Caricom has proved to be irresponsible, incredibly so. First, for Haiti, there has never been a policy. There has never been a Caricom policy because it was just following Aristide. To a great extent, we in the Democratic Convergence did our best to get them to understand that it was not good. They continued and today, again, they persist in doing the same thing.
But there is something that needs to be noted: The countries which have adopted this position, namely Surinam, St. Vincent, Grenada and Barbados, are countries which have no relations with Haiti. The Caricom countries, except for Bahamas, do not have ambassadors to Haiti. There are no Caricom ambassadors to Haiti. Countries such as Jamaica and Bahamas have not taken a stand on this matter.
So, is that a manifestation of ignorance? Is this the result of a lack of understanding of the Haitian situation given that there are no ambassadors? Is this a manifestation of economic interests? I consider this interference in Haiti’s internal affairs, all the more so since former prime minister Yvon Neptune is accused of something important: the La Scierie massacre. When fifty people are massacred, it is genocide.
This is something that must be brought to the attention of the international community to let them understand what Aristide represented. He killed fifty persons in La Scierie on the eve of his departure. Had he not left under the conditions we know, he would have killed five hundred people, he would have killed five thousand people.
So, I believe that Neptune has put himself in trouble. He has chosen that. Fifty victims in La Scierie, this is something of which the Caricom friends must be informed. We must tell them that they are defending somebody who is indefensible. Only the judges can say whether he is guilty or not. But the accusation against him is justified.
Given the speech he gave on the eve of the La Scierie massacre, in any international or historical context, somebody who takes such positions is invited to give explanations to the nation and the justice department.