22645: (Hermantin)Miami Herald-Region remains split over Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Tue, Jul. 06, 2004





CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY


Region remains split over Haiti

BY MICHAEL A.W. OTTEY

mottey@herald.com


ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada -- Government leaders from Caribbean Community nations
remained deeply divided Monday over whether to recognize Haiti's interim
government and allow the country to become active again in the regional
bloc.

CARICOM's 25th heads-of-government conference got under way in earnest on
Monday with several nations sticking to their opposition to the interim
Haitian government, while others expressed a need to move on.

''When hundreds of Haitians continue to come to the Bahamas, we have to
repatriate them. It is inconceivable that we can do so without having some
form of relationship with the Haitian government,'' Bahamas Prime Minister
Perry G. Christie told reporters.

But Christie acknowledged that he remained ''deeply concerned'' about Haiti,
where then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced to resign in February
amid a bloody revolt by armed street gangs and former Haitian soldiers, some
of them convicted of murder and other human-rights abuses. Aristide later
claimed he had been the victim of a coup.

'When I see, for example, the chaps who helped with the military uprising
and how they were characterized as criminals and deviants and so forth . . .
then the question is, `What is happening?' '' he said. He also mentioned the
recent arrest of Aristide's prime minister, Yvone Neptune, ``for events not
directly attributable to him.''

Christie added that unless CARICOM is able to talk directly to the interim
Haitian government, ''we're not going to be able to make the decisions that
we need to make.'' Haiti is one of CARICOM's 15 members.

The government leaders will retreat today to a private island off the
southern coast of Grenada to debate whether the government of interim
Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue should be recognized as legitimate
and readmitted to CARICOM.

Latortue is not attending the summit, but his foreign minister, Yvon Simeon,
and Latortue's ambassador to Jamaica, Jean-Gabriel Augustin, are at the
conference to lobby for Haiti's reinstatement to CARICOM.

Jamaica has been one of the staunchest opponents of recognizing the new
Haitian government. Relations between Kingston and Haiti were damaged when
Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson gave Aristide temporary asylum
earlier this year. The move caused Latortue to recall his ambassador in
Kingston. The ambassador has since returned to Jamaica. Aristide, now exiled
in South Africa, insists he's still president of Haiti and has vowed to
return.

On Sunday, Patterson told delegates that CARICOM should stick to its
principles and ensure that the rule of democracy is maintained among its
member states. He said the world is watching to see how CARICOM holds to its
principles.

''We need to be assured that there be no sacrifice of the rights of all
citizens in this, our CARICOM family, to exercise their own democratic
option and to be able to secure the due protection of law,'' Patterson said.

Jamaica and the Bahamas are the two CARICOM nations most directly affected
by events in Haiti because of the influx of Haitian migrants fleeing their
crisis-gripped homeland.

So far, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Guyana appear strongly opposed to Haiti's
rejoining the organization and recognizing Latortue's government, while
others appear ready to embrace the interim government, if it meets certain
conditions.

Two possible conditions would be that new elections be quickly held and that
the interim government put a stop to the alleged persecution of Aristide
loyalists. Human-rights groups say the interim government has been exacting
political vengeance against Aristide supporters while allowing armed rebels
previously charged with crimes to roam freely.

César Gaviria, the secretary general of the Organization of American States,
said the OAS remains engaged in Haiti and is working with the United Nations
``to see what will be the role of the OAS and eventually of CARICOM in
relation to preparing a process for elections in Haiti.''

It is ''of great importance to have elections in Haiti as soon as
possible,'' Gaviria said.


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