Most Haitians do not see their army as a force that protects them from aggression. They rather see it as a threat to their personal security. It has violently overthrown democratically elected governments and carried out arbitrary arrests, torture and murders.

Oscar Arias Sanchez, former President of Costa Rica, who won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in 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, it was 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 year's parliamentary elections in Haiti. If such a poll was conducted, he expected reporters to ask candidates about their view on this issue, and those who wanted to keep the military would be unlikely to win. Those politicians who promised to favor abolition of the military to get elected could then be held accountable by grassroots organizations to keep their promise after the elections.

Global Demilitarization was able to raise the necessary funds, and the poll was conducted in Haiti in March and early April 1995. Events moved even more rapidly than Arias had expected, and his strategy proved to be a great success. At a news conference in Port-au-Prince on April 28, 1995, Arias could announce that 62 percent of the Haitian people wished to abolish the army, and only 12 percent wished to keep it, with the rest undecided. When President Aristide heard these results, he stepped to the microphone and spontaneously announced that given the clear wish of the majority of his people, he herewith declared the army abolished!

The American media almost totally ignored this important event. But President Aristide, when asked in an interview after the election of his successor what he considered his greatest achievement during his term in office, he said abolishing the Haitian military.

Oscar Arias has had previous successes. After President Guillermo Endara was installed to office in Panama in December 1989 by U.S. troops who ousted strongman Manuel Noriega, no Latin American country was willing to recognize him, even though he had won a democratic election. Latin Americans, for good historical reasons, have a strong aversion against U.S. intervention in their internal affairs. Endara desperately sought recognition from some Latin American governments. Arias, then President of Costa Rica, saw an opportunity and promised that his country would become the first in Latin America to recognize Endara's government if he promised in return to work for the abolition of Panama's military. Since the military had just been defeated and disbanded, this required no special effort. Endara gladly agreed. The Arias Foundation then invited some Panamanian legislators to Costa Rica to show them that a country without military is possible and functions normally. Some initial contacts with Panamanian voluntary organizations helped them launch a campaign to abolish the military. In October 1994, a provision was enshrined in the Panamanian constitution that the country will have no military. Costa Rica had taken the same step in 1949 under the leadership of President Jos‚ ("Don Pepe") Figueres.

Arias understood the sensitivity of such an issue: pressure had to come from inside the country, not from abroad, otherwise it could backfire. That is why he also recognized the importance of an opinion poll in Haiti to make the public sentiment--so well hidden under the past repressive conditions--visible.

When Costa Rica abolished its military, it took precautions to guard against any future coups. The police is not under a single command, but divided between the ministries for rural and urban security. In this way, no police chief can exert monopoly control and seize state power by force.

A Central Comptroller's Office oversees all public expenditures to prevent corruption. An election tribunal has the task of preventing electoral fraud. Autonomous institutions, in which opposition parties are represented, are responsible for electricity, water, telecommunication and banking. Political power is widely dispersed, to make it difficult for any small group to seize illegitimate power.

Finally, Costa Rica relies on the collective security mechanisms of the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Other countries can benefit from its experience. While other Central American countries have long suffered from war and military coups and squandered much of their resources on the military, Costa Rica has enjoyed peace, stable democracy, and its per capita income is double that of its neighbors.

Arias has also suffered some setbacks. He tried hard to persuade President Violetta Chamorro to abolish the Nicaraguan army after her election victory in 1990, but she did not quite have the courage to do so. The Sandinistas had just lost an election and would not have dared to overthrow her government. At least, the army was reduced from 80,000 to 20,000 troops.

Overall, Oscar Arias' contribution to peace and demilitarization is impressive. One individual, with dedication, persistence and clear thinking, can make an amazing difference. In El Salvador, a reduction in the size of the army is part of the recent peace accord. In Guatemala, this question is under negotiation. Arias dreams of a totally demilitarized Central America, and ultimately a demilitarized world.

Johan Galtung, a Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Hawaii and the European Peace University, Austria, is a former teacher of Oscar Arias at the University of Essex, England. Dietrich Fischer, a Professor at Pace University, is a board member of Global Demilitarization. His latest book is Nonmilitary Aspects of Security: A Systems Approach.