22718: Fenton: Rebuilding Haiti's political system will take at least two years, says UN envoy (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Anthony Fenton <apfenton@ualberta.ca>

Rebuilding Haiti's political system will take at least two years, says UN
envoy

15 July 2004
08:29 am
BBC Monitoring Americas

Excerpt from report attributed to news agency AFP: "UN: Political
reorganization of Haiti will take two years" published by Dominican
Republic newspaper Hoy web site on 15 July

Rio de Janeiro: The reorganization of the entire political structure in Haiti
is a process that will take "at least" two years, Chilean diplomat Juan
Gabriel Valdes, the new UN representative for Haiti, said in an interview
with the Brazilian daily O Globo on Wednesday [14 July].

"A process of reorganizing the political structure is being implemented
and should take at least two years," Valdes said, adding that "it will be a
difficult task which will depend on a consistent effort on the part of all the
countries in the hemisphere, especially the most developed".

The Chilean diplomat - who at the time of being chosen to represent the
UN in Haiti was acting as his country's ambassador to Argentina - said
that the priority of the mission would be to lay the foundations for the
democratization of the Caribbean country.

"What we want is to stimulate Haiti's development in such a way as to
allow the stabilization of the political structure and the creation of a
material base which can support a process of democratization", he
explained.

Valdes acknowledged that in the last decade various attempts to help
Haiti overcome its internal crisis had failed but said that the difference
now is that several countries in the region have promised to play an active
role in the process.

"It is clear that we are facing a difficult venture but the circumstances are
different now, as Latin American countries such as Brazil, Chile and
Argentina have decided to take part in the stabilization process. There is a
political commitment which we want to meet", he said.

To carry out this process successfully, Valdes said, "it will be necessary to
carry out intense 'lobbying' with more developed countries which are in a
position to provide financial aid. We also need imagination and support
from Haitian society. Small efforts will be crucial". [passage omitted]

Source: Hoy web site, Santo Domingo, in Spanish 15 Jul 04

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