a1452: BBC: Haitian opposition rejects president's comments on 22 March rally (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

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

Haitian opposition rejects president's comments on 22 March rally
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Mar 25, 2002


 [Announcer] The [opposition alliance] Democratic Convergence condemns the
president's [Jean-Bertrand Aristide] statement regarding their gathering
that took place on Friday 22 March in Pont-Morin. Opposition leaders made it
clear to the head of state that Haiti is far from being a stable country
politically. The Convergence leaders said that they were shocked when the
head of state declared that only 200 people attended the meeting.
[Democratic Convergence spokesman] Paul Denis speaks as follows:
[Denis] The fact that the demonstration was able to take place without the
government's scoundrels spoiling it does not mean that we have entered a
period of stability. On the contrary, one should ask why do political
leaders and organizations that want to meet to share ideas with the majority
of the population have to work under the tight vigilance of all the security
bodies in the metropolitan area.
That can only mean that things are not going well. That can only mean that
we are not yet in a period of stability, and that we should work hard to get
there. And the fact that the de facto president, just as he arrived in the
country, once he got off the aeroplane, judged it necessary to give a false
number of the people who participated in that gathering shows once again
that Aristide is someone who does not respect public opinion or the
citizenry. That Convergence gathering was a public thing. According to the
press, there was strong participation on the part of the people. It would
have been better for Aristide to tell the truth instead of trying to deceive
the public once again. That is not fair. It is indecency...
Yes, everybody should respect the rules of the game. And that is what we
have been asking the [governing] Lavalas people to do for a long time. We
want them to respect the rules of the democratic game. So, statements are
made, but we want actions. Normally, Aristide uses verbal slogans but in
reality we realize that the Lavalas regime refuses to accept an opposition
that has a chance to be able to participate in an honest and credible
contest.
Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt 25 Mar 02
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.