Ronald Dellums: “Mr. Chairman, I remember taking the well in a different context dealing with issues that were compelling, human rights…”

“Mr. Chairman, I remember taking the well in a different context dealing with issues that were compelling, human rights questions that were extraordinarily important. At that time it was in the context of South Africa. Mr. Chairman, at that time I rose and I said to my colleagues that what is happening in South Africa is deplorable. And it seems to me that there are three options that we can address. Mr. Chairman, we said then, in the context of South Africa, that there were three options available to us. I would suggest in the context of Haiti, there are three options available to us. We can step aside and do nothing. That is unacceptable. We can talk about the use of force and the invasion of Haiti. Mr. Chairman, I came here 24 years ago as an advocate of peace. I have stood in the well over and over and over again saying that peace is a better idea and diplomacy and political solutions to problems are a better idea. So I take the use of force off the table. Which comes then to the third option, how do we, within the context of the powers that we have available to us, stand up in defense of human rights and democratic principles in the context of Haiti? Mr. Chairman, this issue has been on the back burner for too long.”