7869: Opposition Convergence gives position paper to OAS-Caricom mission (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

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

 1.   Haiti: Opposition Convergence gives position paper to OAS-Caricom
mission

BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; May 12, 2001

Text of report by Haitian Metropole radio on 11 May; passages within double
oblique strokes in Creole

The OAS and Caricom [Caribbean Community] mission arrived in the country
yesterday. OAS Assistant Secretary-General Luigi Einaudi is leading the
mission. The mission has already met President Aristide, the Democratic
Convergence and the Civil Society Initiative Group [GISC]. Upon his arrival
at the airport yesterday, Einaudi said that the OAS does not intend to
impose a solution but rather the OAS is here to facilitate the resumption of
the discussions between the protagonists, and especially to prepare for the
forthcoming visit of OAS Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria to Haiti.

The mission yesterday met the Democratic Convergence, which submitted an
important document to the members of the OAS mission during the meeting that
took place at the OAS premises in Petion-Ville. That document explained
clearly the position of the Democratic Convergence regarding the possible
resumption of the negotiations with President Aristide to resolve the
crisis. The Convergence members revealed that the situation might be
aggravated for the Lavalas regime if nothing is done to seek a solution
before the [OAS] General Assembly is held in early June in Costa Rica. Micha
Gaillard, a member of the Convergence negotiating committee, explained the
following:

[Gaillard - recording] //We presented to them a document, an aide-memoire
which gives our different views on how to get the country out of the
impasse. We discussed the mechanism that should be set up to allow both
protagonists to meet together as soon as possible so that they can make
progress on the different issues.

We use the classic mechanism which exists in all negotiations. First, the
definition of the objective of the negotiations, the electoral crisis, the
governability issue and the economic issue, which is of great interest to
our Caricom partners, and the scope of the negotiations, that means the
place, procedures and what to negotiate. In this way, I think they gathered
enough information so that they will introduce it into all the information
they will obtain from the Lavalas Family and the GISC.//

[Unidentified journalist] //Exactly, but Einaudi met Aristide of the Lavalas
Family this morning, did he not?//

[Gaillard] //Yes, that is what he told us.//

[Journalist] //What came out of the meeting? Has there been any new
proposal? When can you hold a meeting together?//

[Gaillard] //No, there was nothing in terms of a new proposal. We are not in
the proposal phase.//

[Journalist] //I mean a proposal for a meeting.//

[Gaillard] //A proposal for a meeting? We are not in that phase at this
moment. The OAS mission has come to explore the situation now. It has a
specific mandate, which is exploration. It is within the framework of that
exploration that it will consult with all the parties. So, we defend our
position in the classical form that all of you of the press know very well,
and it is the scope and the object of the negotiations.//

[Journalist] //In that case, you will have to wait a bit longer before a
face-to-face meeting can take place, will you not?//

[Gaillard] //We think that things can be accelerated because there is the
OAS General Assembly which should take place on 2 and 3 June [in Costa Rica]
where the Haitian situation will be studied. It is possible that they will
isolate Haiti. Einaudi did not say it like that but the Haiti case is very
serious. Therefore, in our opinion - [changes thought] We do not understand
how they [pauses] they say they recognize - [changes thought] If they do not
support Aristide they might have to isolate him. That looks astonishing to
us. But this mission falls within the scope of exploration. We tell them
that it is very important that they should play a role of mediation together
with the GISC, Haitian facilitators whom both parties will recognize. They
have our different existing proposals and very soon they will return to play
the role of mediator.//

Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt 11 May 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.