U.S. military's role in Haiti faces criticism
One week has passed since a devastating earthquake brought one of the world's worst-ever humanitarian emergencies to the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, and its surrounding areas. Over the past seven days, search-and-rescue operations have pulled over 121 people from the rubble left behind by the earthquake. The chance of finding survivors diminishes as every day passes; as of yesterday, however, 36 international search-and-rescue teams remained in Haiti in an effort to continue rescue operations. Despite heroic attempts, the death toll estimate now exceeds 200,000 people, with over 70,000 cadavers already buried by the Haitian government. In addition to those who lost their lives during the earthquake, over 3 million Haitians were estimated to be adversely affected, and the need to distribute humanitarian relief and provide medical assistance is urgent. Medical care, handling of the dead, shelter, water, food and sanitation remain the priorities for international relief operations, but getting supplies into Haiti and distributed to the most affected populations has proven to be logistically difficult. One factor contributing to slow delivery of aid, according to some humanitarian relief organizations, was the United States' control of air traffic operations at the overcrowded airport in Port-au-Prince. According to an article by the Inter-Press Service, the French Cooperation Minister, the World Food Programme (WFP), and Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders issued complaints over the U.S. military's alleged favoritism of giving priority to U.S. military flights over planes carrying humanitarian assistance, including food and needed medical supplies. A Doctors without Borders cargo plane with 12 tons of medical supplies was turned away three times on Sunday, delaying the delivery of supplies to field hospitals. The French Cooperation Minister Alain Joyandet was quoted saying that, "This is about helping Haiti, not about occupying Haiti." An air logistics official with the WFP said, "Their [The U.S. military's] priorities are to secure to country. Ours are to feed. We have got to get those priorities in sync." U.S. Southern Command disputed this accusation, stating that "On a typical day, the Port-au-Prince airport lands about three aircraft. Since we landed Wednesday, over 600 aircraft have landed and taken off." Though in an attempt to better coordinate the balance of humanitarian and military flights landing in Port-au-Prince, an agreement was made between the U.S. military and the United Nations to give humanitarian flights guaranteed landing slots at the Port-au-Prince airport. As a result, "the flow of aid to the people of Haiti will increase dramatically in the coming days," according to the executive director of the WFP, Josette Sheeran. In addition to controlling air traffic at the Port-au-Prince airport, the U.S. military has deployed various aircraft, ships, and thousands of military personnel to the region to provide humanitarian assistance and security. According to Twenty-six countries, including Argentina, Canada, France, Russia and the USA have provided significant military assets for the emergency response. These assets include field hospitals, troops, military aircraft, hospital ships, cargo ships and helicopters. MINUSTAH currently has 3,400 troops and police on the ground. Civil military coordinators are working directly with the US military. In addition to the criticism leveled at the U.S. military's air traffic control priorities, some Latin American governments have also spoken out against the United States' role in Haiti in general, with statements alluding to a U.S. military occupation of Haiti. On Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said on his weekly television show, "Aló, Presidente," that the United States was "occupying Haiti undercover.... Doctors, medicine, fuel, field hospitals - that's what the United States should send." "This drama is being manipulated to install U.S. troops in Haiti, who have been taking military control of the Port-au-Prince airport, and this is worrisome," added Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. On Monday, Bolivian Vice President Álvaro García Linera criticized the United States' militarized response, stating that "what Haiti needs is humanitarian assistance and not the geopolitical and geostrategic interests of the United States.... What we need here in Haiti is not so many armed troops, like those that the United States has brought, what we need here are resources: money, food, and infrastructure." Today, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced that he will ask the United Nations to hold an emergency meeting to "reject the military occupation of the United States" in Haiti. According to news source EFE, President Morales continued, "It is not possible that the United States uses a natural disaster to invade and militarily occupy Haiti."