Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
Namphy was supported by the army as president of the new
military government, but divisions existed in the army command,
and each faction vied for control of the presidency. As a
consequence of his lack of support within the military hierarchy,
Namphy sought additional support outside, from henchmen
of the Duvalier regime and former mahout. To intimidate
civilian resistance, Namphy unleashed a campaign of terror.
Victims included Lafontant Joseph, a distinguished lawyer and
human rights advocate, and members of the activist sector of
the church. In one week, three churches were stormed. The
first assault was particularly vicious. Armed men burst into St.
Jean Bosco on September 11, killing eleven worshipers and
wounding seventy others in an unsuccessful attempt to reach
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the officiating priest.
On September 17, 1988, noncommissioned officers ousted
General Namphy in a coup, dispatched him to the Dominican
Republic, and took charge—arresting and demoting officers
with Duvalierist connections. Hope grew, and talk about housecleaning
to complete efforts begun in February 1986
unleashed new efforts to uproot mahout all over Haiti.
This coup was different from previous ones. The noncommissioned
officers had more in common with most Haitians
than their officers. Excluded from perquisites and poorly paid,
they issued a list of demands that called for restoration of the
1987 constitution, legislative and presidential elections, respect
for human rights, removal of makout from the army, the disarming
of paramilitary gangs, separation of the army from the
police, and an end to political brutality.
Inexplicably, the noncommissioned officers turned over
control of the government to Brigadier General Prosper Avril.
Within a short time, he accused them of planning a coup
against him and arrested fifteen of the leaders. By December
1988, President Avril, who had been installed by the army in
September 1988, was in full control of the government.
President Avril was an astute politician and tactician, skills he
had learned from service to the Duvaliers. Prior to becoming a
member of the CNG, the general had commanded Duvalier's
Presidential Guard, been financial manager for the Duvalier
family, and served as a personal aide to Jean-Claude Duvalier.
Avril cultivated loyalty by giving a share of the goods that
Haiti imported to his friends for resale, a practice that contributed
to a US$60 million increase in the budget deficit. He also
co-opted potential enemies by including various sectors of soci-
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