19269: (Chamberlain) Aristide insists he will not give up power (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide said on Thursday he would not step down as demanded by armed
rebels and by the political opposition in Port-au-Prince, insisting he
would serve out his term to 2006.
     In an interview with CNN from Haiti, Aristide also said he believed it
would only take "a couple of dozen" international peacekeepers being sent
to the country to halt the current upheaval as it would sent a strong
signal to what he called "the terrorists."
     Aristide said he was ready to share power with opposition politicians,
as urged by international mediators, although they have refused to accept a
compromise government that would leave the president in power.
     Asked whether he would consider stepping down altogether, he said:
"No."
     He added: "We will strengthen our democratic experience by moving from
one elected president to another elected president but not from one coup
d'etat to another one. We had 32 coup d'etats. It's enough."
     The president, who was restored to power by a U.S. invasion in 1994
after he had been ousted in a military coup, said it was time to respect
the constitutional order in the impoverished state.
     "I will leave the palace on Feb 7, 2006, which is good for our
democracy," he said, referring to the date when his term is due to end.
     Asked what it would take to restore order in Haiti, he said: "From my
point of view if we had a couple of dozen of international soldiers,
police, together right now it could be enough to send a positive signal to
those terrorists."
     He said it was essential to show the armed rebels that the
international community was serious about stopping the uprising, in which
several towns have been taken over.
     Asked to describe the situation in Haiti now, Aristide said that in
the capital, people were "anxious because they don't know when those
terrorists will be coming to Port-au-Prince and kill thousands of people.