a1908: Haiti president promises not to use repression to fight drug trafficking (BBC/Metropole) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com


Haiti: President promises not to use repression to fight drug trafficking
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; May 1, 2002

President Jean-Bertrand Aristide appears certain as far as the success of the mission of US experts in the fight against drugs is concerned. Aristide said that there will be no question of a repressive system and spoke of cooperation between Haiti and the United States to fight drug trafficking. President Aristide spoke as follows after his meeting with the US delegation today:

[Aristide - recording] We shall not use repression in any way. There was nothing of that nature and there will never be. //We are accustomed to fighting against drugs the legal way. So we shall continue fighting against drug trafficking by means of the legal apparatus. A democracy should not let drugs turn it into a narco-democracy. Institutions should therefore be reinforced. The information services should be increased.

We need to have national and international allies so that, within the framework of the law, we can carry out prevention while preventing the country from being held hostage by drugs.// So, it was never a question of a repressive apparatus and it will never be so.

Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1700 gmt 30 Apr 02

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