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| Mr. Michel J. Martelly, the new president of Haiti in a wehaitians.com file photo. |
As if he was a grandfather with a plethora of grand children, all
sons and daughters of his large number of now adult progenies first
he fathered with different "manmancitas" or mothers (to borrow a few
words from the urban dictionary), as was the case of former
Haiti's president Rene Preval's chosen successor, Judge Celestin,
42, who had at least 23 minor children with 13 different women
(including the former president's daughter he again impregnated),
the Caribbean nation's recently sworn head of state, Michel Martelly,
Saturday imparted what sounded like rather 'grandfatherly' advice to
members of Haiti's news media during a meeting he hastily
called for at the temporary replacement building of the
earthquake-destroyed very impressive or once-grand National Palace edifice in the
capital city of Port-au-Prince.
"Today, I am here to once again help guide you, how to be
responsible journalists; I do not mind being criticized," Mr.
Martelly, who recently did not hesitate to assign the hard-to-earn
grade of A+ to himself after he self-assessed the first thirty days
of his presidency, giving many the impression that he was incapable
of distinguishing activities from achievements, jokingly told the
reduced number of men and women in attendance for the circumstance.
"Do not, do not emulate those who sure only portray my hardworking
presidency, especially Haiti, in a negative way," he added.
The week-end presidential gathering, which reminded some of the
journalists and others in attendance of Stalin's practice,
including that of many other tyrants influenced by the same late Soviet
Union's bloodthirsty, botcher dictator, of reeducating critics after
they were all sent to reeducation camps, came only a few months
after Mr. Martelly, then a presidential candidate, verbally
threatened a member of the press who questioned his preparedness for
the very demanding job of the long tarnished office of the Haitian
presidency since he lost three high-end homes, on the average, in the U.S. state of Florida
after they were all foreclosed on by banks because he failed to
abide by the terms and conditions (making the required timely
monthly payments - principal and interest, at least) of the lending
contract he first entered into, as his affixed signature at the very
bottom of each relevant document, including promissory note,
suggested.
"Yes, I knew you were coming; yes, I know very well they sent you
here; anyway, tell those F people that I am ready to fight
them back." Unfortunately, those were the very unpleasant words Mr.
Martelly, who many long believed had a corrosive tongue, had for the journalist who simply was only doing his job.
Many could easily rather refer to Mr. Martelly as a repeat offender
of press freedom - not Mr. the president. A few weeks ago, he
threatened to resign the office of the presidency and then made
himself available for an unprecedented fist fight with members of
the news media he very much disliked, because they were rightly
critical of his chaotic, misguided presidency, which then was still
in its very infancy.
"I will punch them all hard, very hard, and, in fact, right in the
face,' Mr. Martelly said, but not before days earlier when he loudly
told or ordered them to stop talking politics, particularly on their
radio shows, rather the subject of discussion should be how citizens
can better reconstruct their earthquake-destroyed homes, for
example.
The limited number of participants in the grandfather-grandchildren
like meeting did not have to try hard to convince themselves that
Mr. Martelly's unfounded fast growing concerns or criticism was
aimed principally at this journal (Wehaitians.com); Haiti-based
radio stations, such as Radio Kiskeya and Radio Caraibes. Also, the
international press and organizations.
In another news, Mr. Martelly does not
know that U.S. government documents, classified as secret or top
secret, do not fall, even
partially, under the purview of the nation just mentioned Freedom of
Information Act, say foreign leaders, especially Third World ones,
having unlimited access to them. Still, the president who clearly does not know what he is
doing, according to his words, promised his citizens that he will
ultimately obtain those, if any, that concern many of his key
supporters (all with an alleged drug trafficking past), after
Haiti's human right group (RNDDH) urged him to distance himself from
the said past narco-traffickers to prevent the office of the
presidency from further being tarnished.
And the president's most recent brief voyage to the U.S. cost about
$140,000. How much will an anticipated one, his soon-to-be séjour,
mostly to Europe, cost dirt-poor Haiti? What purpose will it really
serve for the latter nation - one that is not only has long been
classified as mendicant but made no effort to cease having a
niggardly public purse, which is often largely pillaged by the very
few (president, cabinet ministers, for example) at the very top of
the pyramid of government who practize grand-scale corruption? 15
days, that's a longtime (extended period of time) for a president to
be away from a land with pressing problems. I am rather convinced
that he will be going on a fancy vacation. Mr. the president, have a
good time at the Louvre (one of the world's largest and most
prestigious, popular art galleries and museums) in Paris while your acts or thoughts that
deviate from what is correct or reality continue to fast infuse
pessimism in citizens' brains about a nation they cherish, even in
its blanket crushing poverty.
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| President Michel Martelly, in grey suit, during hi visit to Spain. |
"Mr. Martelly is certainly fast adding to doubts about his ability
to effectively govern as a responsible, competent president,' said
many foreign longtime observers of Haitian politics, a sentiment
echoed by untold number of Haitian nationals who are very
pessimistic about the future of their beloved Haiti.
The writer, Yves A. Isidor, who teaches economics at the University
of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, is also the Spokesperson for We Haitians
United We Stand For Democracy.
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