20160: Blanchet: Fw: [Daily-briefing] Daily Press Briefing (March 9, 2004) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>

>
>
>                          Daily Press Briefing
>                           Statements made by
>              the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson
>
>                         (Paris, March 9, 2004)
>      [Please note that only the original French text issued by the
>      French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.
>                   ( http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr )]
>
>
> HAITI
> =====
>
> We welcome the inauguration of the interim president of Haiti, Mr.
> Boniface Alexandre.
>
> His inauguration is a juridical consequence of the formal resignation
> handed in by former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Constitutional
> legality was therefore respected, the constitutional process was allowed
> to follow its free course.
>
> We hail Mr. Alexandre's determination to arrest and bring to justice the
> perpetrators of crimes committed last Sunday in Port-au-Prince following a
> peaceful demonstration.
>
> We noted in particular the announcement that a Committee on Civilian
> Disarmament would soon be created
>
> President Alexandre reaffirmed the need to form a national unity
> government in which all political parties that reject violence would have
> a place.
>
> For its part, France hopes this transitional government of national unity
> may be formed in a timely fashion.
>
> [.]
>
> Q - I have a series of short questions that won't increase instability in
> Haiti, I hope. Is the government provisional, interim or transitional?
>
> He is the interim president and one of his missions is to create a
> national unity government that is transitional.
>
> [.]
>
> Q - You no doubt spoke of Operation Carbet's mission when I wasn't here.
> In a few words, would might that mission be today?
>
> It is set forth very clearly in SCR 1529, which I invite you to re-read.
> Off the top of my head, the interim multilateral force-that's the
> expression-must contribute, indeed promote, the creation of a transitional
> government of national unity; must contribute by aiding the Haitian police
> to restore law and order and facilitate the distribution of humanitarian
> supplies that are necessitated by all the shortages that have developed as
> a result of the violence of the last few weeks. But you have to carefully
> re-read the text of 1529.
>
> Q - I'm going to try your patience by asking you to go back to the
> question of Haitian debt that Mr. Aristide was talking about. Is it
> definitively over, or is there still something somewhere?
>
> It never even existed. As I've said before, this is something that was the
> subject, in its time-and by "in its time" I mean a long time ago, in the
> middle of the 19th century, I believe negotiations began under Charles
> X-this was the subject of a series of agreements that were freely
> negotiated and signed by the sovereign governments of France and Haiti.
> Following these three or four agreements-I believe there was a
> re-negotiation during the Second Empire-the final payments were made in
> 1885. In other words, this question was resolved ages ago.
>
> It's a non-problem and has been since 1885.
>
> [.]
>
> Q - Do you have any comment on statements by Mr. Aristide's attorneys who
> want to charge France and the United States with abduction?
>
> You know that these matters are up to the courts, we don't comment on
> them. It remains to be seen what's behind all this since the rather
> general phrases are making it hard to get even an impression.
>