21407: (Chamberlain) Haiti drops 'ridiculous' $22 bln claim upon France (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Joseph Guyler Delva

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, April 18 (Reuters) - Haiti's new U.S.-backed
leader said on Sunday he had dropped a "ridiculous" demand by ex-President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide for France to return $22 billion he said the
Caribbean nation was forced to pay its colonial masters after gaining
independence in 1804.
     Aristide, driven into exile on Feb. 29 in the face of a month-long
revolt and U.S. and French pressure, had launched a vigorous campaign to
get back 90 million gold francs Haiti paid Paris in reparations after its
slaves drove out the French.
     At today's values -- and totting up interest to the last cent --
Aristide claimed the money was now worth nearly $22 billion, and would go a
long way to helping the poorest country in the Americas get back on its
feet.
     "This claim was illegal, ridiculous and was made only for political
reasons," Prime Minister Gerard Latortue told Reuters, saying Haiti had no
interest in maintaining an atmosphere of confrontation with France.
     "This matter is closed. What we need now is increased cooperation with
France that could help us build roads, hospitals, schools and other
infrastructure," he said.
     About 1,000 French soldiers have joined an international force led by
U.S. Marines in a U.N.-sanctioned mission to restore peace in Haiti after
the revolt, in which more than 200 people died.
     The rebellion was begun by an armed gang that once supported Aristide
-- Haiti's first democratically elected leader -- and was soon joined by
former soldiers and right-wing death squad leaders who returned from exile.
     Latortue, a former U.N. bureaucrat, was named by a council of eminent
Haitians to lead a government until new elections.
     Since Aristide's flight, a ubiquitous government-sponsored jingle that
went, "Reparations, restitution we demand, France pay me my money to
celebrate my freedom," has vanished from the airwaves.
     Some historians say the burden of compensation for plantations and
even slaves paid by Haiti to Paris between 1826 and 1893 ensured that what
had been France's richest colonial treasure would become one of the world's
poorest countries.
     Many Aristide supporters believe France supported what they saw as a
U.S.-backed "coup" against Aristide because of irritation over the
reparations claim.
     French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie denied those allegations
during a visit this month and said France's decision to get involved in the
international force was motivated by a desire to help Haiti avoid an even
greater disaster.
     Latortue said talks he had had with officials from both the United
States and France gave him hope they would support Haiti as it tries to
rebuild. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell also visited Haiti in the
past few weeks.
     Encouraged by former settlers, who spent years pushing for a new
invasion after rebellious slaves defeated Napoleon's troops on the
battlefield, France imposed the indemnity on the government of Jean-Pierre
Boyer in 1825.
     Some historians say France made it clear that was what the former
colony had to pay to avoid a new invasion. France only agreed to recognize
Haiti's independence after it agreed to pay the money.