21129: Lemieux: NYTimes: Powell Says the U.S. Weighs Prosecution of Aristide on Corruption Charges (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>


April 6, 2004
On Visit to Haiti, Powell Says the U.S. Weighs
Prosecution of Aristide on Corruption Charges
By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, April 5 — Secretary of
State Colin L. Powell said during a visit here on
Monday that American judicial authorities were
looking into prosecuting the former Haitian
president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, on corruption
charges.

"There are inquiries being made by our judicial
authorities in the U.S. to see if there is any
evidence of wrongdoing on his part," Mr. Powell
said in a joint news conference with the new
interim prime minister, Gérard Latortue.

Mr. Aristide went into exile in February after
widespread violence and looting here. An American
indictment against him on drug trafficking or
other international charges would further inflame
political tensions between those who contend that
he was forced into exile by American troops and
others, like Mr. Powell, who assert that the
Americans saved his life.

Mr. Aristide, who was flown to the Central
African Republic aboard an American-leased plane,
has since returned to the region as an official
guest of the government of Jamaica. The return of
Mr. Aristide, a populist former priest, has
unsettled Bush administration officials who are
trying to establish security and bolster the
authority of Mr. Latortue's interim government.

To help maintain order in Haiti, the United
States has sent 1,940 troops, the Pentagon says,
France has sent more than 800, Canada more than
400 and Chile more than 300. Administration
officials have said they expect to cap the
American presence at about its present level, and
would welcome 2,000 or 3,000 troops from other
countries.

Mr. Powell, who came for a one-day visit to show
the administration's continuing commitment to
Haiti's recovery, opposed a request by the
15-nation Caribbean Community for the United
Nations to investigate the terms of Mr.
Aristide's departure from Haiti.

"I don't think any purpose would be served by
such an inquiry," he said. "We were on the verge
of a blood bath and President Aristide found
himself in great danger."

The Caribbean Community nations have refused to
recognize the Latortue government, causing
considerable embarrassment to the Bush
administration, which had counted on their
cooperation for police training and security.

Mr. Powell, who toured a medical clinic here and
posed for photographs with American troops, said,
"I will be working hard to reintegrate Haiti in
the Caribbean Community" in the weeks ahead.

Mr. Latortue, a former international business
consultant, announced Monday that Haiti would
hold parliamentary and presidential elections in
2005. He said he would set to work on
establishing a provisional electoral council
after Easter.

He expressed gratitude toward the United States
even as he underscored the dire situation his
country faces "The country is in a state of total
bankruptcy," he said. "The state is totally
demolished."

Mr. Powell said the Bush administration would
provide $9 million to the Organization of
American States to promote democratic practices,
in addition to $55 million in aid for Haiti's
people for the current fiscal year. A donors'
conference is likely to be held by this summer to
promote contributions from other nations and
mulilateral lenders.

Mr. Powell urged Haitians to "seize this new
chance to put this country firmly on the path to
peace and development."


__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway
http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/