8239: Haiti: Radio commentary says Lavalas would control new electoral council (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

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

Haiti: Radio commentary says Lavalas would control new electoral council
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Jun 6, 2001

Text of report by Haitian Metropole radio on 6 June

The OAS is still in search of a solution to get out of the crisis of the 21
May 2000 elections. The OAS has published the report submitted by Cesar
Gaviria and Eugenia Charles on their mission to Haiti at the end of last
month. The organization seems to be confident about the commitments made by
President Aristide and the need to find a political agreement. Journalist
Jean Numa Goudou reports the following:

[Goudou - recording] It should be expected that the materialization of the
announcements made by President Aristide will pave the way for a negotiating
process with our mediation with the aim of resolving this crisis and
strengthening democratic institutions, respect for human rights and justice.
That was the conclusion of the last report of the OAS mission to Haiti,
which took place from 29 to 31 May. The announcements mentioned in the
report are also mentioned in Aristide's letter to the General Assembly in
Costa Rica.

In those proposals, which were reviewed and modified, Aristide spoke of the
resignation of seven contested senators and the formation of a new CEP
[Provisional Electoral Council] no later than 25 June with three members of
the executive of the Lavalas party, three members of the Lavalas legislature
and three others from political parties, including Lavalas, Convergence and
the Catholic and Protestant churches.

It should be noted that they do not speak of the designation of those three
members by the Convergence or the churches, which means that Lavalas still
has the right to name the nine CEP members. This new CEP will have to hold
elections, first of all, by the end of 2001 for the Senate seats that the
OAS protested about and then early elections should be held in November
2002, according to the speech which [Haitian Foreign Minister] Joseph
Philippe Antonio made to the OAS General Assembly in Washington [as heard;
presumably should be San Jose, Costa Rica].

In this way, the crisis would only be an old story between the Haitians and
the international community. Once those proposals are implemented as the
Gaviria report wishes, negotiations will not be necessary. How can one
insist on the need to reach a political agreement as soon as possible and at
the same time want the implementation of those measures proposed in
Aristide's letter? Is the OAS trying to put the cart before the horse as a
method of resolving the Haitian crisis?

Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt 6 Jun 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.