a1557: BBC: Haiti: Convergence's De Ronceray rejects Minister Bazin as Lavalas negotiator (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

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

Haiti: Convergence's De Ronceray rejects Minister Bazin as Lavalas
negotiator
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 2, 2002


The opposition is continuing to lose confidence in citizen Marc Bazin
[minister without portfolio in charge of leading the negotiations with the
opposition Democratic Convergence], who is in charge of leading the
negotiations. According to what is being said, the Aristide-Neptune
government's minister without portfolio does not seem to have the necessary
qualifications to lead the negotiations. In addition, many of the mediators
[as heard] do not (?like this idea). Democratic Convergence officials say
there are nuances in the details of the previous negotiations that Bazin
does not perceive.
Hubert de Ronceray, the leader of the Mobilization for National Development
[MDN], says Bazin does not currently interest them, because they want to
negotiate directly with the Lavalas leader who can make decisions on behalf
of Lavalas. They mean [President] Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Convergence
official points out that Bazin is only an employee of the current
government.
By the way, his appointment as minister is not even welcomed. In addition,
it is a manoeuvre aimed at playing for time, according to explanations given
by Professor de Ronceray to the microphone of Patrick Chery:
[De Ronceray - recording] [Words indistinct] Lavalas. If he had told us that
he was no longer president of the Movement for the Establishment of
Democracy in Haiti [MIDH] and that he was now president or secretary of
Lavalas we would understand better. But, up to now, he has never told us
that he was a Lavalas secretary. [words indistinct]
[Chery] Have you not found, either, any sign from the highest Lavalas
authorities? For example, the new prime minister, Yvon Neptune, who says he
has a government of opening up. Have you not received signs showing that the
negotiations should restart soon?
[De Ronceray] Listen, Neptune is the one who used to lead the negotiations
on behalf of his boss. But today it is said that he is a de facto prime
minister. This is what is said. So, if he decides today to endow Bazin with
his powers, Bazin should then identify himself perhaps as interim
secretary-general of the Lavalas government. Then we would acknowledge that
he has some (?legitimacy).
But as long as he is the president or secretary-general of the MIDH we shall
never know whether he has a true responsibility within the Lavalas party. As
for us, we want to negotiate with the Lavalas party. We want to negotiate
with the party of the Lavalas government. Everything really goes through
Aristide. Bazin does not interest us. Even though Neptune used to come, we
always insisted that Aristide should turn up in person, because the men are
making fun of people. They get Neptune to say something and he does the
contrary of what (?he said) because his boss keeps telling him to double
cross. That is how the Lavalas people operate.
Source: Signal FM Radio, Port-au-Prince, in Creole 1230 gmt 2 Apr 02
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.