21347: (Hermanti)Miami-Herald-Florida lawmakers assess crisis in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Wed, Apr. 14, 2004

Florida lawmakers assess crisis in Haiti

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES

Miami Herald


PORT-AU-PRINCE -- While one senator from Florida spent Tuesday meeting with
Haiti's interim government, a congressman flew in a military helicopter to
assess the humanitarian crisis in several northern cities.

Their missions were different but the goal for Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep.
Kendrick Meek was the same: to shine a light on Haiti even as Americans'
attention focuses on Iraq and the 9/11 panel.

''The world community has to provide the resources so that Haiti can
progress economically and socially,'' Nelson said. ``The new government,
which I am impressed with, needs help in providing for police and organizing
elections down the road, for healthcare and for sanitation.''

But that help, Nelson said, cannot be on the cheap.

''Regardless of the mistakes of the past, it is time to focus on the future
of Haiti to try to help a country that has had scores of coup d'états
finally begin to stabilize,'' he said.

Tuesday's visits by the two Democrats were the first by any member of
Congress since the Feb. 29 resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
after a string of rebel uprisings.

''If we are going to avoid having a multinational force come in there every
five years, we are going to have to get it right this time,'' Meek said.

Meek, who will return to the capital on Thursday for meetings with
nongovernmental organizations and humanitarian groups, traveled to Fort
Liberte, Cap Haitien and Gonaives to follow up on reports about shortages,
transportation difficulties, thefts, customs delays and other problems
plaguing the humanitarian relief effort.

Neither lawmaker spent the night in Haiti for security reasons, despite the
presence of U.S. and other military peacekeepers.

Nelson used his visit to also champion a bill he is co-sponsoring with Sen.
Mike DeWine, R-Ohio. If approved, the legislation would allow yarn to come
into Haiti and be made into fabric for exportation to the United States,
which would create thousands of new jobs.

Both Nelson and Meek also expressed support for freeing up about $400
million in frozen international aid for Haiti. A more immediate concern is
the return of electricity -- which has been out for weeks -- in
Port-au-Prince.

During his meeting with interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, Nelson urged
him to do what he could to quickly remedy the problem. He presented the
prime minister with an analysis showing it would take about $2 million to
get the country's power plants operational again.

Nelson also met with U.S. Ambassador James Foley, Haitian officials and
representatives from the Organization of American States.

As a last word of advice, Nelson said, ``It is time for the people of Haiti
to stop looking to the past and start looking to the future.''

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