22790: (Chamberlain) UN force in Haiti needs more troops, envoy says (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Joseph Guyler Delva

     GONAIVES, July 25 (Reuters) - The new U.N. special envoy to Haiti said
on Sunday that more troops would be needed before a U.N. force could begin
the task of disarming rebels who overthrew President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
this year.
     On a tour of rebel-held areas of the impoverished Caribbean country,
Juan Gabriel Valdes said disarming all groups was essential to securing
peace. But humanitarian aid and development were equally crucial.
     "First of all we have to have the contingents on the ground," said
Valdes, who was appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan this month
as a U.N. force begins establishing peace after the Feb. 29 ouster of
Aristide.
     The Brazilian-led U.N. force barely numbers 3,000 so far, compared
with the 6,700 troops and 1,600 police authorized by the Security Council.
     "I think our mission is a mission of stabilization. It needs security
but it needs more than anything else development, community work and the
creation of a peaceful and secure ambience...," said Valdes.
     The former Chilean diplomat visited the towns of Gonaives and
Cap-Haitien, where a revolt against Aristide began.
     Five months after Aristide was forced to flee in the face of the
month-long armed rebellion and U.S. and French pressure to quit, the former
soldiers, street gangs and death squad leaders who toppled him remain in
control in the North.
     U.S. Marines and other international forces who handed over
peacekeeping to the United Nations last month established a small presence
in rebel-held areas like Gonaives and Cap-Haitien but did not attempt to
disarm gunmen.
     Valdes did not meet any of the de facto rulers of the towns but
visited a 50-strong advance guard of Argentine troops in Gonaives and 358
Chilean soldiers stationed in Cap-Haitien.
     Valdes held talks with interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue after
arriving on Saturday, at the end of a week during which international
donors pledged more than $1 billion to help the poorest country in the
Americas rebuild.