13513: (Chamberlain posts news item) U.S. official disappointed with Haitian leader (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - The United States is discouraged,
dissatisfied and disappointed at the performance of the government of
Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a U.S. ambassador said in a
speech released on Thursday.
     Washington does not have confidence in the Haitian police and does not
believe the government has done enough to fulfill its commitments to the
Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Roger Noriega told a
Washington think tank.
     "A candid, open discussion requires me to say that we have very
serious concerns about the leadership of Jean-Bertrand Aristide," said
Noriega, who is ambassador to the OAS.
     "Let us start by looking at Haitian government efforts to comply with
OAS Resolutions 806 and 822. The record of Haitian government compliance
with these resolutions thus far is frankly discouraging," he added.
     The resolutions asked the Haitian authorities to investigate acts of
violence in December 2001, prosecute those responsible, pay compensation to
the victims and ensure a climate of security for elections scheduled for
2003.
     "Unfortunately, the Haitian government has not met its commitments,"
said Noriega, speaking to the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington.
     International financial institutions have withheld nearly $500 million
in loans to the Haitian government because of a dispute over the way the
results of the 2000 elections were calculated. The United States dominates
the institutions.
     Noriega defended attaching conditions to the loans, saying it was done
by consensus. "The use of conditionality relating to basic governance is
common in donor finance," he said.
     He noted that the United States has continued to give humanitarian aid
to Haitians through non-governmental groups, to the amount of $120 million
in the past two years.
     A Haitian government official said on Wednesday that the aid freeze
was causing the poverty which drove more than 200 Haitian migrants to
travel to the United States in an overcrowded freighter this week.
     The U.S. ambassador was especially critical of the Haitian
government's record against the drugs traffickers who move cocaine through
the Caribbean from South America.
     "The United States is deeply dissatisfied with counter-narcotics
cooperation in Haiti, and very concerned about police involvement in
trafficking," he said.
     In a recent joint U.S.-Haitian anti-drug operation in the north of the
country, information on the targets was leaked from the police and only one
person was arrested.