Aristide On

By Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Amy Wilentz

Two days after addressing the United Nations General Assembly last week, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide sat down in his New York hotel room with TIME's Amy Wilentz, author of The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier. In his first interview in print since the U.S. went into Haiti, the returning leader talked candidly about Haitian justice, the U.S. role in his country and his hopes for the future.

TIME: How would you evaluate the U.S. presence so far?

Aristide: The focal point of the entire operation is the disarmament of the Haitian paramilitary and the neutralization and reformation of the Haitian army. The entire success of the mission is linked to the process of disarmament, because if the forces that have reigned over the past three violent years are not neutralized, we will have little to build on. I certainly hope that what we saw beginning with the disarming of FRAPH headquarters is continued. The Americans have taken out some of the perpetrators of the tragedy, but not all, not yet. We must encourage our partners to help us lead Haiti to a brighter future. Disarming the coup d'etat's bandits and torturers and rapists and killers is a first and most important step.

TIME: Is the U.S. protecting the leaders of FRAPH?

Aristide: The little talk by FRAPH leader Toto Constant was a critical statement. If people like him can be coerced into demanding reconciliation rather than death, we are moving toward justice. Like others who have spread violence, he too must face justice and the law. In politics each has a right to express himself, Toto Constant as well. But justice will slice through lies and hypocrisy and arrive at the truth.

TIME: What have you thought of the entire negotiating process over the past three years?

Aristide: I have watched what was being done at each step to see what it would provoke and regarded each day as a time to work for what could be a better tomorrow -- even if that day by itself didn't seem to have produced anything positive.

TIME: And the Carter mission?

Aristide: I have talked with President Carter and General Powell since they returned. In public life, you learn to ignore the things said publicly and listen to the stream of actions and events. The American soldiers are in Haiti now, helping Haitians to stay alive, and there was no invasion. So I say thank you.

TIME: How do you envision building a new future for your country?

Aristide: First, we must not sit and dwell on the sins that have been committed against us until we become angry and want vengeance. No. Vengeance is a trap. If the Haitian people exact vengeance for our sorrows, we will be stepping once again into the trap in which we've been caught for so long.

But still, we must remember. I think of Jean-Marie Vincent ((a priest and friend of Aristide's who was assassinated at the end of August)), and I think of the others who have died. The anonymous victims must be remembered along with the better known ones because they too died so that the country can live. Some have died in all innocence, but others, like Jean-Marie, have chosen to lose their lives for the nation. I myself and the Haitian people must feed ourselves at the source of his courage.

When I was in Israel, I had a chance to visit a museum that commemorates the Holocaust. The point it makes is "Never again." Never again seems to me to be the most important lesson Haitian children can learn. We must transcend the past without drowning ourselves in forgetfulness or vengeance or impunity. I want to erect monuments to our martyrs and perhaps establish a museum like the one I saw.

TIME: How strong is your commitment to leave power at the official end of your term in February 1996, since three years of your five-year term have been spent in exile?

Aristide: I intend, and have always intended, to leave power at the end of my constitutional term. I have no interest in remaining past that time, no matter how I have spent the years of my presidency. As Haiti's first freely elected President, I feel it is my duty to observe strictly the letter as well as the spirit of the constitution. In leaving office and handing over power to a new freely elected President, I will have completed my mission, and that is all I ever wanted.

TIME: How do you feel as you contemplate returning to your country after three years away?

Aristide: I feel good because I feel that in very difficult circumstances I have remained faithful to the Haitian people. I have had confidence in the Haitian people, and my confidence has been justified. It is my duty to accompany the Haitian people on the road to democracy and to listen to their voice and take what they are saying into account as I deal not only with Haitian politics and the terror in our country but with the international community as well. My loyalty to the Haitian people is what gives me a certain serenity as I contemplate going home. I am happy because I feel I have accomplished my mission, which is to bring democracy back to Haiti.

TIME: Anything else you look forward to?

Aristide: It will be nice to have a cup of strong Haitian coffee.