19107: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Sharpton (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By ELIZABETH WOLFE

   WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton
is making plans to meet with both the Haitian president and rebel leaders
in an effort to help stem the violent unrest in the country.
   Sharpton said Tuesday the Haitian consul general told him the president
is willing to meet with him.
   "If by the end of the day there's no agreement between the rebels and
the government, I'm definitely going," Sharpton said in a telephone
interview shortly before meeting with the consul general, Harry Fouche, at
the Haitian consulate in New York.
   Sharpton, a minister who has advocated Haitian-American rights in the
United States, said he has met President Jean-Bertrand Aristide several
times.
   As rebels threatened to attack the capital of Port-au-Prince, the United
States tried to broker a last-ditch peace plan that did not require
Aristide to resign. It was unlikely the Bush administration would accept an
offer of private diplomacy.
   Sharpton made a similar effort at restoring order in Liberia in July
when he traveled to the West African nation to meet with both sides in the
conflict.
   Sharpton has stuck with his long-shot presidential bid partly to keep
minority issues on his party's agenda. He expressed disappointment in his
Democratic opponents for inadequately addressing Haiti, and in the Bush
administration for not doing more to help quell the violence.
   Sharpton said Haitian-Americans in New York and Florida have asked for
his help.
   "Many of them are very concerned about their family members, about the
bloodshed," said Sharpton, the only black candidate in the Democratic race.
"They're concerned about the silence of American black leaders, and I'm
concerned about the presidential candidates."