian Civil Society, The Case For Intervention Completely Collapses.

The Haitian interim prime minister recently requested American military assistance following the assassination of the president, but there is significant popular opposition to having American forces in Haiti:

Intellectuals and members of Haiti’s civil society quickly criticized a call by Haitian officials for the United States to send in troops, citing earlier interventions by foreign powers and international organizations that further destabilized Haiti and left a trail of abuses.

“We do not want any US troops on Haiti’s soil,” Monique Clesca, a Haitian pro-democracy activist and former United Nations official, said in a post Friday on Twitter. “The de facto prime minister Claude Joseph does not have any legitimacy to make such a request in our name. No, No & No.”

American intervention in Haiti would be a bad idea even if there were broader popular support for it. When there is such strong opposition from Haitian civil society, the case for intervention completely collapses. The American regime supported Moïse before his death, so it is unlikely that American forces would be welcomed by the people that protested against his rule. That could make an American military presence in Haiti a cause of more instability. Because Joseph is not seen as legitimate by many of his countrymen, they will not recognize his authority to invite foreign forces into the country. American forces would be and would be perceived as invaders and occupiers. There is no point to such intervention other than as a means to increase America’s imperialist authority over the people of Haiti – which they strongly oppose.