Haiti Drops 'Ridiculous' $22 Billion Claim (of money owed to France)

[Dover]

By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) - Haiti's new U.S.-backed leader said on Sunday he had dropped a "ridiculous" demand by ex-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide for France to return $22 billion he said the Caribbean nation was forced to pay its colonial masters after gaining independence in 1804.

Aristide, driven into exile on Feb. 29 in the face of a month-long revolt and U.S. and French pressure, had launched a vigorous campaign to get back 90 million gold francs Haiti paid Paris in reparations after its slaves drove out the French.

At today's values -- and totting up interest to the last cent -- Aristide claimed the money was now worth nearly $22 billion, and would go a long way to helping the poorest country in the Americas get back on its feet.

"This claim was illegal, ridiculous and was made only for political reasons," Prime Minister Gerard Latortue told Reuters, saying Haiti had no interest in maintaining an atmosphere of confrontation with France.

"This matter is closed. What we need now is increased cooperation with France that could help us build roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure," he said......cont'd >

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=LLBBKQQ220XFYCRBAEOCFFA?type=worldNews&storyID=4858897

[Dover]

1. "This claim was illegal, ridiculous and was made only for political reason

The same could be said about the U.S./France-led coup and sanctions on Haiti.

[Judi Lynn]

2. The way Haiti lost the money originally is very sad

(snip)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - More than two decades after rebellious former slaves vanquished troops from Napoleon's army here in 1803, France's King Charles X made the fledgling republic of Haiti an offer it couldn't refuse.

In 1825, as the king's warships cruised just over the horizon from the Haitian capital, a French emissary demanded 150 million gold francs in exchange for recognizing the new republic. The implicit alternative was invasion and re-enslavement.

It was a huge sum, about five times Haiti's annual export revenue. Haiti's then-president reluctantly agreed, taking on a crushing debt.

Today, as Haiti celebrates the 200th anniversary of its independence amid growing political unrest and a collapsing economy, one of its few glimmers of hope is that long-ago deal.

Haiti wants its money back -- with interest.

Aided by U.S. and French lawyers, the Haitian government is preparing a legal brief demanding nearly $22 billion in "restitution" for what it regards as an act of gunboat diplomacy. Banners calling for "Reparations and Restitution" fly over Port-au-Prince's crammed and filthy streets. "France, pay me my money, $21,685,135,571.48," is the refrain heard incessantly to carnival music in government ads on Haitian radio and television.
(snip/...)

http://www.wehaitians.com/impoverished%20haiti%20pins%20hopes%20for%20future%20on%20a%20very%20old%20debt.html

Heard about this for the first time during _Bush's regime change. The impulse has always been to keep Haiti destroyed for having had the audacity to seek to expel the slave owners.

Certain people have hated them for their wish to be free!

[lostnfound]

3. Seems their claim is more defensible than France's claim had been..

Overwhelming military advantage is the difference.

[Vladimir]

4. I love third world

puppet shows. Almost as much as I love a good preemptive war.

</sarcasm> :puke:

V