21870: Esser: Jean-Bertrand Aristide has Powerful Friends (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

The Nassau Guardian [Bahamas]
http://www.thenassauguardian.com

May 7, 2004

Editorial
Powerful friends

Ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide obviously has some
powerful friends in Washington, D.C., who are not prepared to give up
the fight to have him restored to power. The big difference is none
of them apparently is in the White House or the administration of
President George Bush, which is just as determined to ensure that
Haiti's interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue is recognised and
accepted as Haiti's new leader.

Mr. Latortue met with Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington
on Wednesday and did the rounds on Capitol Hill, but his visit drew a
blistering attack from influential Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who
has been one of the most vocal opponents of U.S. support for Mr.
Latortue.

At a press conference after she and other members of the
Congressional Black Caucus met with Secretary of State Colin Powell,
no doubt to verbally voice their opposition to Mr. Latortue's
Washington visit, Rep. Waters did not mince words in describing Mr.
Latortue as "a mere puppet installed by the supporters of the coup
d'etat that ousted the democratically-elected President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide."

The California congresswoman claimed that Mr. Latortue "is totally
controlled by Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere
Affairs, Roger Noriega, the former chief of staff for Senator Jesse
Helms and the Haiti-hater who has used his power hold at the OAS and
the State Department to carry out the policy of right-wing
conservative American and Haitian business elites."

That's a mighty powerful accusation that cannot and should not be
dismissed as merely the rantings of a disgruntled Aristide supporter.
Congresswoman Waters unquestionably has tremendous influence within
the Democratic Party, and this fact could have profound implications
with regard to Haiti's future should Democratic candidate John Kerry
defeat President Bush in the November general elections.

What needs to be kept in mind here is that Rep. Waters was a close
confidant of former President Bill Clinton, who appointed her
husband, Sidney Williams, to serve as Ambassador to The Bahamas
during his administration.

And it was during the Clinton Administration that U.S. forces helped
to restore Mr. Aristide as Hait's president in October of 1994. He
had assumed office as Haiti's president in February of 1991, but was
ousted by a military coup in September of that year.

If Mr. Kerry were to win the election, there is no doubt U.S. policy
toward Haiti will change drastically, a prospect which suggests that
with a Democratic President in the White House, President Aristide
could at some point in time in the future again return to power in
Haiti.

That's not as far-fetched as some may think it is, given the support
Mr. Aristide has from powerful friends in Washington like Rep. Waters.
.