21986: (Chamberlain) Chile approves peacekeeping force for Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     SANTIAGO, Chile, May 19 (Reuters) - Chile's Senate agreed on Wednesday
to send 650 troops to Haiti as part of a new U.N. peacekeeping mission to
take over the task of restoring stability from a U.S.-led multinational
force on June 1.
     Chile, a member of the U.N. Security Council, deployed 130 troops last
March for a 90-day stint after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled Haiti
under international pressure as an armed rebellion threatened the capital
Port-au-Prince.
     The new contingent -- approved 27-0 with 15 abstentions -- adds to
that military presence and includes 38 members from the police force.
     The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved on April 30 the new
mission of up to 5,700 U.N. troops and as many as 1,622 civilian police.
     Chile has become one of Washington's closest allies in Latin America
after signing a free trade agreement that went into effect this year.
President Ricardo Lagos, whose country as a Security Council member
actively opposed the U.S. attack on Iraq last year, was quick to respond to
requests for help in restoring order to Haiti.
     Chile's neighbor Argentina has pledged 500 troops to Haiti and Brazil
will lead the force with 1,470 troops.