19283: Esser: Act on Haiti now! (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. esser torx@joimail.com

Newsday Trinidad & Tobago
http://www.newsday.co.tt

Thursday 26th February 2004

ESC: Act on Haiti now!

By SEAN DOUGLAS

AS Haiti falls to armed thugs, United States President George W Bush
glibly talks up a “political settlement” which fails to face reality,
commented Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) chairman, Khafra
Kambon. Kambon spoke to Newsday yesterday, after Bush in a televised
speech claimed he was seeking a political solution to the virtual
civil war which has almost reached the capital, Port-Au-Prince. He
urged Caricom to pressure the United Nations to immediately intervene
militarily. Kambon noted that the rebels were better equipped with
weaponry and vehicles than the Government of President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide. Moreso they were also better trained being a mixture of
former soldiers and thugs, led by infamous characters. Kambon
foresaw: “There is very little likelihood that Aristide’s supporters
can hold out against the well-armed force coming against them.”  

He saw the armed overthrow of Aristide as almost certain. “It will
lead to massacres and civil war.” He recalled that when the rebels
had taken Haiti’s second-city, Cap-Haiten, they had openly said they
were searching for Aristide supporters. “They went into people’s
homes to kill them.” Kambon accused the United States and Europe of
forestalling any action that could ward off this take-over by the
rebels. He dismissed Bush’s statement yesterday that he wanted a
“political settlement” and “political solution.” Hitting Bush’s
remark, Kambon said: “It’s totally unreal. It has no relation to
what’s happening on the ground. How can you have a political solution
when there’s a military takeover in progress? What nonsense!” He said
the Opposition had long said it would engage in no negotiations
unless Aristide goes.

Kambon observed: “Whatever you think about Aristide, if you want to
support any development of Haiti, you would not support something as
backward as this uprising. It is disaster on top of disaster for
Haiti.” He said Hait was being taken over by known criminals in
association with known crooks from the business community. He said
the United States had long supported the forces against Aristide,
even pouring in US$100 million per year into a so-called “Democracy
Fund” to support Opposition groups and anti-government radio
stations. Aristide meanwhile, Kambon said, had granted concession
after concession to the Opposition. This included dismissing eight of
his own Senators, giving the Opposition most places on the national
Electoral Council, and agreeing to hold new general elections.  Given
the imminent battle for Port-Au-Prince, Kambon urged that United
Nations’ troops should quell the uprising, jail the rebels, be a
peace-keeping force, and train the forces of the Haitian Government.

He implored: “Caricom ought to be feverishly mobilising the support
of the United Nations Security Council members for an immediate
emergency meeting for the immediate sending of a peacekeeping force
to Haiti.” Bush yesterday said: “We still hope to be able to achieve
a political settlement between the current government and the
rebels.’’ From the White House he added: “We will turn back any
refugee that attempts to reach our shore and we strongly encourage
the Haitian people to stay home while a political solution is found.”
.