Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: Historical Setting
Haitians, meanwhile, were suffering from the brutality of the
junta and the effects of sanctions and embargoes. There were
food shortages, 65,000 Haitians lost jobs, fuel shortages paralyzed
public services, and unprecedented numbers of Haitians
tried to leave Haiti—crossing the border to the Dominican
Republic or attempting to go by boat to the United States,
which turned back most of them.
On June 23, 1993, frustrated by failed diplomatic initiatives,
the UN Security Council imposed a worldwide fuel and arms
embargo on Haiti; this action succeeded in bringing the junta
to the negotiating table. On July 3, Aristide and Cedras signed
an accord at Governors Island, New York, that provided for
Aristide's return, suspension of the embargo, installation of a
new prime minister and government, separation of the army
and police, the presence of a UN force in Haiti, and amnesty
for the military high command on its resignation.
Once the embargo was lifted, violence recurred against partisans
of democracy. Five men were gunned down outside city
hall as they waited to welcome the new prime minister. Antoine
Izmery, an associate of Aristide, was pulled out of church and
shot in the street in front of an international team. A new organization,
the Revolutionary Front for the Advancement and
Progress of Haiti (Front Revolutionnaire pour l'Avancement et
le Progres d'Haiti—FRAPH) composed of armed civilian sup-
,
porters of the junta, took credit for some of the violence.
On October 11, 1993, the USS Harlan County was prevented
by armed thugs from docking in Port-au-Prince. It had been
transporting a lightly armed contingent of United States and
Canadian troops, the vanguard of the UN force, to oversee the
return of democracy to Haiti. The incident ended the Governors
Island Accord and led to resumption of economic sanctions.
The junta displayed its contempt for the forces
attempting to restore democracy by gunning down Francois
Guy Malary, Aristide's minister ofjustice, along with his driver
and bodyguard, and allowing some of the worst Duvalierist torturers
to return to Haiti.
In the United States, President Aristide, President William J.
Clinton, and Congress differed on what to do. The situation
was compounded after Aristide called for a total embargo on
Haiti. Some called Aristide callous. The New York Times implied
that he had brought the coup on himself by forcing out newly
elected officials who had opposed Duvalierism. Moreover, a
leaked Central Intelligence Agency report described Aristide as
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