16405: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Fall elections in Haiti 'unacceptable,' U.S. says.S. (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Fri, Aug. 15, 2003

Fall elections in Haiti 'unacceptable,' U.S. says
BY MARIKA LYNCH
mlynch@herald.com

If Haiti carries out its intention to hold elections this fall, the vote
wouldn't get the recognition of the United States, according to a U.S.
statement issued Thursday.

Holding elections that don't comply with an OAS-brokered agreement is
''unacceptable,'' a statement put out by the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince
said. It was signed by the embassy's current director, Luis Moreno, who is
standing in before a new ambassador takes the helm.

The Organization of American States did not make a formal statement.

On Wednesday, the head of Haiti's electoral council, Alix Lamarque,
announced the country was preparing for a first round of legislative
elections in November -- ignoring concerns by the country's opposition and
international diplomats.

The elections are meant to end Haiti's three-year-old political crisis and
also fill a political vacuum. With two-thirds of legislators' terms expiring
in January, the Haitian Parliament couldn't legally function without a vote.

But the opposition has refused to participate in elections, and under an
agreement brokered by the OAS last summer, the Haitian government must make
the country safe for campaigning and voting before elections can be called.

Critics say that hasn't been done. Among other examples, they point to an
incident last month, where a civic group that opposes President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was attacked by government supporters as they entered
one of the capital's poorest neighborhoods.

Haitian government spokesman Mario Dupuy said that instead of criticizing
the plan, the United States should put pressure on opposition parties to
participate in elections.

''Haiti is the only country in the world where the people in power are the
ones calling for elections,'' Dupuy said.

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