12705: Convergence Should Sign OAS Initial Accord (Haiti Democracy Project Website) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com

>From the Haiti Policy Democracy Project website:

Convergence Should Sign OAS Initial Accord
Government of Haiti, 2002-08-13
The president has called on Democratic Convergence to sign the initial
agreement elaborated by OAS Assistant Secretary-General Luigi Einaudi. The
plan foresees the recognition of the presidential elections of 26 November
and the holding of new legislative and local elections. The head of President
Aristide's office thinks that this plan is the best way to resolve the
crisis. Jean-Claude Desgranges says:
We believe that power is here to bring political stability, because, without
political stability, it will be very difficult for us to move on. We took all
the necessary steps to make it exist and we believe that it exists, for the
most part. For instance, concerning the negotiations, the Lavalas Family made
all the concessions possible in order to solve the problem of the
negotiations. The current leader has already signed the initial agreement and
has sent it back to the OAS. Meetings are taking place at the OAS on the
initial agreement in order that there may be some results on the Haiti issue.
I believe that we are heading in the right direction and that we shall have a
solution to that question very soon. There is no doubt that we shall need to
find this solution along with everybody else, with all sectors. I take this
opportunity to issue a call to Convergence to ask them to cooperate, because
the real struggle is not a struggle where we have to fight each other. The
real struggle is to fight illiteracy, poverty and corruption, and it is a
fight to reinforce our democratic institutions.
It is within the framework of the reinforcement of democratic institutions
that we are inviting Convergence to sign the initial agreement, just as we
have done, just as we have accepted it, so we can hold elections within a few
months.
Our deputies and senators have made sacrifices and shortened their mandate of
two years. Elections are the right way. We have to respect the rules of the
game. If the rules of the democratic game are respected then we shall not
have any problem. I think it is important for me to say this: We must go
beyond this atmosphere of fighting and enter an atmosphere of debate. It is
because of dialogue that I am here today. It is through dialogue that we can
reach a valuable solution.