19258: (Hermantin)Sun-Sentinel- Bush: Refugees to be turned back (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Bush: Refugees to be turned back

By Rafael Lorente
Washington Bureau
Posted February 26 2004

WASHINGTON · President Bush said Wednesday that the United States would not
allow Haitian refugees fleeing the current crisis to make it to U.S. shores.

"I have made it abundantly clear to the Coast Guard that we will turn back
any refugee that attempts to reach our shore, and that message needs to be
very clear, as well, to the Haitian people," Bush said. "We will have a
robust presence with an effective strategy, and so we encourage, strongly
encourage, the Haitian people to stay home as we work to reach a peaceful
solution to this problem."


Bush said the United States was still working toward a political settlement
and supports the creation of an international security presence in Haiti to
maintain order if a political settlement is reached.

"Incident to a political settlement, we will encourage the international
community to provide a security presence," Bush said.

The president's spokesman, Scott McClellan, said Wednesday that the United
States is willing to assist an international force, not be part of one.
"What we are prepared to do is to assist the international community in
those efforts," McClellan said.

France's foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, said such a force should
be established immediately so it can get to work quickly once a government
of national unity is formed.

The White House came under increasing pressure from Democrats on Capitol
Hill who want the United States to lead a multinational force that would
stabilize the situation in Haiti.

"The United States and the international community must act immediately to
prevent a humanitarian crisis in Haiti," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md.,
the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. "We cannot wait any longer."

Cummings and 18 other members of the caucus -- including Rep. Alcee
Hastings, D-Fort Lauderdale, and Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami -- went to the
White House on Wednesday afternoon to demand a meeting with the president.

After talking for about 40 minutes with Secretary of State Colin Powell,
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and White House Chief of Staff
Andrew Card, the group got its wish. Bush attended the second half of the
meeting, talking to members of the caucus for about 30 minutes in the
Roosevelt Room.

It was the first meeting between the president and the caucus since Bush
took office.

"He was noncommittal on everything," said Meek, who added that Bush agreed
the United States needs to make a statement that it cares about the Haitian
people and wants to help. The president, Meek said, also agreed the United
States needs to continue working with international partners such as Canada
and France to find a solution to the crisis.

Meek said the United States should "not necessarily endorse the Aristide
government, but at the same time make sure we don't stand by and watch a
democracy, shaky as it is, crumble under the barrel of a gun."

Meek said the president agreed to consider issuing temporary protective
status to Haitians already in the United States illegally so they would not
be deported during the crisis.

Cummings said the group urged Bush to consider the establishment of a
"humanitarian quarter" in Haiti where relief supplies could be distributed.
He said they recommended that the proposed zone be secured by troops from
the United States and other nations willing to contribute forces.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the White House made no commitment
to do anything other than consider the legislators' request.

Earlier in the day, Roger Noriega, assistant secretary of state for Western
Hemisphere affairs and the administration's point man on the Haiti crisis,
met with members of Florida's congressional delegation in a closed-door
session.

Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach, and other Republican members made it
clear the administration is not interested in using force to prop up the
Aristide government.

Meanwhile, in South Florida, Eddy Remy, president of the Haitian American
Business Council in Fort Lauderdale, said his organization sent 280
wheelchairs to Haiti about three weeks ago for the residents of Cap Haïtien
and a smaller city nearby. He said the wheelchairs were never delivered
because of the violence that erupted in Cap Haïtien; they are still in
Port-au-Prince.

The organization also obtained a fire truck for Cap Haïtien's fire
department, which lost its only truck when rebels burned down the city's
fire station. The truck remains in storage in Fort Lauderdale.

Remy said the organization has not been able to communicate with Cap Haïtien
since Sunday.

Staff Writer Alva James-Johnson contributed to this report, which was
supplemented with information from The Associated Press.



Rafael Lorente can be reached at rlorente@sun-sentinel.com or 202-824-8225
in Washington.

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Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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