20373: Lemieux: Jamaica Observer: Address to Canadian Parliament by FM Graham (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>

Door now open for new effort to help Haiti


Sunday, March 14, 2004



GRAHAM. Canada is fully committed to assisting Haiti and
helping with its reconstruction
Following is an edited version of Canadian Foreign Minister
Bill Graham's contribution to a debate on Haiti in the
Canadian Parliament on March 10.

Mr Chair, during these very difficult times for the Haitian
people, Canadians have been anxiously watching events there
unfold while sharing in the concerns of our important
Haitian community here at home. It was therefore important
for us to discuss these matters in the House tonight.

Although the situation in Haiti is stabilising and the
appointment of a prime minister yesterday is a positive
step forward, it remains fragile. Ultimately, Haitians
themselves must determine the way forward by working
together to restore democratic governance, the rule of law
and the protection of human rights and freedoms.

However, the Haitian people are not alone in facing this
challenge, not today and not in the months and years to
come. As the prime minister has affirmed, Canada is
committed to working with the international community in
helping Haiti to restore public order and to succeed over
the long term to achieve democratic institutions and
sustainable development.
Of course, the recent events in Haiti are not ones that
Canada or any other country wish to see happen. As this
crisis developed we worked actively with others in the
international community to defuse it.

At the special summit of the Americas in Monterrey, the
prime minister and I met with Caricom leaders and discussed
the situation in Haiti. At that time, the prime minister
made a commitment that Canada would be there with them to
help the Haitian people out of their desperate situation.
Over the next weeks, as the crisis intensified, I spoke
very often to the Caricom foreign ministers, as well as to
Colin Powell, Dominique de Villepin and César Gaviria. The
prime minister actively engaged his counterparts in the
region as well.

Our friends in Caricom worked intensively to develop their
plan toward a political solution. Their plan was endorsed
by ourselves, by the OAS and then by the Francophonie
through the assistance of my colleague, the minister
responsible for the Francophonie and president of the Privy
Council, by the presidency of the United Nations General
Assembly, and by the United States.
However in Haiti itself, unfortunately, all sides resisted
accepting the plan and when President Aristide was won
over, the negotiated political solution envisaged by
Caricom could not be obtained.

We followed events closely. We used all our diplomatic
efforts to promote the Caricom plan. When it broke down,
some urged a military intervention at that time. However,
all concerned parties were agreed that any intervention in
Haiti required a broad coalition of forces with the
necessary capacity and acting with international
legitimacy.
No country with military capacity was willing to act or, I
put it to you, Mr Chair, should have acted, in the absence
of political conditions in Haiti that would have both
ensured the success of the mission and reduced the risks
that we were asking of the brave men and women of our armed
forces.
Today in retrospect, certain voices speak of the
circumstances of Mr Aristide's departure as constituting a
form of coup d'état. Of course, his decision was the result
of the deteriorating security situation in his country and
he was motivated, as he said in his resignation letter, by
a desire to avoid a potentially bloody civil war. That
letter clearly indicates that it was his decision to leave
and, to his credit, it was a decision that spared his
nation worse violence, indeed the possibility of a
humanitarian catastrophe.
Secretary-General Annan answered a question here yesterday
about the circumstances of Aristide's departure. He said:
"The Security Council, when it met, had been given a letter
that Aristide had resigned.... So the council acted on the
basis of a letter of resignation and the transfer of power
to the chief justice, and determined that because of the
volatile environment, a multi-national force should go in
and help stabilise the situation.... I don't think there
was anyone in the room who supported a coup d'état."
This was not a coup d'état. This was the Security Council
of the United Nations acting with the highest authority of
the charter to restore order in the area.
Today, the door has been opened to a new determination by
the international community to work with Haitians in
developing their country's potential.
When the situation deteriorated across the island at the
height of the crisis, Canadian diplomats and military
personnel assisted Canadian and other civilian nationals
desiring to leave Haiti. More than 100 Canadian forces
personnel and four CC-130 Hercules aircraft evacuated about
350 people, including approximately 235 Canadian citizens.
Today, some 450 of our armed personnel are joining the
force that has been authorised by the Security Council to
bring order to the island. We congratulate our troops on
their brave and successful actions to date and wish them
well as they work with others to restore order in Haiti.

At this difficult time in Haiti's history, I would like to
reconfirm that Canada is fully committed to assisting Haiti
and helping with its reconstruction. I am convinced that
all members of Parliament assembled here will agree that,
based on the history of Canada-Haiti relations, our
longstanding co-operation links, Canada's role in the
hemisphere, the Francophonie connection and the presence of
a sizeable Haitian community in Canada, our country should
play a key leadership role in helping resolve the current
crisis and assist with transition to democracy .
Let me remind you of Canada's past efforts to help Haiti.
Over the last 50 years, there has been intense co-operation
through the presence of Canadian missionaries and
Non-Governmental Organisations deployed in Haiti, our
official development assistance efforts and more
specifically programmes in the security and justice
sectors. We have been strong participants in OAS efforts to
resolve the political crisis and create a better
environment for improved democratic governance on the
island.
Let me also signal that during the most recent crisis
episode, Canada was fully involved in efforts to provide
humanitarian assistance to citizens of Haiti. We have
provided close to $2 million in humanitarian and food aid
through the UN, the International Committee of the Red
Cross and the Pan American Health Organisation. Canadian
forces also assisted the Red Cross with the delivery of
medical supplies from the Dominican Republic. And again
yesterday, we announced a grant of $5 million for
humanitarian efforts.

Canada intends to play a significant role in the
stabilisation force that the UN Security Council will be
constituting over the next three months in order to replace
the current interim multi-national force. Canada will also
continue to support OAS efforts and its special mission in
Haiti, as well as the Caricom initiative to promote a
peaceful and democratic future in Haiti. I can assure the
House of Commons and all Canadians that we will help the
Haitian people in concert with our friends of the
Caribbean, the Americas, the Francophonie, the United
Nations and international financial institutions.

In addition, we will be present in Haiti to assist with the
establishment of a viable provisional government and the
organisation of democratic elections that will follow. We
want to be closely associated with respect for human rights
and the reconstruction of a justice and corrections system
that is equitable and effective. We will also assist with
the reconstruction of a free media environment and a
democratic civil society. Obviously, we will also do our
share to support efforts to address basic needs, such as
food, education and health. In the longer term, attention
will have to be focused on the revitalisation of
agriculture, the energy sector, financial services and
other key areas of economic development.
The road will not be easy. As our actions in Bosnia and
Afghanistan have shown, there is no magic recipe to resolve
failed states' problems. Haitians first have to renounce
violence and commit to democracy and political
co-operation. There is no other solution for the
international community than being engaged in a long-term
process of rebuilding institutions for a peaceful and
democratic civil society. Canadians know how important it
is to succeed this time. We will do what it takes to help
Haitians build the democratic and prosperous country they
deserve and that Canadians want to see as they watch the
hemisphere they cherish.


__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam
http://mail.yahoo.com