18213: Esser: New Haiti Protest Rules (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. E s s e r <torx@mail.joimail.com>

New Haiti protest rules
Police force reform, prisoner release among Aristide's 'commitments'
Posted: Monday Februay 2, 2004

By Mindell Small
Guardian Staff Reporter

Prime Minister Perry Christie said Sunday that harsh rules governing
demonstrations by opposition groups in Haiti were expected to be
replaced.

During a press briefing in the VIP lounge at Nassau International on
his return from a one-day Caribbean Community meeting in Kingston,
Jamaica Saturday that included Haitian president Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, Mr. Christie said the Haitian leader had "committed" to a
number of CARICOM recommendations.

These included: Release of detainees who had been ordered freed;
reform of the police force; disarming "strong-arm" groups;
internationally-monitored elections, and a pledge by Mr. Aristide
that neither he, nor his wife, would seek the Haitian presidency
after Mr. Aristide's term expired in two years' time.

Mr. Christie said that new procedures being formulated would be
designed to ensure orderly protests, and ensure the safety of
protesters without infringing on their rights to agitate peacefully.

Opposition groups in Haiti have complained of being discriminated
against when they sought permission to demonstrate and that police
did not provide adequate security.

Described as "successful" and "a decisive step forward", the meeting
also comprised several Caribbean Community leaders, including:
CARICOM chairman and Jamaican Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson;
Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, and St.
Lucia's Prime Minister, Kenny Anthony.

Peaceful resolution

Mr. Christie said that the key element in "the plan of prior actions"
is for the international community to try and engage all sides in a
dialogue that would lead to rules-based demonstrations.

He said President Aristide has committed himself to working with the
international community to establish the new rules.

During the weekend meeting, Mr. Christie said, the views of the
opposition in Haiti following consultations with them in Nassau and
Haiti, were relayed to Mr. Aristide.

"I am happy to report that in Kingston, President Aristide committed
himself to a detailed plan of prior actions, that if implemented
should set the stage for the peaceful resolution of the political
crisis in

Haiti," Mr. Christie said. "We cannot yet declare victory, but we can
cautiously embrace this next step as a necessary one to get to where
we need to go."

Due process for detainees

Mr. Christie said that President Aristide has also committed himself
to the release of detainees who are the subject of judicial release
orders, and to the timely processing of those who are arrested,
bringing them before the courts within 48 hours.

"Those who the opposition allege have been illegally or arbitrarily
detained should be subject immediately to due process and, where
ordered to be released, should be released," he said.

Two more years

President Aristide also publicly declared that when his term of
office expires on February 7, 2006, he would not seek re-election.

Nor would his wife, it was added facetiously, as she had no interest
in becoming President of Haiti.

Disarming

President Aristide also committed to disarming strong-arm groups by
March 15, Mr. Christie said, and will publish later this month the
results of inquiries into attacks on the opposition, including
attacks on students in the State University of Haiti in December and
assaults on radio transmission towers in January.

Mr. Aristide also pledged to try and make the police force a more
professional body by becoming a fair and politically neutral
institution, serving all the Haitian people, it was announced.

Additionally, President Aristide agreed to work in consultation with
the opposition to appoint a new government that has broad-based
support in the country and to conform fully to CARICOM's Charter of
Civil Society.

Elections, Mr. Christie said, were expected to be held "as soon as
possible", with Mr. Aristide noting that an earlier six months
timeframe was not a "promise" but a "hope".

Embassy role

According to Mr. Christie, "It is only through elections that the
questions of political power can be settled. There must be security

in place for elections. There must be a Provisional Electoral
Council. To assist the president in this regard, he has agreed to the
establishment of an advisory council that will act in the place of
the Parliament, the mandate for most of its members having expired."

Election monitors

Mr. Christie said that The Bahamian embassy in Port-au-Prince will
also have an increased presence in the short term.

Additionally, CARICOM and observers from the international community,
including the United States, the European Union, and the Organisation
of American States, have also pledged to support Haiti's efforts to
obtain economic assistance.

Too, the international community has pledged to remain engaged in
Haiti by fostering dialogue between the opposing groups in Haiti in
an attempt to move the electoral process forward.

'Nomination-shy'

The entire electoral process is expected to take some time, with
opposition groups not as yet having named their election candidates,
expressing fears they still do not completely trust the mechanism
proposed for establishing the electoral process.

However, CARICOM hoped to encourage them to participate and to have
faith that the measures implemented would be fair.

The Bahamas has pledged, along with its CARICOM allies, and within
the context of the Organisation of American States, to continue to
remain engaged in Haiti talks.

Mitchell to lead delegation

Following up on that pledge, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell
will be heading a delegation to Haiti on Tuesday to meet again with
opposition groups.

The team will include Assistant Secretary General of CARICOM, Colin
Granderson and a representative of the Trinidadian government.

Among other matters, Minister Mitchell will discuss the results of
the Kingston meeting with the opposition leaders.

CARICOM has tentatively planned another meeting with Haiti's
opposition this month.

Jamaican Prime Minister Patterson said, "We have an expression here
in Jamaica: One hand can't clap," intimating that a solution to the
political crisis could not be expected to be achieved as a result of
one or two meetings with a particular group.

However, the meeting in Jamaica was a decisive step forward in
building confidence with Haiti, he said.

© 2004 The Nassau Guardian
http://www.thenassauguardian.com/national_local/353024851650361.php