22209: (Craig) UN Wire: 06/01/2004 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dan Craig <hoosier@att.net>

U.N. Peacekeepers Arrive In Haiti To Replace U.S.-Led Force
Tuesday, June 1, 2004

Around 6,700 U.N. peacekeepers led by Brazil were today to replace the
U.S.-led force of 3,300 soldiers who were in Haiti to oversee the
country's security since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in
February, Agence France-Presse reports.

The mission "will be very difficult, but soldiers are made for difficult
situations," said Brazilian General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira,
adding that the U.N. force will be fully operational by June 30 (AFP,
May 31).

Associated Press
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040601/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/haiti_un_mission_2>
reports that the U.N. peacekeepers will be facing many problems,
including uncertainty about troop numbers and funding.  Although 24
nations are reportedly participating in peacekeeping efforts, AP says,
only a few troops have arrived ahead of today's handover.

According to Adama Guindo, a U.N. representative heading the mission
until a permanent leader is selected, by yesterday it was still not
clear where the mission's headquarters would be located.

In addition to the 6,700 troops, the United Nations has said Haiti would
also receive 1,622 civilian police from 30 countries.

However, Heleno, who arrived in the capital of Port-au-Prince yesterday,
said he did not know exactly which forces would make up the mission.  So
far only Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Paraguay have confirmed their
participation, Brazil's Agencia Estado has reported.

The 1,900 U.S. troops in Haiti are expected to leave at the end of June
unless they get new orders.  Some of the Canadian and French troops that
arrived in February are supposed to join the U.N. mission.

Funding problems are also haunting the mission in the Caribbean country,
AP reports.  Only a fraction of the $35 million U.N. Secretary General
Kofi Annan has requested in appeals before the U.N. Security Council has
been provided for the mission, which is scheduled to last six months.

In addition, Haitians are reportedly pessimistic about the peacekeeping
mission.  "I don't understand what they're coming to do yet," said one
resident (Paisley Dodds, AP/Yahoo! News, June 1).

Meanwhile, Aristide arrived yesterday in South Africa, where he will
spend an indefinite period of exile, the London Guardian
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/southafrica/story/0,13262,1228597,00.html>
reports.

Aristide, his wife and children were greeted in Johannesburg with a red
carpet, trumpets and cheers by President Thabo Mbeki and other officials.

The Haitian president, who fled to the Central African Republic in
February and then to Jamaica, was forced to leave the Caribbean region
amid concerns that he was too close to Haiti.

Before landing in South Africa, Aristide made clear he wants to rule
again, according to the Guardian.  "There is one elected president of
Haiti ... and it's me," he said (Carroll/Meldrum, London Guardian, June 1).

Cessation Of Relief Flights Criticized

A World Food Program official has criticized the U.S.-led force in Haiti
for its decision to stop food relief flights to the region of Mapou,
where more than 1,000 people were reportedly killed in
devastating floods and mudslides last week.

"I thought the force was going to continue," said WFP representative Guy
Gauvreau, adding that U.S. troops in charge had told him "it's not their
mandate."

According to Gauvreau, around 10,000 families in Mapou are at risk and
100 metric tons of food and medicine are needed there (AFP
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040531/sc_afp/haiti_storm_un_040531220423>/Yahoo!
News, June 1).

On Friday, Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue blamed the floods on
intense deforestation in the country.

"The deep cause of this situation is the deforestation of Haiti," he
said.  "We have lost more than 80 percent of forest because people like
to use wood charcoal as a source of energy."

Haitian officials have said 579 people have died in last week's floods
and 74 are still missing.  The United Nations estimated 1,500 were dead
or missing (AFP, May 28).