France accuses US of launching military invasion of Haiti
January 19, 2010 3 Comments
Haiti
By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Rivalries between the major donor powers, as well as non-profit agencies, in earthquake-devastated Haiti are delaying humanitarian help to the island. The infighting surfaced during the weekend, as the growing US military force in Haiti appeared to refuse flights from other nations consistent access to the island’s airport, giving priority instead to its own military aircraft. The move triggered a diplomatic row between the US, France, Haiti’s former colonial power, and Brazil, which technically commands the United Nations mission there. Complaints by the two countries, which lodged official protests with Washington, were echoed by officials from the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, who said emergency flights to the island were diverted to the Dominican Republic by the US military. The tense situation led to France accusing the US of using the island’s Toussaint L’Ouverture airport as a “military annex”, while French and Brazilian diplomats in the Caribbean complained that the US has launched what appeared to be a military invasion of Haiti. In response to the accusations, the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, secured an urgent “memorandum of understanding” from the paralyzed Haitian government, which appears to officially transfer jurisdiction over Toussaint L’Ouverture to US forces. Politico’s Laura Rozen notes that the communiqué seeks “to avoid the appearance of US military occupation” of the airport and the surrounding area. However, as thousands of US forces continue to descend on Haiti, questions remain over how the tensions with France and Brazil will be resolved, as well as whether the US operation has a strategic goal other than limiting human casualties in the earthquake-struck island. The New York Times quotes United Nations World Food Program coordinator, Jarry Emmanuel, who says that, while the UN’s main concern is to feed the population, the US military forces’ “priorities are to secure the country”.
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great web site joseph. i didn’t know you had this baby. and good article.
no one has clean hands here. no one. but i did hear a news report today that haiti was still paying its colonial debt (? yes) to france as late as 1945. part of the deforestation in haiti, which is the cause of dreadful landslides, is from cutting down trees to pay these colonial debts, according to this news report which i have not at all corroborated. so while the world does need to discuss the us military presence there, i hate to think we are going to see the beginnings of the scramble for haiti.
The Brazilians and american were already there. The american just needed to respect who was in command. (Brazil). The american ego will cause thei defeat in the end.