ending the war in Nicaragua, estimated from informal conversations with many ordinary Haitians earlier last year that about 80 percent of them wished the military were abolished. He suggested to Haiti’s President Jean- Bertrand Aristide to take a bold step before leaving office and to make Haiti join the growing list of countries without a military. There are about 30 such countries today, most of them small islands or land-locked countries.

The agreement brokered in October 1994 by President Jimmy Carter between Aristide and army chief General Raoul Cedras, which led to the restoration of democracy without major bloodshed, had already included a provision to reduce the Haitian army from about 7,500 to 1,500 troops. But while this was hardly enough to defend the country against an invasion, itwas still plenty to overthrow an elected government. Haiti is better off without army.

At a meeting in February 1995 with Global Demilitarization, a citizens group founded by Sue and Marvin Clark from Troy, New York, Arias explained his informal findings about the Haitian public’s desire to abolish the military, but remarked sadly that if he said so, the world press paid no attention. However, if an internationally recognized polling firm conducted a professional opinion poll in Haiti and could confirm his impressions, he hoped the world would pay more attention. He said that his Foundation for Peace and Reconciliation in San Jos‚, Costa Rica, sought the relatively modest sum of $20,000 to conduct an opinion poll in Haiti on the question of abolishing the military.

That was before last