a1263: According to sources close to the Lavalas regime, the following members of the former government should remain in their posts: (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

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

Haiti: Highlights of Radio Metropole news 1145 gmt 14 Mar 02
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Mar 15, 2002


2. Prime Minister Yvon Neptune should present the general policy of his
government to the parliament today. Neptune seems confident as far as the
ratification is concerned. (4 min)
3. According to sources close to the Lavalas regime, the following members
of the former government should remain in their posts: Foreign Affairs
Minister Joseph Philippe Antonio, Finance Minister Gustave Faubert,
Communication and Culture Minister Guy Paul, Health Minister Henry Claude
Voltaire, Agriculture Minister Sebastien Hilaire, Tourism Minister Martine
Deverson, Women's Affairs Minister Ginette Riviere Lubin, Minister for
Haitians Living Abroad Lesly Voltaire, and Environment Minister Wesner
Pierre. Nothing has been said yet about the justice minister, the commerce
minister, and the cooperation minister. However, we have leaned that the
education minister will not be part of the new governmental team. It should
be pointed out that Interior Minister Henri-Claude Menard will not be part
of the new government, either. (1 min)
4. The ratified prime minister should present his government programme
today. Yvon Neptune met President Jean-Bertrand Aristide yesterday to
discuss the profile of his ministerial team and the programme that he will
implement to get the country out of the impasse. The Lavalas Family (FL) is
counting on its interim leader. Deputy Rudy Heriveaux, president of the
Chamber of Deputies, describes Neptune as the symbol of the Lavalas ideal.
Heriveaux says: "Neptune symbolizes the Lavalas ideal, which is spirit,
fight, and a permanent willingness to bring viable and durable solutions to
the multiple problems that are ruining us and destroying the country." He
continues: "Everybody who cares about the country should be able to support
the new government and the new prime minister." (3 min)
5. The Democratic Convergence said that it is convinced that the future
inauguration of the Neptune government represents a very bad sign by the FL,
as far as the resolution of the current impasse is concerned. The opposition
leaders reaffirm that the new prime minister is not the right man for this
situation. They recall that Neptune has taken positions against civil
society, the business sector, and the opposition. Paul Denis said: "For
technical reasons, the OAS needs an interlocutor. So, for the sake of
principle, the OAS wants a government to exist, even if it is a de facto
government. But the thing is that Neptune is not the right man for the
current situation." (2 min)
6. Some militants of the National Coalition for Haitian Rights [NCHR]
throughout the country are receiving death threats. The NCHR emphasizes that
two of its observers have had to go into hiding because of the work they are
doing in the field. One of them, Patrick Merisier, was shot by unknown men
in Port-au-Prince on 22 February. Another militant, Berthony Philippe, who
hosts a radio programme on which human rights violations are denounced, was
forced to go into hiding. The NCHR condemns the situation and reiterates its
stand against the zero-tolerance policy and the acts committed by the
scoundrels and the Lavalas people's organizations. The international
organizations lend their support to the NCHR militants and invite the
current authorities to assume their responsibility. (1 min)
8. The Haitian Platform for an Alternative Development
9. Two cooperatives in Saint-Marc have ceased their financial activities.
This has caused a great deal of concern among the population. The people in
charge of the cooperatives cannot be found, and there is nothing that the
people can do to retrieve their money. (2 min)
10. The cooperation minister said that he is very concerned about the
situation involving the cooperatives. Marc L Bazin recalls the risks related
to the way that the cooperatives are operating in Haiti. (3 min)
11. Jean Wilkens Melronne reports on the difficulties that drivers have to
go through to obtain driving licenses. (3 min)
12. The Culture Development and Promotion Institute (INDEPCO) calls for the
return of the textile industry in Haiti. The director of the INDEPCO, Hans
Garoute, describes the Haitian textile industry as a sector that is on the
road to degradation. The textile industry should adopt new technology and
get rid of its old equipment, he said. (2 min)
Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt 14 Mar 02
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.