Letters 1

Although many countries in the world -- and particularly in our hemisphere -- hire lawyers to represent them in legal and political matters in the United States, the only lawyers who have been subject to the type of attack expressed in your reader's letter have been lawyers representing the Haitian government. Articles about the payment that lawyers were receiving from the Haitian government began to appear in the U.S. press in 1993, at the same time the Central Intelligence Agency waged its unrelenting disinformation campaign against Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Every lawyer and lobbyist representing a foreign government must report to the Department of Justice the funds he receives from that government. They are a matter of public record. However, only the fees paid to Haiti's lawyers have surfaced in the press.

It is no secret that there are people living in this community, both Haitian and non-Haitian, who would like to see Haiti return to dictatorship or military rule. It is not surprising that they would like to see Haiti's democratically elected officials and its lawyers and political supporters cast as people with no integrity who are ripping off the people of Haiti.

Ira J. Kurzban
Miami

Erratum
In the theater column of April 4, the year of ACME Acting Company's production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea was incorrect. The correct date is 1987.