19571: Esser: France and US cooperate on Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

Reuters

France and US cooperate on Haiti
Mon March 01, 2004 10:39 AM ET

By Timothy Heritage

PARIS (Reuters) - The two countries which fell out over the war in
Iraq are now making up over a Caribbean island where both have an
interest in restoring order.

France and the United States, dubbed the "odd couple" by French
newspaper Le Monde, were on Monday contemplating the improvement in
their own relations after their pressure helped force Haitian
President Jean-Bertand Aristide into exile.

France hailed the "exemplary nature of the cooperation" on Haiti
after French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the crisis by telephone
several times last week.

"This is another example of the cooperation between our two countries
on several matters," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Cecile Pozzo di
Borgo said. "This underlines the importance of unity in the
international community over settling crises."

France opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq last year, saying such
intervention required United Nations backing, and a long chill in
relations followed.

But Paris and Washington have been trying to rebuild trust in recent
months, deciding they need each other on many international issues
such as the fight against terrorism.

France has even said it may be ready to send troops to ensure
security in Iraq -- if the request comes from a sovereign Iraqi
government and has United Nations approval.

"You can say the decisions taken by France on Haiti go hand in hand
with other decisions taken recently which show a desire to turn the
page," said Jean-Jacques Kourliandsky of the Institute of
International and Strategic relations in Paris.

France wanted protection for the 2,000 French nationals in Haiti, its
former colony. The United States wanted to avert trouble close to
home and so head off an influx of Haitians seeking a haven from the
unrest.

NO EXILE IN FRANCE

Both sides seemed happy Aristide had gone far away to Central African
Republic after fleeing Haiti.

France took in former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc"
Duvalier after he was ousted in 1986 and he still lives in France in
exile, but analysts rule out Aristide coming to France. Pozzo di
Borgo said she had no indications Aristide would come.

Despite the combined U.S.-French diplomatic effort and the arrival in
Haiti of French troops and U.S. Marines, problems still lie ahead in
the poorest county in the Americas.

"There is a need for consensus in Haiti. There is still a bad
situation there. A national unity government is badly needed,"
Kourliandsky said.

Le Monde said Washington and Paris must be aware that "long-time
therapy" was needed, not just short-term solutions.

"You could congratulate yourself. You could hail the desire for a
political process in Haiti... but the past, especially the most
recent past, inspires caution," it said in an editorial, referring to
failed efforts in the past to restore stability.

Franco-U.S. relations also remain fragile -- as was underlined by a
new spat over trade on Monday.

The European Union imposed sanctions on U.S. goods ranging from
jewellery to textiles in a dispute over a U.S. system of export tax
breaks. Last week, Washington banned imports of French foie gras and
meats over hygiene standards.

The United States has also opposed calls by Paris for a peacekeeping
mission to be sent to former French colony Ivory Coast to ensure a
presidential election goes ahead in 2005.

© Reuters 2004. All rights reserved.
.