21836: (Chamberlain) Haitian PM says France has duty to extend credits (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     PARIS, May 12 (Reuters) - Haiti does not want reparations from its
former colonial master France but thinks Paris has a moral obligation to
extend it credits, Prime Minister Gerard Latortue said in an interview
published on Wednesday.
     Latortue, head of the U.S.-backed interim administration, told the
daily Le Monde he did not support former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's
demand for $21.7 billion in reparations for charges paid after independence
in 1804.
     "But we have to recognise that this has some support among the
people," said Latortue, who took over in March after Aristide left Haiti
following a rebellion against him.
     "France has a moral obligation towards Haiti," he said. "Its
contribution could be a line of credit for French companies for
infrastructure work in the energy or road construction sectors."
     Latortue was due to meet French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on
Thursday. Chirac initially refused to consider any reparations when
Aristide demanded them last year, but later appointed a commission to study
the issue.
     France colonised the Caribbean nation in the 17th century and imported
African slaves to work sugar cane and coffee plantations. The slaves
rebelled, killing or driving out their French rulers, and Haiti declared
independence in 1804.
     France demanded 150 million francs, worth about $28 million today, as
compensation for the loss of its colony. The Haitian government paid 90
million of that, enough to plunge the country deeply into debt for decades.
     "We have never accepted the fact we were the only country that had to
pay large sums to have its independence recognised," Latortue said.
     "Apart from our poor management of the economy, the fact is that the
country was saddled with this independence debt."