ARTICLE - MANIGAT IN FAVOR OF ARMED FORCE

MIRLANDE MANIGAT IN FAVOR OF A SPECIALIZED ARMED FORCE
(Haiti Libre) -

Mirlande Manigat of Rassemblement des Démocrates Nationaux Progressistes (RDNP) and a former candidate who defeated in the last election, has added her comments to the numerous reactions to the draft of the new national force proposed by President Michel Martelly.

"...It is an old issue reheated from time to time. It is reheated for political reasons. Sometimes it is badly reheated... What is the situation, on the legal plan? Haiti's army still exists, but it's true, there are no barracks, there are no soldiers, there are no officers, weapons, uniforms... there is nothing.

Now [...] we must ask the fundamental question: does the state security, homeland security, public safety, meand that we need a military that is different from that of the police? These are two different bodies. The military are taught to make war. That's why the soldiers are trained. The police are taught to maintain public order, to provide relief and to have contact with the civilian population. The military has no contact with the civilian population.

What happened in our army, is that the military also had police functions,... so all the reproaches that they have received, are because they were also police officers. All bad deeds, have returned to the army in general.

The armed forces, the military forces that we need, is a force that must be specialized..., for homeland defense, for the defense of the State, and when I say State, I do not mean a government. The defense of the State,... this means the three institutions of the State: the legislative powers, the judiciary and the executive..., in the cases where there would be unrest and that the police would not be able to restore order.

At that time, as in all countries of the world, the army intervenes. If you take the United States for example, the law enforcement is done by the police. Each State has its own police force. But as soon as there is a violent demonstration, that difficulties arise, the federal government sends the army to restore order, and once order is restored, the army withdraws.

This is something that personnel in the RDNP have always defended, even before that [the Government] has virtually "dissolved" the army. We have taken a position and said that the army that existed, was not good. You can not have an army against the people. We must have an army that is there to give people confidence, and security. It is necessary to have a professionalized military and put them to the service of development, to the service of security..., a security which is not only a security policy. If we had an army at the time of the earthquake, I believe that the State would have faced the situation more effectively..."