18415: (Chamberlain) U.S. says major government changes needed in Haiti (later story) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Saul Hudson

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday
resolving the crisis in Haiti would require big changes in the way the
state is governed, and a senior official said this may mean President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide stepping down.
     "We recognize that reaching a political settlement will require some
fairly thorough changes in the way Haiti is governed," State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters at a regular news briefing.
     The United States, which a decade ago invaded Haiti to restore
Aristide to power after a coup, says a current surge in violence stems from
the president's practice of using gangs of thugs to intimidate political
opponents.
     "The actual, sort of, formulas and mechanisms for (a solution) would
have to be worked out, we hope, through peaceful negotiation using the
efforts of CARICOM (the Caribbean Community regional bloc)," Boucher said.
     A senior State Department official said proposals for a resolution
were under discussion which could involve Aristide's departure from office,
although he did not specify who was making the proposals.
     "It's clear from the kind of proposals that have been made and the
discussions that are being held that when we talk about undergoing change
in the way Haiti is governed, I think that could indeed involve changes in
Aristide's position," he said.
     Asked if he were saying that Washington wanted Aristide to step down,
he said, "No, I'm not quite doing that yet."
     Caribbean leaders, who have mediated between the opposition and
Aristide, won acceptance earlier this month from the former Roman Catholic
priest that he would set up a broad-based advisory council to the
government, appoint a new prime minister and disarm gangs aligned with
political parties.
     But with little concrete follow-up from Aristide and a surge in
violence in the last week, Washington appeared to be increasing the
pressure on the leader
     Secretary of State Colin Powell met the new Haitian ambassador to
Washington on Tuesday and pressed him to accept CARICOM's proposals,
Boucher said.
     While they stressed they were seeking a diplomatic solution, top U.S.
officials did not rule out military intervention if the violence were to
escalate.
     Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the United States had "no
intention at the present time" of implementing any contingency plans it may
have for military intervention.
     A State Department official said, "We want to exhaust every diplomatic
effort possible, before moving to a higher level."
     After speaking with Powell about diplomatic strategies for Haiti,
Canada's Foreign Minister Bill Graham, said: "To intervene militarily is
another thing, which would require certain conditions in Haiti which are
not there at present. ... We already had an experience in Haiti which did
not succeed, so this time if we do anything concrete in Haiti it would have
to be in the right conditions."
     One State Department official said Aristide, who was elected to a
second term in 2000, was unlikely to step down and that diplomats were
focusing on restoring and then maintaining stability until his term ends in
2006. "He has only two years. It's not a very long time," she said.

  (Additional reporting by Randall palmer in Ottawa)