HAITIÂÂ11/2/2004Â20:13
ARCHBISHOP OF CAP-HAITIEN APPEALS TO âPOLITICAL LUCIDITYâ TO OVERCOME CRISIS
âThe situation in the country is extremely worrying and it could get worse. The parties need to show great lucidity and recognise how much is at stake,â Monsignor Hubert Constant, Archbishop of Cap-Haitien, Haitiâs second city, told MISNA today.
Commenting on the events of the last few days, which have seen an uprising by groups opposed to President Jean Bertrand Aristide and widespread clashes with police and supporters of the Head of State, the prelate stresses that âthe situation is very serious in Gonaivesâ, which was taken by the âArtibonite Revolutionary Resistance Frontâ on 5 February. In Cap-Haitien in the north of the country, the situation seems a bit quieter although numerous sources report that yesterday several houses were torched and barricades were erected. Local sources also say that few children went to school today, itself a worrying sign.
Monsignor Constant, who is also President of the Haitian Bishopsâ Conference, added that the local Church is ready with a proposal to overcome the crisis in the event that the Caricom (Community of Caribbean Nations) plan should fail. A few months ago, Haitian bishops drew up an initial plan. However, in the light of more recent developments, Monsignor Constant said that this âneeds to be revisedâ.[LC]
"The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth becomes the greatest enemy of the state."
- Dr. Joseph M. Goebbels - Hitler's propaganda minister
