23358: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Elections (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By HILARY ROXE

   CORAL GABLES, Fla., Oct 1 (AP) -- Haiti's interim prime minister said
Friday he plans to hold elections next year, even as violence broke out in
the streets of the country's capital and survivors of catastrophic floods
waited in desperation for relief.
   Gerard Latortue, who heads an interim government that replaced President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February, said recent disasters should not
prevent the country from moving forward with its democratic plans.
   "We will not use violence and all of our problems must be solved through
elections, which will take place next year," he said at The Miami Herald's
Americas Conference in Coral Gables.
   Haiti is struggling to recover from massive floods caused by Tropical
Storm Jeanne two weeks ago. More than 1,550 people were killed by the
storm, and 900 are still missing and presumed dead.
   A march in Port-au-Prince demanding the return of Aristide erupted into
violence on Thursday, and three police officers were killed. Violent
demonstrations resumed Friday, as apparent Aristide supporters fired in the
air, blocked a highway with burning tires and smashed car windows.
   Latortue, who was living in Boca Raton when he agreed to take the job,
focused on development efforts as a way to help Haiti.
   The United States and other countries pledged more than $1 billion in
aid for the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation earlier this year. But
Latortue said some Haitians have power for only one to two hours a day, and
the 10,700-square-mile nation has just "200-something miles of roads you
can use at any time," he said.
   If those conditions improve, "the Haitian people by their hard work,
their own ingenuity, will create jobs, will generate income," he said.
   On Friday, the top U.N. relief official said he had requested $32
million in humanitarian aid for Haiti to cope with Jeanne's aftermath.
According to the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the
storms left some 300,000 people in Haiti in urgent need.