12118: Haitian President Pledges End to Political Impasse, Calls on Opposition... (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com


Haitian President Pledges End to Political Impasse, Calls on Opposition to Work Together With Government for The Good of the Nation

  President Aristide Stresses Importance of Democracy,
                    Human Rights in Annual Flag Day Speech

    PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- In commemoration of Haiti's annual Flag Day, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide addressed the Haitian people May 18, and demonstrated his readiness to end the current political crisis in Haiti: "We are prepared to hold elections for all of the parliamentarians elected two years ago today, on May 21, 2000 and for all of the local seats, sometime between November 2002 and the first half of 2003."
    Speaking from Archaie, the town where the first Haitian flag was created, President Aristide emphasized the need for unity among the Haitian people to bring an end to the political impasse.  "With the nation united, we will have
the necessary force to fight against corruption, drugs, impunity and poverty ... the opposition and the government have to unite in the interest of our nation, which is in danger."
    The government of Haiti and its opposition, Convergence, have been entwined in a political impasse since the May 21, 2000 elections.  Because of the crisis, the United States has led an economic embargo against Haiti and is currently withholding more than $500 million in humanitarian development
assistance loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).  The Organization of American States (OAS) has been monitoring the political situation and, having recently completed a mission to Haiti, expressed confidence that an agreement can be reached quickly.
    The OAS and the Haitian government have set June 10 as the date to restart negotiations between the government and the opposition.  On this second anniversary of the May 2000 elections, the Haitian government continues to cooperate with the OAS and is prepared to resume negotiations with the
opposition.  The government is hopeful that an end to the crisis will bring an influx of international humanitarian and development assistance to Haiti.
    "Today under our flag, we will do all that is possible to end this crisis as quickly as possible.  We need to end the crisis to better our schools and to have money for education and investment," President Aristide said.  "We will not hesitate to make all sacrifices necessary for this crisis to end."
    Condemning corruption both inside and outside the  overnment, in the provinces and in the capital, President Aristide said, "We will lift our voices against corruption and its anti-democratic practices."
    Talking of the value of reinforcing security and justice, the President announced measures to go into effect on Monday, May 20th which increase the number of judges and prosecutors, station judges at the prisons to review cases to assure that the judicial process go forward, and to determine whether
there are prisoners who should be released, which increases the justice system's ability to hold trials without juries, calls for the creation of an Anti-Drug Commission, calls for the reduction of prisoners in the prisons and police station holding cells, and calls for the opening of a court in the
Eastern section of Port-au-Prince, as well as the adoption of additional clauses to reinforce the Constitution with respect to protection of personal property.
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