Tom Harkin: “But today, as we are here, a reign of terror has descended upon a small and impoverished country a few hundred miles off…”

“But today, as we are here, a reign of terror has descended upon a small and impoverished country a few hundred miles off our coast, the poorest country in this hemisphere, Haiti. A reign of terror has descended upon Haiti. It is a crisis of immense human proportions. As I take the floor today, the people of Haiti are living under the threat of anarchy--under the threat that a few well-armed thugs and killers who are well known to them because of their past involvement in plotting coup d'etat in Haiti because in the previous years they have been convicted by the courts in Haiti of murder. These same individuals now have guns, modern weapons, flak jackets, helmets, and communication gear. They are threatening to take over the democratically elected Government of Haiti, and they are going to do it by killing thousands of people. Today, stores and shops are closed in Port-au-Prince. The situation is deteriorating by the hour. Commercial airlines have cancelled all flights in and out of Haiti. Private charter flights have been halted.”