[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

25354: Hermantin(news)U.S. official: Troops must be proactive (fwd)




From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>


Posted on Fri, Jun. 10, 2005


HAITI
U.S. official: Troops must be proactive
The U.N. Mission in Haiti must be more aggressive to stop violence, a top U.S. official said on a visit. Many Haitians derisively call the peacekeepers `Blue Helmets on vacation.'
BY CHANTAL REGNAULT AND JOE MOZINGO
jmozingo@herald.com

PORT-AU-PRINCE - The State Department's top official for the Americas Thursday urged U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti to be more ''proactive'' in squelching ''a coordinated campaign of criminality''' that is undermining efforts to restore peace to this troubled Caribbean nation.

Speaking at the airport at the end of an overnight visit, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega said it was critical that the 7,400-member U.N. Mission secure the country for elections scheduled for the fall.

''The U.N. forces are here to create a sense of order,'' Noriega said. ``That is not possible if they are not more proactive.

''The rights of the vast majority of the Haitian people are being violated by the ones who spread violence . . . It's a deadly destabilization plan,'' Noriega said at a news conference.

TOO PASSIVE

Noriega's comments echoed the sentiments of many Haitians who see the peacekeepers as too passive in the face of an onslaught of kidnappings, carjackings and shootouts. Many derisively call the troops ``Blue Helmets on vacation.''

Noriega declined to answer a question about whether Washington planned to send U.S. troops to Haiti to bolster the U.N. Mission, known by its French acronym of MINUSTAH, as some Haitian leaders have requested.

''Of course, we would never comment on security plans that we would be considering,'' he said, adding that the mission must take ``necessary measures to meet its mandate.''

The U.N. troops arrived in June 2004 -- replacing a three-month deployment of U.S. Marines -- to restore order following the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide during an armed revolt in February.

Supporters of Aristide depict the international troops as an occupying force doing the bidding of an anti-Aristide transitional government.

In the capital's slums, pro-Aristide gangs are fighting the U.N. peacekeepers with automatic and semiautomatic weapons.

ACROSS THE BOARD

But a recent report by the International Crisis Group, an independent group based in Brussels, says there are all types of people seeding unrest in Haiti, from drug traffickers and ordinary criminals to wealthy families and Aristide political opponents who fear his Lavalas Family Party might sweep the upcoming elections.

Noriega was joined at the news conference by U.S. Ambassador James B. Foley as well as top Canadian and French diplomats. The group said it was committed to holding elections on time to ensure that a new, democratic government is in place by February.

''We are here together to send a strong message: We want the elections to take place in time,'' said Denis Coderre, special advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Daniel Parfait, a French special envoy to Haiti, said social programs were desperately needed in the slums where much of the unrest is centered.

''Elections will not change everything,'' he said, ``but nothing can change without elections.''

Herald staff writer Joe Mozingo reported from Miami, and special correspondent Chantal Regnault reported from Port-au-Prince.