13534: Karshan: President Aristide on Refugees, Embargo, and Elections (Press Release) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com

Press Release
Michelle Karshan, Foreign Press Liaison
Date:  November 6, 2002

Haiti's President Aristide Talks About
Refugees, the Embargo Against Haiti,
& the Reinforcement of Democracy through Elections

November 6, 2002 - During this week's press conference at Haiti's National
Palace, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide talked about numerous inter-related
issues, all critical to the well being of his nation.  Referring to the
recent boat of refugees that arrived in Florida a week ago, the President
said, "The plight of the Haitian refugees concerns us all," explaining that,
"Our people have hunger in their stomachs," and directly attributed Haiti's
misery to a two-year embargo against Haiti.

To stem the flow of refugees to the U.S., President Aristide urged the
lifting of the financial sanctions on Haiti and once again appealed to all
sectors in Haiti to participate in the electoral process, which he believes
essential to the reinforcement of democracy and Haiti's economy.  Although no
funds have been released to date, in September, an Organization of American
States (OAS) Resolution 822, signed onto by all 34 member states, including
the U.S., called for the resumption of aid and loans to the government of
Haiti.

The OAS Resolution 822, which contains many of President Aristide's
initiatives creates  a partnership between Haiti and the OAS, with the OAS to
provide technical assistance in numerous areas.  "Signing onto the OAS
Resolution 822 was necessary and indispensable to resolve the political
crisis," explained President Aristide, and this past week the OAS did take a
first step in their commitment by holding a two day seminar on disarmament.

In furtherance of OAS Resolution 822, Haiti's Prime Minister wrote the OAS on
October 29th, requesting technical assistance in the areas of police,
justice, human rights, governance, disarmament, and elections, including
security for the elections. The OAS immediately responded positively and the
government of Haiti looks forward to  technical assistance provided through
the OAS, whose mission is entitled, "Reinforcement of Democracy in Haiti."

A crucial component to the reinforcement of democracy and the functioning of
the nation is the formation a new electoral council to oversee upcoming
parliamentary and local elections scheduled for early 2003.  The Government
of Haiti has been working for over a year to form a new electoral council
composed of nine representative sectors.  President Aristide asked that all
sectors work "to unblock the country, politically and economically" and has
been successful in encouraging many sectors - religious, private sector,
human rights groups and some opposition parties -- to submit the names of
their representatives to serve on the electoral council.

However, this week President Aristide afforded an extension for several
reasons, namely that some groups requested a fifteen day extension and other
sectors, such as the Protestant sector has yet to agree on a name to submit.
President Aristide explained that this extension is to assure that all nine
sectors may fully participate, stating that, "It's not too late.  All sectors
should continue to talk to one another to encourage their participation.  We
will continue to dialogue.  We will not lose our patience with dialogue or
lose our way on the road [to elections]."

An important point to illuminate is that the majority of sectors have agreed
to participate in the electoral council, including some of the opposition
political parties such as ALLAH, which is one of the parties that broke away
from the Convergence, an opposition coalition.

The Convergence has refused to participate in the electoral council thus far,
continuing to make their participation contingent on meeting conditions that
cannot be met overnight, but are instead ongoing processes, such as
disarmament and security.  Some other groups are now refusing to participate
in the formation of the electoral council stating that the security situation
is not conducive to elections.

However, Guy Delva, the Secretary General of the Association of Haitian
Journalists (AJH), has criticized these demands for an entirely new security
plan before they designate their representative to the electoral council as
being "an attitude that is counter-productive and not very cooperative,"
suggesting instead that they designate their representative and then exert
pressure for the adoption of additional security measures.

While praising those sectors who agreed to be part of the electoral council
and those who have already submitted names, President Aristide respectfully
stated that, "We respect the right of the Convergence to believe that
conditions are not conducive, as we respect their right not to participate in
the electoral council as well."  However, he underscored his commitment to
forming a fully representive electoral council when he said, "Do we want the
electoral council to be formed without their participation? No," adding his
hopes that through continued dialogue all sectors will agree to submit names
for the formation of the council.

The Government of Haiti believes the environment is conducive to the
formation of an electoral council and with the technical assistance of the
OAS, believes that free and fair elections can be held.  Meanwhile, the
government of Haiti is continuing its efforts in disarmament, reinforcing
security, advancing critical cases to justice, and this week finished its
final report on the attempted coup d'etat attack that took place at its
National Palace on December 17th, 2001. It also reports on the attack on its
Police Academy and several police stations on July 28, 2001, as well as
reporting on the progress of the Jean Dominique and Brignol Lindor killings.

In March 2001, shortly after his inauguration, President Aristide called for
an inclusive government as well as a broad based electoral council.  In July
2001, while the OAS was assisting in the negotiation process regarding the
formation of an electoral council, President Aristide, responding to the
demands of the Convergence to lay down the previous electoral council,
secured the resignation of its nine members.  All sectors finally agreed to
participate and submitted the names of their designated representatives to an
electoral council, but at the last minute the Convergence refused to
participate, walking away from the whole process.  Instead of finalizing the
formation of the electoral council at that time without the inclusion of a
Convergence representative, President Aristide extended the time at the
urging of the OAS.

Looking forward to Haiti's bicentennial, marking its independence which made
it the first Black Republic in the world, President Aristide said, "Those who
love Haiti have an interest in forming the electoral council so we can go
through the election process and have time together to prepare for 2004.
This is a big reason to encourage people to participate now in the formation
of the electoral council."

"The formation of the electoral council must ultimately go forward. It is the
obligation of the Haitian government to advance the electoral process to
prevent a lapse in government structure, which would be unconstitutional."
said Melinda Miles, a policy analyst with the Washington based Haiti Reborn
program.  President Aristide did point out that democratic processes must
move forward for the sake of the 8 million Haitians living in Haiti, as well
as for the 10 million living abroad.

- 30 -

=====================================
Note: If you do not wish to receive these mailings, please advise me by email
at mkarshan@aol.com