01/16/2006
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After being postponed for at least four times, the Haitian elections will take
place on February 7. At least this is what the international community expects.
The lack of security and the endless organizational problems have left the Haitians
without an elected President for a good two years. This coming February will
be the anniversary of the expulsion of Jean Bertrande Aristide, the former President
currently refugee in South Africa.
Elections yes, elections no. A new face. We should’ve been talking of exit polls, of turnout of voters, of men and women
candidates but even this time we can’t do it because of the umpteenth postponement
of the ballot that initially had been scheduled for November 13 of last year,
then the 20th and then December 27 and finally January 8 (yesterday) but will
actually take place, if at all, on February 7. The candidates will give battle
to each other for another month moving around the country trying to capture the
most votes. The only certainty at this point is the date in which the President
will have to take office: March 29, 2006.
The mystery of the General. The military commander of the UN Peace Mission in Haiti, the Brazilian General
Urano Texeira da Matta Bacelar was found dead on January, 7 in his room at the
Hotel Montana of Port au Prince. According to Cbn, the network that first gave out the news, the body has a big
and noticeable arm wound. Suicide or homicide? The authorities are still investigating.
According to a first hypothesis the General would’ve shot himself in the face.
This version has yet to be confirmed. According to the Foreign Minister the suicide
theory is to be excluded: there are elements that tend to disclaim it. The man
that before arriving in Haiti had the role of Deputy Commander of General Staff
of the Brazilian military had recently taken General Augusto Heleno Pereira’s
position.
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Elections in Haiti have been postponed again
After being postponed for at least four times, the Haitian elections will take
place on February 7. At least this is what the international community expects.
The lack of security and the endless organizational problems have left the Haitians
without an elected President for a good two years. This coming February will
be the anniversary of the expulsion of Jean Bertrande Aristide, the former President
currently refugee in South Africa.
In the meantime the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, the Minustah has been assigned
to check on the social situation (threatened by kidnapping and violence of all
sort) and to work on the transition of the nation toward free elections. The
assignment is not having a lot of success actually there has been a heavy toll
as far as casualties and injured. And now it’s handling the solution of the homicide
(or suicide) case of General Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar that has all the
features of a real noir novel.
Elections yes, elections no. A new face. We should’ve been talking of exit polls, of turnout of voters, of men and women
candidates but even this time we can’t do it because of the umpteenth postponement
of the ballot that initially had been scheduled for November 13 of last year,
then the 20th and then December 27 and finally January 8 (yesterday) but will
actually take place, if at all, on February 7. The candidates will give battle
to each other for another month moving around the country trying to capture the
most votes. The only certainty at this point is the date in which the President
will have to take office: March 29, 2006. According to what the provisional Chief Electoral Officer said, the biggest difficulties
encountered as of today in the organization of the elections are the slowness
in distribution of the ballot papers that had began in a big way but continued
slowly, and the setting up of the voting stations. Mathurin made it known that
it could be very dangerous because of the possibility of accidents and violence
if all the people with the right to vote will not be able to reach the voting
stations. In the meantime a new face appears to the general public with the clear
objective to represent the nation: it’s a woman, Judie Roy with a difficult story.
She is the creator of the Reparen, the Patriotic Group for the Renewal of the
Nation. She was in prison for eight months under the Aristide government.
The mystery of the General. The military commander of the UN Peace Mission in Haiti, the Brazilian General
Urano Texeira da Matta Bacelar was found dead on January, 7 in his room at the
Hotel Montana of Port au Prince. According to Cbn, the network that first gave out the news, the body has a big
and noticeable arm wound. Suicide or homicide? The authorities are still investigating.
According to a first hypothesis the General would’ve shot himself in the face.
This version has yet to be confirmed. According to the Foreign Minister the suicide
theory is to be excluded: there are elements that tend to disclaim it. The man
that before arriving in Haiti had the role of Deputy Commander of General Staff
of the Brazilian military had recently taken General Augusto Heleno Pereira’s
position. In the meantime President Lula has made known that the Brazilian Blu Helmets
will remain in Haiti in spite of the events of the last few days until the completion
of the peacekeeping mission.
Alessandro Grandi
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