19297: Burnham: Globe and Mail:Aristide rejects allies' pressure to resign(fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: thor burnham <thorald_mb@hotmail.com>

forwarded by Thor Burnham

Aristide rejects allies' pressure to resign

Canada, U.S. adopt France's suggestion that President's departure might help
Haiti

By PAUL KNOX
With reports from Drew Fagan in Ottawa and Shawn McCarthy in New York
Friday, February 27, 2004 - Page A13

PORT-AU-PRINCE -- A defiant Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide vowed
yesterday to hold on to power until his term ends, despite facing a
spreading rebellion and pressure from Ottawa, Washington and Paris to
resign.

Mr. Aristide rejected suggestions that he could end Haiti's deepening
political and military crisis by stepping down, telling CNN that he will
finish the five-year term he began in 2001, which has been marked by violent
clashes between his supporters and opponents.

"I will leave the [presidential] palace on Feb. 7, 2006, which is good for
our democracy," Mr. Aristide insisted -- despite growing signs that his
support in foreign capitals is waning.

In an interview with RDI television, Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham
said that it "is perhaps for Mr. Aristide to look at his responsibilities
toward his people and say: 'Look, it would be better that . . . I leave.' "
But he cautioned that it is "not for us to force him."

"Whether or not he is able to effectively continue as President is something
he will have to examine carefully in the interests of the Haitian people,"
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Washington, nearly echoing his
Canadian counterpart's remarks as well as recent statements by French
Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin.

Mr. Aristide insisted during his interview with CNN that only a handful of
foreign peacekeepers might be required to help his under-equipped police
force defeat the insurgents, who have swept through most of northern Haiti
since their rebellion began on Feb. 5.

"If we had a couple of dozen . . . it could be enough to send a positive
signal to the terrorists," he said, using his preferred term for the rebels.

The government's desperation was also on display at a special United Nations
Security Council session, where Haitian Ambassador Jean Alexandre asked,
"How many wounded or dead will be counted before the international community
comes to our assistance to avoid a bloodbath?"

After the three-hour meeting, the council declared that it would "consider
urgently options for international engagement, including that of sending an
international force," but only on condition that the government and
opposition first reach a political agreement on sharing power and ending the
violence.

Diplomatic sources say the rebels number no more than 300, although they are
believed to have thousands of sympathizers in Port-au-Prince. But in the
northern rebel stronghold of Cap-Haïtien, rebel leader Guy Philippe told
Reuters that an assault on the capital was imminent. "Our guys are there and
are ready to attack," he said.

Port-au-Prince was calm yesterday, with only a few barricades manned by Mr.
Aristide's supporters -- in marked contrast to the previous day, when
marauding gangs threatened motorists and extorted money at checkpoints.

The capital is fully mobilized to repel a rebel assault, government
spokesman Mario Dupuy said. "We're ready if they come and we're ready if
they don't come," he told foreign journalists on a hillside hotel terrace
with a sweeping view of the ramshackle city, its harbour and a mountain
range to the north.

Rebutting rumours, Mr. Dupuy denied that Mr. Aristide's exit from office is
being negotiated. Neither the President nor anyone acting for him has
sounded out other countries about political asylum, he said. "This is part
of the psychological war campaign that is being waged against the
population."

He predicted that Haitians will stand together to back Mr. Aristide. "They
know that President Aristide will never let them down."

Still, Haitians and foreigners, including non-essential UN workers,
continued to jam the capital's airport, seeking spots on the dwindling
number of daily international flights.

"Every night it's gunfire, gunfire, gunfire," said Janet Pierre, a member of
a Mennonite mission on the city's northern fringe who was returning to
Maryland via Miami. "I don't know if it's scared security guards or what.
Probably the rat population is quite low there now, because they're firing
at everything."

Canadian Ambassador Kenneth Cook said there was no immediate prospect of
direct flights to Canada. Air Canada has suspended service and Air Transat
cancelled its last planned charter flight this week.

Mr. Cook said Canadians seeking to leave Haiti could fly with American
Airlines, which was operating several daily flights until yesterday.
However, American said it is suspending service until Wednesday because its
airport workers were having trouble getting past barricades.

Mr. Aristide, a former slum priest, won the hearts and votes of millions of
Haitians after the fall of the dictatorial Duvalier regime in 1986, but more
recently has been dogged by charges of corruption and inciting violence. The
rebels include a gang of street toughs formerly loyal to him, as well as
former police and soldiers implicated in atrocities and putsch attempts.

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