19141: coha: Press Memorandum: Unique form of French Compensation Could Make Amends (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: coha@coha.org


1730 M Street NW, Suite 1010, Washington, D.C.  20036    Phone:  202-216-9261
Fax:  202-223-6035
Email: coha@coha.org   Website: www.coha.org

Council On Hemispheric Affairs

Monitoring Political, Economic and Diplomatic Issues Affecting the Western
Hemisphere

Memorandum to the Press 04.11

Tuesday, February 24, 2004







Unique form of French Compensation for Past Injustices Could Make Amends to
Haiti, if Action is Immediately Taken



 *  Opposition refutes to dialogue, time running out on Powell’s flawed policy
    towards the island.
 *  Let France take the lead to rescue Haiti before it falls over a precipice.
 *  If U.S. Haiti policy remains paralyzed, or if it is seen as secretly
    wanting Aristide to be overthrown, France should act unilaterally, if need
    be, but preferably in conjunction with Canadian and CARICOM forces.
 *  Time is running out for Chirac to make a down payment on debt owed to
    Port-au-Prince, with Haiti about to go into convulsions.
 *  The Security Council should act decisively



Haiti’s political opposition decided this afternoon to turn down Secretary of
State Powell’s peace plan solution.  If nothing is done, Haiti’s current
reality can only change for the worse in the next few hours and days, as forces
of the violent opposition tighten the noose around the nation’s capitol.
Meanwhile, the benighted country continues to suffer from its historical
scourges of repression, violence, and unforgiving poverty.  Even before the
current devastating crisis, Haiti was one of the most hapless human habitats on
the globe, ranking 146th on the UN’s Human Development Indicator scale, out of
a total of 173 countries. It was far behind its Caribbean neighbors: Bahamas
(41), Cuba (55), Jamaica (86), and Dominican Republic (94). Haiti’s social
profile very closely parallels that of the most impoverished Central African
nations, with almost 50 % of its adult population being illiterate, and 65% of
islanders living below the poverty line.
      

TO READ THE ENTIRE TEXT OF THIS PRESS MEMORANDUM, CLICK HERE



This analysis was prepared by Jill Shelly, Christie Sheiry, and Nadege Touzé,
Research Associates.

  Issued 25 February, 2004

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