21649: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-U.N. approves peacekeepers; Marines will leave Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

CRISIS IN HAITI


U.N. approves peacekeepers; Marines will leave Haiti

More than 6,000 military peacekeepers assigned by the United Nations will
replace U.S. Marines in Haiti by June 1. But the U.N. is having difficulty
finding French-speaking peacekeepers.

BY MICHAEL A.W. OTTEY

mottey@herald.com


The U.N. Security Council on Friday approved the deployment of up to 6,700
military peacekeepers and 1,622 police officers for a ''blue helmet''
peacekeeping force in Haiti by June 1.

The force will replace the nearly 2,000 U.S. Marines and 1,500 other troops
from Canada, Chile and France rushed to Haiti after former President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide left the country Feb. 29 amid a violent revolt.

Some U.S. lawmakers want the Marines to stay longer because of continued
security and humanitarian concerns, but no decision has been made, said Lt.
Col. David Lapan, spokesman for the interim multinational force.

''We're still planning for a June 1 departure,'' Lapan said in a telephone
interview from the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

In Washington, a senior Bush administration official said Friday that he was
confident that U.S. forces in Haiti would be able to leave in one month, to
be replaced by the U.N. mission.

90-DAY COMMITMENT

''We always thought of the U.S. presence as a 90-day commitment. Our hope
and expectation is that other countries are ready now to play a role in the
U.N. mission,'' said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Feb. 29, the Security Council adopted a resolution that authorized the
immediate deployment of the multinational interim force for no more than
three months.

The interim force in place has worked to maintain the peace, but Haiti
remains on edge, with rebel forces still in control of much of the country
and rebels and pro-Aristide gangs still hanging on to their weapons. The
interim government of Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has also been accused
by human rights groups of exacting revenge on Aristide supporters.

''There's still crime, and there are still problems,'' Lapan said. ``Haiti
is not going to be fixed overnight, but things are a lot better than they
were six weeks ago.''

The deployment of the U.N. forces will be for an initial six months but will
likely be lengthened at least until elections are held next year, according
to a U.N. official in New York.

David Wimhurst, a spokesman for the U.N. department of peacekeeping
operations, said the agency recently had a meeting and asked 94
French-speaking nations to contribute to the Haiti operation, especially
police officers.

The department has been having difficulty finding French-speaking police
officers for Haiti because of ongoing deployments in other francophone
nations such as the Ivory Coast and Burundo, he added.

Wimhurst said French-speaking police officers are essential because of their
interaction with the local population.

`WILL BE DIFFICULT'

''It's a general concern,'' he said. ``There's a lot of demand suddenly for
French-speaking police. Haiti is a French-speaking country, so it's always
preferable to have a French-speaking force. We recognize that it will be
difficult.'

Wimhurst said the force deployed in Haiti on June 1 will likely be smaller
than the 6,700 troops and 1,622 police officers but that it's not unusual.
He said peacekeeping deployments usually start out small and build to the
needed numbers.

Brazilian troops will likely lead the peacekeeping mission in Haiti once the
United States, Canada, Chile and France leave, but they speak Portuguese, so
it helps to have the French-speakers on hand, Wimhurst said.

''It's always more difficult to get police,'' he said. ``We're waiting to
hear back from those countries.''

The 15-member Caribbean Community was initially reluctant to send
peacekeepers because of questions surrounding Aristide's departure.

He claims he did not resign and was forced to leave the country, a charge
that Washington denies. But more recently CARICOM officials have been
hinting that they will participate in the U.N. peacekeeping mission.

Herald staff writer Frank Davies in Washington contributed to this report.

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