Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haïti: Difference between revisions
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'''Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH)''' (in French: ''Front pour l'Avancement et le Progres Haitien'') was a [[paramilitary]] [[death squad]] organized in [[Haiti]] in mid-1993 to terrorize the Haitian people by murder, public beatings, arson raids on poor neighborhoods, and severing limbs by machete. Its goal was to undermine the supporters of the popular [[Catholicism|Catholic]] priest [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]], who served less than eight months as Haiti's president before being deposed, on [[29 September]] [[1991]], by a [[coup d'état|coup]] in which many hundreds of his supporters were massacred, and thousands more fled to the [[Dominican Republic]] or left by sea for the [[United States|U.S.]], which was forced to deal with a severe refugee problem in [[Florida]]. |
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| ⚫ | In an article published in ''[[The Nation]]'' in [[1994]], American investigative journalist [[Allan Nairn]] asserted that he had discovered definitive links between FRAPH and the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]].[http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/1994/165/165p21b.htm] In an article in the January 8-15, [[1996]] issue of ''The Nation'' Nairn wrote: |
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FRAPH was established by Emannuel "Toto" Constant, who went on the [[CIA]] payroll as an informant and spy in early 1992 (according to the Agency, this relation ended in mid-[[1994]], but the following October the American Embassy in Haiti was openly acknowledging that Constant – now a born-again democrat – was on its payroll). According to Constant, shortly after Aristide’s ouster, Colonel Patrick Collins, a U.S. [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (DIA), attache who was stationed in Haiti from [[1989]] to [[1992]], pressured him to organize a front that could balance the Aristide movement and do intelligence work against it (it is believed that members of FRAPH were working, and perhaps still are, for two social service agencies funded by the [[Agency for International Development]], one of which maintains sensitive files on the movements of the Haitian poor). [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Haiti_KH.html] |
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| ⚫ | :This information comes from interviews in Haiti and the United States with military, paramilitary and intelligence officials, including [[Green beret|Green Beret]] commanders and also from internal documents from the U.S. and Haitian armies. Pieces of the story also come from Constant himself, who called me from his Maryland jail cell last September and again on December 7, shortly before he was due to be deported to Haiti. Constant, who has said that he started the group that became FRAPH at the urging of the Defense Intelligence Agency -- an account confirmed last year by a U.S. official who worked with him -- now says that even after the U.S. occupation got under way in September 1994, "other people from my organization were working with the D.I.A.," aiding in operations directed against "subversive activities."[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Foreign_Policy/HaitiJan96_Nairn.html] |
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| ⚫ | In an article published in ''[[The Nation]]'' in 1994, |
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| ⚫ | When Nairn tried to follow up (Constant insisted on a face-to-face meeting), the U.S. [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] denied him access, explaining that Constant had had a change of heart and no longer wanted to talk.[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Foreign_Policy/HaitiFeb96_Nairn.html] |
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| ⚫ | :This information comes from interviews in Haiti and the United States with military, paramilitary and intelligence officials, including Green Beret commanders and also from internal documents from the U.S. and Haitian armies. Pieces of the story also come from Constant himself, who called me from his Maryland jail cell last September and again on December 7, shortly before he was due to be deported to Haiti. Constant, who has said that he started the group that became FRAPH at the urging of the Defense Intelligence Agency |
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Aristide supporters have praised Nairn's report as proof of U.S. hostility to the deposed president and a self-serving foreign policy with regards to the island. However, his claims are controversial, given the fact that the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton administration]] supported Aristide to the point that he was granted asylum in the U.S. and was restored to the presidency in Haiti in 1994 through U.S. military intervention in the name of democratic restoration. |
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==External |
== External link == |
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*[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Haiti_KH.html "Who will rid me of this man? Haiti 1986–1994"] (From ''Killing Hope'', by [[William Blum]]) |
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*[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Foreign_Policy/HaitiOct95_Nairn.html "Our Payroll, Haitian Hit"] (Allan Nairn, ''The Nation'', October 9, 1995) |
*[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Foreign_Policy/HaitiOct95_Nairn.html "Our Payroll, Haitian Hit"] (Allan Nairn, ''The Nation'', October 9, 1995) |
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[[Category:Haiti]] |
[[Category:Haiti]] |
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Revision as of 18:58, 12 May 2005
Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH) (in French: Front pour l'Avancement et le Progres Haitien) was a paramilitary death squad organized in Haiti in mid-1993 to terrorize the Haitian people by murder, public beatings, arson raids on poor neighborhoods, and severing limbs by machete. Its goal was to undermine the supporters of the popular Catholic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who served less than eight months as Haiti's president before being deposed, on 29 September 1991, by a coup in which many hundreds of his supporters were massacred, and thousands more fled to the Dominican Republic or left by sea for the U.S., which was forced to deal with a severe refugee problem in Florida.
In an article published in The Nation in 1994, American investigative journalist Allan Nairn asserted that he had discovered definitive links between FRAPH and the U.S. CIA and DIA.[1] In an article in the January 8-15, 1996 issue of The Nation Nairn wrote:
- This information comes from interviews in Haiti and the United States with military, paramilitary and intelligence officials, including Green Beret commanders and also from internal documents from the U.S. and Haitian armies. Pieces of the story also come from Constant himself, who called me from his Maryland jail cell last September and again on December 7, shortly before he was due to be deported to Haiti. Constant, who has said that he started the group that became FRAPH at the urging of the Defense Intelligence Agency -- an account confirmed last year by a U.S. official who worked with him -- now says that even after the U.S. occupation got under way in September 1994, "other people from my organization were working with the D.I.A.," aiding in operations directed against "subversive activities."[2]
When Nairn tried to follow up (Constant insisted on a face-to-face meeting), the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service denied him access, explaining that Constant had had a change of heart and no longer wanted to talk.[3]
Aristide supporters have praised Nairn's report as proof of U.S. hostility to the deposed president and a self-serving foreign policy with regards to the island. However, his claims are controversial, given the fact that the Clinton administration supported Aristide to the point that he was granted asylum in the U.S. and was restored to the presidency in Haiti in 1994 through U.S. military intervention in the name of democratic restoration.
External link
- "Our Payroll, Haitian Hit" (Allan Nairn, The Nation, October 9, 1995)