22323: (Chamberlain) Americas-Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By MONTE HAYES

   QUITO, Ecuador, June 9 (AP) -- Despite objections from the United States
and Haiti, the Organization of American States opened the way for an
investigation into the ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
   The OAS General Assembly also called for elections in Haiti as soon as
possible. But the debate over a probe into the coup went for hours until
the body on Tuesday night finally approved a resolution calling Aristide's
ouster unconstitutional and allowing an assessment of what occurred.
   Aristide accuses the United States of forcing him from office -- a
charge Washington denies. A U.S.-supplied jet flew Aristide to the Central
African Republic on Feb. 29 as rebels advanced on the Haitian capital of
Port-au-Prince, and he is now in asylum in South Africa after spending
several weeks in Jamaica.
   Foreign ministers from around the Americas also declared war on the
deeply ingrained corruption in the region at the end of a two-day meeting
in this Andean capital.
   The ministers committed their nations to undertaking "all the diplomatic
initiatives necessary" to promote democracy in Haiti.
   They also urged "the transitional government in Haiti to create
conditions conducive to the holding of free, fair and democratic elections
in Haiti as soon as possible."
   They invoked Article 20 of the organization's charter, which allows it
to undertake a "collective assessment" of a country "in the event of
unconstitutional alterations of the constitutional regime that seriously
impairs the democratic order."
   Haiti's new government and U.S. officials were opposed to invoking
Article 20, but CARICOM, a grouping of Caribbean nations, insisted on its
inclusion.
   After Aristide's ouster, multinational forces entered the country to
re-establish order under the authority of the United Nations Security
Council.
   The 15-member Caribbean Community still refuses to recognize Haiti's new
government.
   In other discussions, Secretary of State Colin Powell urged nations to
"advance democratic governance and economic growth in this region" by
fighting corruption.
   "Corruption is deeply destructive of our people's faith in democracy,"
he said Monday during a debate on the general assembly's final document.
"Corruption scares off investors, denying countries the money they need to
lift themselves out of poverty and onto the road to sustainable
development."
   The document, signed by 34 foreign ministers or heads of delegations,
recognizes "that corruption has a serious impact on public and private
institutions, weakens economic growth and impinges upon the needs and
fundamental interests of a country's most vulnerable social groups."
   The foreign ministers pledged to keep corrupt officials from entering
their countries and agreed to cooperate in the recovery of stolen funds.
   In a last minute change to the document, foreign ministers agreed to
"cooperate in the extradition" of officials accused of corruption.
   But some ministers, including Argentina's Rafael Bielsa, expressed doubt
about how effective the measure would be. Asked if all countries would
respect the recommendation, he noted that Chile's high court on Tuesday
denied -- for the second time in two weeks -- an Argentine request to
extradite former President Carlos Menem.
   Mexico, which has a long history of providing refugee to officials who
say they are fleeing political persecution, had opposed the extradition
proposal.
   The United States also was unsuccessful in persuading other hemispheric
nations to agree to impose sanctions on corrupt governments.
   "Governments are not corrupt," Peruvian Foreign Minister Manuel
Rodriguez told The Associated Press during a break in the debate. "Members
of a given government are corrupt."