a887: BBC: Haiti: Government counting on US Black Caucus delegation for release of funds (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>

Haiti: Government counting on US Black Caucus delegation for release of
funds
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 21, 2002


The Lavalas government is presenting the two US congressmen, Carrie Meek
[Democrat; Miami, Florida] and John Conyers [Democrat; Detroit, Michigan],
as two friends of the Haitian people. The communication minister recalls the
[Congressional] Black Caucus [of which Meek and Conyers are members] taking
a stand on the disbursement of funds for Haiti from the international
community. Guy Paul makes clear that the government is counting on the visit
of these congressmen within the framework of Washington's policy towards
Haiti. Paul said the following:
[Paul - recording] Those people have always been interested in Haiti's
problems. They are great friends of Haiti. They are coming to see how the
situation is developing and how they can contribute to the development of
the situation.
[Journalist Rotchild Francois Jr] What are the Haitian government's
expectations regarding the visit of these Democratic congressmen of the
Black Caucus?
[Paul] Well, the Haitian government thinks that it is a good thing that they
have shown the wish to come to Haiti. So, we are waiting to see what they
have in their programme and how long they are going to stay. We also hope
that, when they leave, they will have a better idea of the situation in
Haiti.
[Francois] We know that the members of the Black Caucus want the
international community's funds for the current government to be unblocked.
[Paul] Yes, that is obvious. They said so last time and I believe that it is
the same thing now. They are now here to see a little how things are [word
indistinct] and how to get to the unblocking of the funds.
[Francois] So, are you going to encourage and support their position about
unblocking the funds?
[Paul] Of course. Certainly. It was a real support for us. After the Black
Caucus, it was Caricom's [Caribbean Community] turn to show interest in this
respect. So, I think that their visit is very positive and we shall give
them a friendly welcome.
Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt 20 Feb 02
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.