Aristide fills U. Museum

The near capacity attendance and the lines at the door of the University Museum were testament to the popular interest in the fate of Haiti and its exiled president, ex-Catholic priest Jean--Bertrand Aristide. Since being elected to office with 67 percent of the vote in December 1990, Aristide has survived nine assasination attempts and a military coup that eventually sent him into exile only eight months after assuming the presidency. With this behind him, Aristide engaged in a dialogue at the Harrison Auditorium with over 700 students and area residents yesterday. Aristide emphasized the vital role students have had and continue to play in politics and reform. "Students can heal the world when they put the person first," he said. "First before the money, first before the power." President Clinton's campaign promises and the heavy media coverage that followed have thrown Haiti and Aristide -- the first democratically elected Haitian President in 187 years -- back into the media spotlight that began to fade a few months after the bloody coup that deposed him in 1991. Aristide has been called the "most beloved man in Haiti" and since his departure, over 40,000 people have attempted the dangerous 600-mile journey to flee the new Haitian government and seek safe haven in the United States. The United States, the Organization of American States and the United Nations have since been cooperating in an economic and political embargo that has crippled the Haitian economy. Aristide defended the embargo, saying that the people realize it is necessary, despite its economic consequences for the poor. "The Haitians support the embargo," he said. "The poor of Haiti are only poor in terms of money, they are rich in terms of life. They are clever enough to distinguish from the political embargo that is the instrument of the international community to say they support us." He was also optimistic about the prospects of his return to power in Haiti. "We hope [the UN] will pass the resolution that will allow them to send observers to Haiti," he said. "Then in two or three months I will have to be back in Haiti." The Vatican was the first country to acknowledge the de facto government that deposed Aristide and with this in mind, some in the audience asked him to describe his strained relations with the Catholic Church and, in particular, with the pope. "The Vatican is the only state in the world which blessed the criminals instead of taking care of the victims of Haiti," Aristide said. "But you don't have merit if you only love the people who love you. That's why I love the pope." Aristide was asked about the apparent cooperation of the wealthiest one percent of the population with the military in the coup. "After 200 years there is an army of 7,000 with 40 percent of the budget," he said. "One percent of the population owns 45 percent of the wealth. The weapons and the dollars kept these people on the social table and the majority under the table." Violence was another important issue raised by the audience. The allegation that Aristide himself ordered violent acts against Haitians was not well received by the pro-Aristide crowd. Hecklers booed the student that mentioned "necklacing," the practice of wrapping a tire around a person's neck and setting him on fire. "I like your questions because they will give me a chance to practice democracy," he said. "With all the respect I have for you, I have to tell you the formulation of that question is wrong." "They put my sentences out of context to use against me," he said. "Once I took office nobody could find a single case of necklacing." Aristide's parting remark was to a student leaving for Haiti. "Tell them, we will be back," he said. "Alone we are weak, together we are strong, altogether we are Lavalas [a deluge]." The forum was followed by a private reception at which the President mingled with students and received several gifts and awards from other local universities. Aristide was asked if there could be democracy in Haiti without him and if there would be repercussions on the army that deposed him. "Without me in those elections where 67.7 percent of the people voted for me it would be impossible to have democracy in Haiti today," he said. "I am not indispensible as a person but in terms of the results, I am." "Let's free [the army] from the drug dealers by removing them," he said. "Then I can only ask justice to work. I am not interested in seeing them in jail or out of the country." The event was co-orgainzed by Conaissance, the Philomathean Society and the president's office.