19150: (Chamberlain) Democrat Kerry blames Bush 'neglect' for Haiti crisis (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     CLEVELAND, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Democratic White House front-runner John
Kerry on Tuesday blamed President George W. Bush's "neglect" for the
political instability in Haiti and called for the naming of a special envoy
to help end the crisis.
     The United States has sent about 50 Marines to the Haitian capital of
Port-au-Prince to protect U.S. facilities and has pressed opposition
politicians to accept a power-sharing plan meant to defuse an armed revolt
against Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
     "The current crisis in Haiti is yet another example of Bush
administration neglect in our own hemisphere," Kerry said in a written
statement. "As a result, Haiti is now on the verge of collapsing into a
failed state, potentially creating untold hardships for the Haitian people
and an enormous influx of refugees on our shores."
     The Massachusetts senator, who is vying for the right to challenge
Bush in the Nov. 2 presidential election, said despite the rise in violence
and lawlessness over the past few weeks, the administration had "stubbornly
refused to engage diplomatically."
     "The administration has now finally realized that it must work
multilaterally to broker a power-sharing agreement between the parties," he
said. "By waiting until the eleventh hour to take action, they have made a
peaceful resolution that much more difficult to achieve."
     Efforts to find a political solution have stalled as opposition
politicians rejected a power-sharing deal, already agreed to by Aristide,
which U.S.-led foreign mediators hoped could defuse the conflict. More than
60 people have died in clashes across the country so far.
     U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke to French Foreign Minister
Dominique de Villepin on Tuesday, seeking support for mediation. France
said it would host members of the Haitian opposition and government for
talks this week.
     Kerry said it was not enough for Powell to make phone calls and that
"the full weight"  of U.S. diplomatic pressure should be brought to bear on
the parties.
     The United States, whose forces are stretched in deployments in Iraq
and Afghanistan, says it has no plans for a military intervention to end
the crisis and has focused on mediation as a way out.