16082: (Hermantin) Miami-Herald-Caribbean leaders vow more involvement in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sun, Jul. 06, 2003

Caribbean leaders vow more involvement in Haiti
By MARIKA LYNCH
mlynch@herald.com

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica - Caribbean leaders Saturday vowed to get more involved
in Haiti's three-year-old political crisis, and sharply criticized the
United States for threatening to cut off military aid to nations that won't
exempt U.S. soldiers from being tried at the International Criminal Court.

The announcements came at the end of a four-day summit here, where heads of
state met and celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Caribbean Community,
known as CARICOM.

The leaders also took steps to create a European Union-like economic bloc
that will erase trade restrictions, create a regional stock market and allow
the free flow of capital between island nations.

A separate commission will oversee the market, the leaders announced,
meaning the nations will give up some power to an independent body that will
make decisions. The market will be established by 2005, when the Caribbean
is scheduled to join the Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA.

Some Caribbean leaders have said the region should hold off, or delay
joining the FTAA because the deadline is so close. But local negotiators are
still pushing to be on schedule.

`BEST EFFORT'

''We're going to make our best effort,'' said Richard Bernal, CARICOM's
chief negotiator. ``It's extremely ambitious, and particularly difficult for
small developing economies.''

He and others said Saturday that they are trying to make sure the Caribbean
gets special access to foreign markets.

''St. Kitts has 40,000 people. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western
Hemisphere. We're going to be competing with countries the size of Brazil,
Canada and the United States. The consideration has to be different for
small economies,'' Bernal said.

On Haiti, the leaders decided to practice shuttle diplomacy, and send a
representative to the island nation for at least six months with the goal of
brokering a deal for new elections, according to Fred Mitchell, the Bahamian
foreign minister.

The Organization of American States has tried to do just that with the
Haitian government and the opposition for the last three years, but ''hasn't
been successful,'' Secretary General César Gaviria said in an interview.

The Haitian government and its opposition have been at loggerheads since the
elections of May 2000. Diplomats hope that having a member of CARICOM
navigating Haiti's stormy political waters will bear results, Mitchell said,
adding:. ``There may be more trust on both sides.''

Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide had left by the time the proposal
was finalized, but earlier last week, he said he was confident elections
could be held this year.

Opposition leaders have refused to participate, saying that armed thugs made
the country unsafe for campaigning, which Aristide says is false.

CRITICAL OF U.S

Caribbean leaders said the threat to cut off aid -- used primarily for
training -- from the six regional nations over a dispute on the
International Criminal Court could hurt the area's efforts to fight drugs
and terrorists.

In a statement, the CARICOM leaders also said that some members might
individually negotiate treaties with the United States on the matter. The
United States has said it fears its troops would be subject to politicized
trials at the court based in the Netherlands. But some aren't changing their
stance.

''For us it's a matter of principle, really,'' said Patrick Manning, the
prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

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