The Tribune

With the nation of Haiti gripped by terror and chaos and said to be on the verge of civil war following the assassination of its President last week, there has been wide international condemnation of this horrific act. But for many in The Bahamas the initial shock and sympathy for the long-suffering ordinary citizens of this populous country of some 11 million - the nearest neighbour to the south of the Bahamian archipelago - may already be giving way to concern about the possible effects of the turmoil on their own country.

Inevitably at this early stage, the details are unclear beyond the fact that during the early hours of Thursday morning armed men entered the residence of President Jovenel Moise and shot him dead as well as seriously injuring his wife who is now recovering in a Miami hospital. Reportedly, a group of suspected foreign mercenaries was responsible, some of whom have been killed and others captured.

The motives of those who planned the assassination are unknown though they are thought to be linked to the President’s refusal to step down after his five-year term had expired. With the declaration of a state of emergency in the country, the public is now said to be in a state of fear as gunfire rages across the capital Port-au-Prince amid lawlessness and disorder - and what has made the situation worse is controversy and uncertainty about who should take Mr Moise’s place.

The background to all this is important because Haiti has been a failed state for many years. Political and economic instability have led to poverty and deprivation and it has not functioned properly as a member of the international community. The lack of an established and reliable political infrastructure, combined with endemic corruption and inadequate management of its natural resources - particularly the agricultural sector which dominates the economy - have meant the country has been unable to govern itself properly. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. With sky-high unemployment, many people are living in what is termed absolute poverty that has become chronic.

There have also been serious social problems and natural disasters like hurricanes, as well as earthquakes, the most recent of which in 2010 was estimated to have killed up to 200,000. So, in order to survive, the country has depended increasingly on international aid - with the US its largest donor for many years - and remittances from the Haitian diaspora overseas.

Since securing its independence from France in 1804, Haiti has had a troubled history of foreign intervention, authoritarianism, dictatorship, inequality and instability and has experienced cycles of violence and repression.

The US invaded the country in 1915 and retained financial control and political influence after its withdrawal in 1934. The totalitarian and despotic regime of “Papa Doc” Duvalier, who served as President from 1957 until his death in 1971, was marked by brutality and human rights abuses carried out by his infamous and feared secret police, the Tontons Macoutes.

The excesses of the Duvalier regime were vividly depicted by the renowned English author Graham Greene in his novel “The Comedians” which was later made into a film with famous movie stars of the time Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. This repression became worse under his son, Jean Claude, who succeeded his father and became known as “Baby Doc”.

More recently, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former Catholic priest who became a champion of the poor, was elected President in 1990 but was overthrown a year later in a military coup. In 1994, US troops intervened to oust the military regime, and Aristide was re-elected for a second term but later fled the country as it descended into violence. Elections and new Presidents followed and Jovenel Moise emerged as the leader of the nation after winning the 2016 election. Meanwhile, the UN’s Stabilisation Mission was withdrawn in 2017.

For Bahamians worried about the effects of the current lawlessness on Haitian migration to this country, it will be comforting to read of the quick reaction to the crisis by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in deploying additional vessels and aircraft in the areas that are already patrolled - in co-operation with the US Coast Guard - in order to intercept migrant vessels heading for our shores. But it is surely the case that the practical difficulty of covering the vast expanse of ocean in the area beyond our southern border around the Great Bahama Bank remains daunting.

As is well known, uncontrolled illegal immigration from Haiti has constituted a serious threat to The Bahamas for years as deprived and desperate people have sought sanctuary in what is seen as a desirable destination that can also be used as a springboard to the ultimate ‘El Dorado’ of the US. Any significant increase of such migration as a result of the current mayhem might quickly escalate into a major problem that could overwhelm The Bahamas. It seems the only hope of limiting this is for the international community to make a fresh attempt to bring some sort of stability to Haiti - and, in practice, this means the US grasping the nettle and intervening in the country once again in order to maintain order.

Many believe there is now a pressing need to draw attention to the dangers of the mass movement of people from Haiti and to press for action at the diplomatic level. However, given the history of US intervention, encouragement may not be necessary, and, according to reports, a request from Haiti itself to send US troops to help secure key infrastructure has already been made.

END OF A DREAM

For the last two weeks in this column, I have unashamedly chronicled the progress of the England team at the European football championships - Euro2020 - and tried to explain its wider significance beyond the game on the pitch in so far as football reflects society. As has been said so often, this sport is something special. During the course of the competition, across Europe millions have been sitting at bars, restaurants, clubs, parks and public places with beers in hand and glued to the action on big TV screens - or they have simply watched it all at home.

After victories at the knockout stage against Germany and Ukraine, England beat Denmark in the semi-final and moved on to a final for the first time in a major tournament since winning the World Cup in 1966.

Now, however, ecstasy has turned to agony after the team’s defeat in the final on Sunday at the hands of Italy, though only by the narrowest of margins in a nail-biting penalty shootout. So, after impressive progress through the earlier rounds, England fell at the last hurdle and came up just short of being crowned footballing champions of Europe. For Italy, the ecstasy has been all theirs and the country is said already to be enjoying a surge of national pride and sense of wellbeing.

But it has been an exhilarating ride for the whole of Britain, too, when people needed a boost after the misery of the pandemic lockdown and there have been crowds singing, flags being waved and car horns being beeped while, in an outpouring of unabashed patriotism and national unity, people have rallied around England’s flag, the Cross of St George.

Sadly, there have now been a few ugly racist attacks on the three England players who missed their penalty attempts on Sunday. But such action has been immediately and strongly condemned by everybody concerned and all the players have been widely praised for their skill, courage, determination, team spirit and professionalism. As one UK newspaper vividly expressed the public feeling – ‘it hurts but we’re so proud of you’.

Hard truths to live with as China stands its ground

One aspect of the celebrations at the beginning of this month to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party was the strong language used by President Xi Jinping in a speech which was seen by many as both defiant and threatening.

According to reports, what especially caught the eye of China-watchers was his warning that foreign powers will “get their heads bashed” if they attempt to “bully or influence” China and that Beijing would not allow “sanctimonious preaching”. These remarks are widely seen as being directed at the US. He also said “no one should underestimate the resolve, the will and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity” while China maintains an “unshakeable commitment” to unification with Taiwan. Xi Jinping also stressed the important role of the Party in creating modern China and bringing about its successful growth and development.

Since a democratic Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign state, while Beijing regards it as a breakaway province -and the US is committed to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself if China uses force to take the island back - this issue will remain a major source of tension.

The Chinese President’s remarks should also be seen against the background of increasingly repressive treatment of the country’s Uyghur Muslim population, with re-education camps in Xinjiang province, and of mass arrests in Hong Kong. What is more, the issue of the Uyghurs was highlighted in a recent report by Britain’s parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee which called for restrictions and fines to be imposed on UK firms doing business with Chinese companies connected with human rights abuses - and, according to reports, the US has gone so far as to describe China’s repression of its Muslim population as “genocide”.

All this suggests the West may be on more of a collision course with China than some people believe, and it is significant that Xi Jinping appears to have become the most powerful leader of the nation since Mao Tse-tung.

What I, for one, have found to be particularly interesting is developments in Hong Kong and his remarks that the territory retains a “high degree of autonomy” under the principle of “one country, two systems” which underpinned the 1984 deal with Britain as the outgoing colonial power in the 1997 handover. In accordance with this, Hong Kong was given more freedoms than the mainland and, under its mini-constitution, the Basic Law, these were guaranteed for 50 years. But it has been alleged that in recent years Beijing has gradually stepped up its influence in Hong Kong, eroded its democracy and undermined the one country, two systems principle. Examples have been sweeping changes to the territory’s electoral laws and its extradition rules; and these were followed in 2020, in response to violent and extended pro-democracy protests, by controversial new security laws that essentially reduced Hong Kong’s judicial autonomy and made it easier to punish demonstrators and impose tougher sentencing.

However these issues may be viewed, it is the case China’s actions underscore the reality that essentially it can do what it pleases in Hong Kong even if other countries consider it is not adhering to its international treaty obligations.

In this context, it is perhaps worth repeating what I wrote two years ago at the time of serious civil unrest in the territory; namely, that the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, revealed in his book entitled ‘East and West’ that the basic advice given to him by the bluff former Labour Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, James Callaghan, was simple. It was to make sure British businessmen could do a lot of trade with the Chinese who, he said, would act in any way they wanted after the handover and, realistically, Britain could do little about it – an oversimplification perhaps, but uncomfortably near to the truth.

Be that as it may, the debate now is about how to react to President Xi Jinping’s latest statement of authoritarian values that are at the heart of the world’s second largest economy and to China’s growing military power and the flexing of its muscles in the South China Sea.