Haiti: Season of Discontent

After a relatively calm summer, the mood of Haiti is turning sour again. Violent antigovernment protests have erupted over widespread unemployment, human rights abuses and, ominously, the founding of a political party by ) followers of the deposed Duvaliers. Adding to the turmoil, Haitians last week recoiled from a more immediate tragedy: an overcrowded ferry sank on the way to the island of La Gonave, with an estimated 180 passengers lost.

A day later Chief of State Lieut. General Henri Namphy made an emotional bid to restore confidence in the Port-au-Prince government. "I have lived in my flesh your anguish over the possible return of the old system," he declared. Coincidentally, the fledgling Duvalierist party was disbanded. To further counter discontent with the sluggish pace of change, Namphy will travel to Miami to seek badly needed investment at the annual Caribbean Conference this week.