The ink on the agreement between African nations isn't even dry yet and already members of Haiti's elite have gone on radio to proclaim that plans for a pan-African passport should, naturally, include them.
Coming soon to the Caribbean. WKM |
Haiti, a partial member of the Caribbean Community, has been occupied by United Nations peacekeepers for over a decade, with no end in sight and little hope among the populace that the nation will transcend its status as a failed state.
In light of the inevitable exit by the United Nations, an upending of the status quo could lead to full-blown civil war, with some leaders on the island of Hispaniola presently concerned that the United States may be backing forces which will speed up this inevitable insurgency.
Haiti's elite have already proclaimed that the country, due to its history and people, is part of the African Union, and that this should entitle them to policing by forces of the nascent superstate.
Haiti already enjoys observer status in the African Union, and plans are being made not just in Port-Au-Prince to draw the country closer to its African affiliates, but particularly in Washington, with the Clinton State Department having taken an active interest in an outside force other than the United Nations providing the muscle needed to pacify a cheap labor force for American and Dominican conglomerates.
Although it was the US military that personally visited former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's home and removed him from power, the Washington elite have thus far been quite reluctant to send the US Army into slums, instead ordering the Brazilian head of the United Nations stabilization army to march into Cite Soleil and gun down Aristide's supporters.
Perhaps Haiti's ruling elite and their Washington backers have decided that a transition from United Nations rule to African Union rule would entail little more than a change in uniform, with the added perks of a new passport.