19102: (Chamberlain) France says may join civilian peace force to Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

    PARIS/BUDAPEST, Feb 24 (Reuters) - France said on Tuesday it did not
rule out participating in a regional "civilian peace force" for Haiti,
where rebels fighting President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said they would
march on the capital within days.
     French President Jacques Chirac said a durable and peaceful solution
should be found in the former French colony, where about 60 people have
died in a revolt that erupted on February 5 in the poorest country in the
Americas.
     "France does not rule out contributing to a civilian peace force which
would essentially be constituted of nationals of the region and whose
deployment falls under a decision by the U.N. Security Council," Chirac
told a news conference in Budapest.
     He did not say whether he was referring to troops or civilian
personnel such as policemen.
     The U.N. Security Council expressed deep concern last week over
increasing violence and instability in Haiti but left it to regional groups
to lead the search for a solution.
     Washington says it has no plans for military intervention to end the
crisis and has focused on mediation. Some 50 U.S. Marines flew into
Port-au-Prince airport on Monday to protect the U.S. embassy and other U.S.
facilities.
     The French foreign ministry said representatives of Haiti's government
and opposition parties would fly to Paris this week to meet Foreign
Minister Dominique de Villepin. It said there would be separate meetings,
but no round-table talks.
     "We believe this is a political crisis, which requires a political
solution," a ministry spokesman said.
     Haitian opposition political parties and civil groups, who want
Aristide to step down but have distanced themselves from the rebels, have
until later on Tuesday to reply to a U.S.-backed power-sharing proposal
that would leave the president in office.
     Tension exploded into open revolt this month when gunmen who once
backed Aristide took control of the city of Gonaives, where Haiti's slaves
declared independence from France in 1804.
     Aristide became Haiti's first elected leader in 1991 but now faces
accusations of corruption and political violence. Ousted in a military coup
soon after he was elected, he was restored to power in a U.S. invasion in
1994 and re-elected in 2000.