24782: Hermantin (News) U.N. Security Council vows commitment to Haiti

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leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

U.N. Security Council vows commitment to Haiti
By MIKE WILLIAMS
Cox News Service
Thursday, April 14, 2005
U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL VOWS COMMITMENT TO HAITI
by
Cox News Service

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Members of the U.N. Security Council pledged 
Wednesday to extend the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in troubled 
Haiti, saying they hope to pave the way for open, fair elections this fall.
"We expect the people of Haiti will get hold of this situation," said 
Ronaldo Sardenberg, Brazil's U.N. ambassador, who is heading the delegation 
on its first trip to a Latin American or Caribbean nation. "They will work 
toward assuming their responsibility by voting in elections that must be 
free and credible."
The poorest nation in the hemisphere, Haiti has been in turmoil since former 
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled in the face of an armed rebellion in 
late February 2004. U.S. Marines were initially dispatched to restore order, 
but were replaced by a U.N. peacekeeping force last summer.
Sardenberg said the 15-member Security Council would vote next month to 
extend the mandate for the international mission beyond its June expiration 
date.
But the 7,000-member force of U.N. police and peacekeeping troops has come 
under criticism here for not doing enough to quell continued crime and 
political violence that at times has turned several impoverished slums in 
the capital into virtual free-fire zones.
Sardenberg acknowledged the criticism, but said the U.N. mission only 
recently came up to full strength and has begun to make notable progress.
"The fact that there is a trend toward stabilization is quite clear in my 
mind," he said.
Last weekend, U.N. units backed up Haitian police in raids that triggered 
gun battles which left two gang leaders dead. The gang leaders were former 
Haitian military officers who police said terrorized their neighborhoods, 
vowing to fight Haiti's interim government.
In a hopeful sign, the capital has been largely quiet since the raids. 
Street vendors have returned to the sidewalks near Bel Air, one of the most 
troubled neighborhoods, and residents said the nearly constant gunfire of 
the past months has subsided.
U.N. patrols are out in force, augmenting a Haitian police force that is 
growing as new cadets graduate from a training academy overseen by U.N. 
advisers.
While many residents are still critical of the U.N., others are cautiously 
optimistic.
"Their presence here has been worthwhile," said Jean Pinod, a man in his 50s 
who sells electric fans on a downtown sidewalk. "Without them, the trouble 
would've been far worse."
Haiti has been ruled since shortly after Aristide's departure by Interim 
Prime Minister Gerard Latortue. While critical of the United Nations in the 
past, the U.S.-backed Latortue last week praised the international 
peacekeepers, saying they are making progress.
Under the U.N. plan, Latortue is to be replaced next year by a permanent 
government. Elections for local offices are scheduled for Oct. 9, with 
presidential and legislative elections set for Nov. 13.
Members of Haiti's elections council, charged with organizing the vote, said 
earlier this week that unless the security situation improves, the voting 
might have to be postponed.
Pierre Richard Duchemin, head of the voter registration effort, said the 
agency's main offices have been attacked by gunfire several times, although 
stepped-up security provided by the U.N. and Haitian police has helped.
The violence, however, has delayed the start of voter registration, a 
four-month process the council hopes to start by later this month.
Duchemin was hopeful the elections would not be delayed, stressing that the 
most important objective was to have a clean, fair vote that would begin to 
restore the Haitian people's confidence.
"This transition is so important," he said. "If we don't make it, we lose a 
chance to build and start another way of life. Everything is on hold waiting 
for a new government. If there is a question mark on the process itself, 
that is a big problem."


Mike Williams' e-mail address is mwilliams(at)coxnews.com