Why did Haiti at one point disband its army or other armed forces?
Hello, many thanks for your question (and my apologies for the late reply).
I suppose with all the talk under Michel Martelly and dispositions by Jovenel Moïse to set a full return of the Haitian army, it is worthwhile to remember when and why it was disbanded.
In short, the army was disbanded under former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1991; 1994-1996; 2001-2004) in 1995 as it had occupied a very controversial role in Haitian politics, at least since the election of Dumarsais Estimé in 1946, but especially during the years of the Duvalier dictatorship (1957-1986). During the period between the first coup against Aristide in September 1991 and his “restoration” under American supervision in October 1994, the Haitian army is accused of having committed some of the worst human rights violations seen in Haitian history. By all accounts, it would seem that Aristide, realizing the force of the army and how it was mostly used against Haitian people and clearly understanding it would inevitably in the future support efforts to oust him again, disband it.
A somewhat longer answer would be that following the end of the Duvalier regime in 1986, Haiti struggled, like many post-authoritarian societies, with the mapping of a road to a democratic future. Most governments during the 1986-1990 period had been under military supervisions (even in the case of so-called civilian ones). Aristide had taken something of an active role in mobilisation which led to Jean-Claude Duvalier fleeing Haiti in February 1986. He was famous among “progressive” elements of the Catholic Church, an advocate of “liberation theology” and in 1988, as the situation was still very chaotic in Haiti, survived an assassination attempt at Saint-Jean-Bosco – all of which only led to increased popularity. By the time of the 1990 election, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who would in the next few years become an extremely polarizing figure, seemed, at least for the time being, to embody Haitian dreams for democracy. He was elected president in December 1990 with an overwhelming majority. While he assumed office in February of the following year, his term was short-lived. Following a coup against his regime in all likelihood executed by the Haitian army with both local and foreign support, he lived in exile. During that time, however, he managed to gather much international support (again, for the time begging), for his platform.
In an interesting reading of the Haitian Constitution of the 1987 and again with backing from the international community, he was allowed to return to Haiti in 1994 and resume his term in office. Now, during Aristide’s tree-year absence, Haiti descended into a state of terror, particularly in parts of Port-au-Prince. Neighbourhoods where some of his supporters lived were ransacked, women were gang raped, many people were murdered under unexplained circumstances.
If you have the time, I do invite you to read some of the findings of The Haitian National Truth and Justice Commission carried out in 1995-1996 following Aristide’s return to make sense of this violence. The document itself is hard to find but you can look at the analysis provided by political scientist Joanna R. Quinn (2007). While those conclusions mostly focus of the crimes perpetrated against the Haitian people by individuals who seemed to have received backing from Raoul Cédras (the de facto military leader during the 1991-1994 period) and it is not clear what type of activities Aristide supported were involved in and at what time, the document, for all its shortcoming, does paint a very grim picture of the actions undertake by the army. Overall, it shows a complete lack of respect for basic human rights and dignity and an unapologetic assault of local and international law on the part of the Haitian army.
All in all, while it would be unfair to paint the entire history of the Haitian army in a negative light, it is difficult to ignore that it has often served more as a tool against Haitian people than an instrument in its favour. In light of this complicated history, it’s especially difficult to understand any efforts in 2022 to revive it. This is a point, however, I am sure many (older) Haitians would be happy to debate (as my uncles have proved time and time again)!
For more information on the history of the Haitian army, I suggest: The military and society in Haiti (1993) by Michel Laguerre.
For an overview of the Aristide period(s), and human rights violations carried during the 1991-1994 interval, see : The Prophet and Power: Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the International Community, and Haiti (2006) by Alex Dupuy and Democratic Insecurities: Violence, Trauma, and Intervention in Haiti (2010) by Erica James.
I hope I answered your question!
Best!