Burgess Owens: “Haiti is a democracy right now. They have the most democratic government that Haiti has ever had since Haiti was…”

“Haiti is a democracy right now. They have the most democratic government that Haiti has ever had since Haiti was founded. In this hemisphere, Haiti was the second independent nation after the United States became independent. Haiti wanted its independence. The only slave revolt in history that was successful in keeping the oppressors out and establishing their own nation, but it was not democratically run for most of the years of its existence, including the 32 years that the United States Government, the United States Army occupied Haiti. Then came Francois Duvalier and his son Baby Doc Duvalier, and they were dictators of the worst kind, and yet our government cooperated with them for almost 40 years. Now we have a democratically elected government, and because of a technicality related to some of the precincts and some of the things that did not go right in the election, we are using that as an excuse for withholding $200 million that was promised 8 years ago when Aristide was first restored as the President of Haiti. That promise was there. And the failure of the Western powers, the United States in the lead, to act has meant that hope has been lost and despair has set in, and now we have an erosion of the faith of the people in constitutional and democratic government.”