15226: Schweissing: Bahamas FM to visit Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Daniel Schweissing <dan_schweissing@hotmail.com>

Mitchell, OAS on 'peace' trip to quell Haiti unrest
By TAMARA McKENZIE

Guardian Staff Reporter


In an effort to end the "climate of violence and insecurity" in Haiti and
foster an environment where elections can be held, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Fred Mitchell, will travel to the impoverished island on Wednesday
along with a high level delegation from the Organization of American States
(OAS).

In addition to Minister Mitchell, the high level delegation will include the
Minister of Foreign Affairs from St. Lucia, Julian Hunte, the special
presidential envoy from the United States, Otto Reich, and the Minister of
State for Foreign Affairs from Canada. The Undersecretary at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs responsible for international relations, Marco Rolle, will
accompany Minister Mitchell on the trip.

A preliminary meeting with the OAS delegation is expected to be held in
Miami, Florida today, in addition to a meeting with officials who operate
the Miami International Airport to discuss matters of mutual concern. The
grouping will make their official visit to Haiti on Wednesday and are
expected to return on Thursday.

The Bahamas joined the OAS in 1982. Cuba, which joined in 1952, was excluded
from the group's activities in 1962, but not from membership. Haiti is also
an OAS member.

The OAS special mission was previously scheduled for February 16-19, but was
postponed because the Americans were unable to depart from Washington, where
the OAS is headquartered, due to inclement weather.

The delegation, over a three-day period, will communicate the international
community's firm conviction that all sides in Haiti should honour their
obligations pursuant to Resolution 822. The Resolution calls for measures to
restore security and lay the groundwork for elections to be held in 2003.

The delegation will also urge the government of Haiti to take immediate
measures to improve the security situation and encourage all political
sectors in Haiti to participate actively in the formation of a provisional
electoral council as a necessary step for the resolution of problems
stemming from its May 2000 elections.

"The delegation will meet with President Aristide and other government
officials, leaders of Opposition parties and civil society, as well as with
the diplomatic representatives of the international community in Haiti. The
high-level delegation will reinforce the efforts of the OAS Special Mission
to Strengthen Democracy in Haiti, which has been working since April 2002 to
address issues related to justice, security, human rights and governance in
Haiti," said the Foreign Affairs Minister.

Mr Mitchell said that Haiti is presently going through "difficult times" and
seems to be caught in a "chicken or egg" situation. The government of Haiti
is being asked to improve their security situation so that elections can be
held, but it needs resources to do so, he said.

"At the moment, the international funding which is required for Haiti to
carry out its responsibilities in that direction, appear to us to be not
forthcoming. The President of Haiti, when he had talks in Trinidad, pointed
out to us that New York City has a population of eight million and there are
39,000 police officers policing that city. He said that Haiti is a country
of about eight million people, and has a police force of 5,000. Therefore
they (Haiti) simply don't have the manpower nor the resources to be able to
effectively police the country, yet it is the responsibility of the
government to provide security for those elections to take place," he said.

According to Minister Mitchell, Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide is
arguing that if funding were available with the support of the international
community, the government would be able to carry out its responsibilities.
He also noted that on the other hand, the Opposition parties in Haiti have
used the existing security situation as an excuse not to participate in the
electoral process, until all security problems are solved.

"There is now a question of what comes first. The appeal to the
international community thus far, has not brought forth any funding or
manpower, and yet Haiti is being asked to improve security. The Opposition
is saying they are not going to participate in the Electoral Council unless
its security conditions improve. Some people argue that it is only the
elections that will actually bring about an improvement in the security
position, so it's very difficult and one is certain that we would have to
have very frank conversations with both the government's side and the
opposition's side in Haiti," Mr Mitchell said.

Posted Tuesday March 18, 2003


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