Tunisian Protests Move Hillary's Line on Democratic Reform

Back in 1969, when Secretary of State Clinton was writing her senior
thesis at Wellesley on Chicago community organizer Saul Alinsky, she
must have come across this line on page 9 of Alinksy's book "Rules for
Radicals":

"Revolution by the Have-Nots has a way of inducing a moral
revelation among the Haves."

Thursday, Secretary Clinton delivered
what the New York Timescalled
a "scalding critique" to Arab leaders at a conference in Qatar.

"The region's foundations are sinking into the sand," Clinton said,
calling for "political reforms that will create the space young people
are demanding, to participate in public affairs and have a meaningful
role in the decisions that shape their lives." Those who would "prey
on desperation and poverty are already out there," Clinton warned,
"appealing for allegiance and competing for influence."

As Secretary Clinton made her remarks, the Timesnoted,
"unrest in Tunisia that threatened its government while serving to
buttress her arguments" was among the events that "echoed loudly in
the background."

Friday, Tunisian president Ben Ali has reportedly fled
the country and the Tunisian prime minister says he is now in
charge.

Popular protest can bring down the government in an Arab country. Who knew?

It's a whole new ballgame, as they say in Chicago. You think Friday's
events in Tunisia are going to affect conversations in Algeria and
Egypt? Maybe even in Haiti? I think they will. So does
AP:

"The shakeup was certain to have repercussions in the Arab
world and beyond - as a sign that even a leader as entrenched and
powerful as Ben Ali could be brought down by massive public
outrage."

Could Secretary of State Clinton's remarks in Qatar presage a shift in
U.S. policy? It's not impossible to imagine. After all, Clinton's
senior thesis pointed to the idea that there's another path to reform
besides revolution in the street. Leaders can anticipate. You don't
have to wait until protesters are at the gate. You could take the long
view.

Today, U.S. policy in Haiti stands at a fork in the road.

One path away from the fork has been suggested by a draft report of a
team from the Organization of American States that is trying to
salvage Haiti's disputed November 28 presidential election. According
to this proposal, Haiti's election commission would recalculate the
preliminary results of the election so that a different two candidates
would go to a run-off. If the U.S. backs this path, it would be
backing an election in which nearly
three-quarters of the Haitian electorate did not participate,
either in protest at the exclusion of parties such as Fanmi Lavalas,
the party of deposed former President Aristide, or because they were
prevented from voting, or because they didn't see in any of the
allowed candidates a realistic hope for addressing Haiti's problems.

Ratifying a recalculated result of this dubious election could lead to
Tunisian-style protests in Haiti. Reutersnotes
Friday, reporting on a protest in which one Haitian was killed,
that this happened "amid widespread concerns that an experts' report
from the Organization of American States (OAS), which challenges the
official results of Haiti's November 28 national elections, could spur
fresh outbreaks of unrest."

The other path away from the fork would be to respond to the calls
from Haitian civil society for a new election run by a new electoral
council, a call recently
supported by Representative Maxine Waters.

Some people in Washington say that a new election in Haiti would be
too expensive. This argument is outrageously silly. The November
election cost $30 million, a cost shared by the U.S. and other
countries. The U.S. spends more than $30 million on the war in
Afghanistan every three hours. Moreover, the next government in Haiti
is expected to oversee $11 billion in reconstruction funds. A key
means by which we can ensure that $11 billion will be well spent is
"creating the space young people are demanding, to participate in
public affairs and have a meaningful role in the decisions that shape
their lives." $30 million is 0.27% of $11 billion. If a new election
that seats a legitimate government saves 0.27% of that $11 billion
from being wasted, the election will pay for itself.

If you agree with the demand of Haitian civil society for a new
election, help the Center for Constitutional Rights tell
Secretary of State Clinton to support this just demand.