7780: Haiti: Spokesman says opposition Convergence is ready to meet Aristide (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Max Blanchet <maxblanchet@worldnet.att.net>

Haiti: Spokesman says opposition Convergence is ready to meet Aristide
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; May 5, 2001

Text of report by Haitian Metropole radio on 3 May

The leaders of the Democratic Convergence have reaffirmed their willingness
to meet [President Jean-Bertrand] Aristide on neutral ground within the
framework of the search for a resolution to the crisis. Following the
meeting at the National Palace, the Democratic Convergence said it hopes
that President Aristide will go from words to deeds. Let us listen to one of
the Convergence leaders, Serge Gilles:

[Gilles - recording] For the Lavalas leader to agree to meet the Convergence
on neutral ground, I think that is very positive. That has always been our
claim, our demand for a long time. We always said that once Lavalas is ready
to start serious negotiations, we would also be ready. The Convergence is
always ready. We have formed our negotiating committee; we have chosen our
members; we have a complete consensus on the matter and we were only waiting
for the Lavalas Family. Now that the Lavalas leader is willing to meet on
neutral ground, a request that we have been making since the first meeting
with [OAS Deputy Secretary-General] Luigi Einaudi, we just cannot do
otherwise.

[Unidentified reporter] There is also the question of the mandate that the
Lavalas Family had to give to its representatives. How are you going to
settle that with civil society? Are you ready for that?

[Giles] Well, I think that it is a reasonable matter. If the FL
representatives are not able to bind the FL leader, then I believe we shall
not continue to let them force us to waste our time. People are tired of the
crisis. I believe that even the FL leader is aware of that. At the national
and international levels, this crisis has caused a lot of ills to the
country. I believe that we are not going to worry about the mandate issue
now. The representatives should be mandated. That is normal.

Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt 3 May 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

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