Date: 30 Sep 91 17:34 PDT
From: cscheiner@igc.org
Subject: HAITI: GROUP PROMOTES QUINCENTENARY
Message-ID: <1563600031@igc.org>

/* Written 11:54 pm  Sep 29, 1991 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "HAITI: GROUP PROMOTES QUINCENTENARY" ---------- */

Copyright Inter Press Service 1991, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Latin America
Title: HAITI: GROUP PROMOTES QUINCENTENARY AMID GENERAL INDIFFERENCE


an inter press service feature

by ives-marie chanel

port-au-prince, sep 27 (ips) -- a private organisation ,
''foundation 92'', is trying to drum up support for a tourism
centre project linked to the celebration in europe and the americas
of the quincentenary of the arrival of christopher columbus in the
americas.

the project is unique in that it is just about the only concrete
initiative taken in the runup to 1992 in haiti, where there is
widespread indifference to the quincentennial, at both the
governmental and the grassroots levels.

foundation '92 has come up with many proposals, including some
concerning the laying down of road infrastructure and hotels, which
have failed to attract support from successive provisional
governments here over the past three years.

it is now trying to whip up public support -- both financial
and non-material -- for its tourist centre project, while it also
aims to publish a major historical work and is currently preparing a
cultural programme for 1992.

the president of the three-year old foundation's board of
directors, architect gerard fombrun, says he is convinced of the
importance of the ''historical milestones which historical facts of
an international nature constitute''.

generally, there has been next to no activity here in connection
with the commemoration of the quincentenary.

there has been little popular interest in the event, although
there was a big controversy last year among haitian intellectuals
on the naming and scope of the commemoration.

like elsewhere in the americas, most have rejected the term
''discovery of the americas'', which some have wanted to replace
with ''commemoration of the beginning of colonisation of the
americas by the europeans'', while others, more conciliatory, have
adopted ''encounter between two worlds''.

according to a source close to the ministry of information there
have been no official preparations so far for the commemoration .
the source said the silence can be interpreted as a lack of
interest on the part of the governmental authorities.(more/ips)

haiti: quincentenary (2)

the lack of interest manifests itself in other ways: when
political activists overthrew a statue of christopher columbus
during an anti-imperialist demonstration in port-au-prince in 1987,
the municipal authorities salvaged the statue, buunever
reinstalled it.

the only attempt at an official initiative on the commemoration
was a motion proposed by a group of nine centre-right senators in
march in the senate. in their motion they portrayed the
quincentenary as a good opportunity to foster tourism in haiti. the
motion was never discussed.

the commemoration of the quincentenary has also sparked off a
controversy between intellectuals and politicians in the two
sections of hispaniola.

haiti and the dominican republic share the island of hispaniola,
one of those visited by columbus in his 1492 voyage to the americas.

haitians intellectuals have accused the dominican government of
wanting to monopolise historical facts and places. the haitians say
that columbus did not land first in the northeast of what is now
the dominican republic, as they say the dominicans claim, but in
haiti.

they say it is at present-day mole saint nicholas in northwest
haiti that columbus planted a cross on 5 december 1492, the day he
landed on the island.

despite the antagonism and indifference here, fombrun feels
there are exceptional advantages to be derived from the celebration,
a recurrent theme throughout the caribbean among those in favour of
celebrating the quincentenary.

the tourist centre is to be built in northern haiti to develop
historical sites there, including an old spanish settlement, puerto
real.

one of the settlement's buildings, decorated with sculpted
stones, ornamental blocks and sculptures and covered with a ceramic
tile roof reportedly lies buried under a cane field, its existence
made known only to specialists so as to protect it from vandals.

the centre would have a museum, exposition rooms and slide
projection rooms, which would give the tourist all the information
he needs to recreate in his mind puerto real and other sites in
their heyday.

an increased demand for tourist-related facilities is expected
during 1992 and the centre would provide an additional 100 rooms as
well as international telecommunications , leisure and sports
facilities, which would supplement those normally available in
hotels, fombrun says. (end/ips/ce/ic/kb)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From: cscheiner@igc.org
Date: 30 Sep 91 17:42 PDT
Subject: Re: HAITI: GROUP PROMOTES QUINCENTENARY
Message-ID: <1563600033@igc.org>

My posting of the previous topic does NOT indicate agreement with its
contents.  It seems ironic that it comes across Peacenet (with 48 hours
delay) just after the apparent overthrow of Haiti's democratic government.
........... Charlie Scheiner