30777: (news) Chamberlain: Canadian PM sees progress in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Joseph Guyler Delva

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 20 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper visited the volatile Cite Soleil slum during a stop in Haiti on
Friday and said he saw signs of progress in the impoverished Caribbean
nation.
     Harper was the first foreign leader in years to visit the teeming
seaside slum that was a hotbed of political and gang violence during and
after the rebellion that ousted Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. He headed
to Cite Soleil directly after arriving at the nearby airport in the
capital, Port-au-Prince.
     "This morning, I saw firsthand the progress achieved on the security
front by the Haitian National Police and the U.N. troops during a visit to
Cite Soleil," Harper said later at a news conference with Haitian President
Rene Preval at the National Palace.
     Canada has committed over $500 million in assistance to Haiti between
2006 and 2011, making it the country's second-largest donor behind the
United States, Canadian officials said. Haiti is the second-leading
recipient of Canadian aid behind Afghanistan.
     Harper visited a slum hospital that received assistance from Canada,
donating a blood-analyzing machine and shaking hands with children who came
to receive medical care.
     "We thank the prime minister for his support because this hospital is
our life," said Marlene Joseph, a 22-year-old mother with her 4-month-old
daughter on her lap.
     Canada's popularity among Haitians took a heavy blow during and after
the 2004 ouster of Aristide, who rose to the presidency by championing
Haiti's poor masses but was later accused of despotism and corruption.
     He fled on Feb. 29, 2004, in the face of an armed revolt and under
intense international pressure to quit. Aristide's supporters accused
Canada of joining the United States and France to push him into exile.
     Preval lauded Canada's aid efforts for Haiti, the poorest country in
the Americas and a key transit point for South American cocaine being
shipped to the United States.
     "Canadian aid is very important to us. It is respectful and
non-arrogant and we are very grateful," said Preval, who promised to
intensify the fight against drug trafficking and corruption.
     Harper was expected to leave Haiti for Ottawa as he wrapped up a visit
to Latin America and the Caribbean.
     The Canadian leader said his government "was committed to reviving and
expanding Canada's political, economic, social and security engagement
throughout the Americas."