6595: Haitian opposition seeks support from Dominican governing party (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: nozier <nozier@tradewind.net>

 Haitian opposition seeks support from  Dominican governing party
 January 10, 2001 Web posted at: 9:04 PM EST (0204 GMT)

 BARAHONA, Dominican Republic  (AP) -- Beleaguered members of Haiti's
opposition sought support Wednesday  from a traditional enemy, meeting
with  politicians in the neighboring Dominican Republic. The meeting
comes a day after militant supporters of Haiti's President-elect
Jean-Bertrand Aristide threatened to kill opposition leaders over their
plans to  form an alternative government. Haitian opposition leaders met
with officials of the governing Dominican Revolutionary Party and its
leader Hatuey De Camps, who also is vice president  of Socialist
International. De Camps said his party could not support a parallel
government, and he emphasized he was not acting on the behalf of the
government.
 "The opposition in Haiti knows that we won't put up with the
persecution of            Aristide," De Camps said before returning to a
closed-door meeting. "And Aristide must also know that we cannot put up
with the persecution of the  opposition. The opposition is a necessary
party to any democracy." Haitian opposition leader Evans Paul said his
group does not want to take power, but rather steer the country toward
new elections. Aristide is to take power February 7.
 "We do not want to set up a parallel government," Paul said. "But
rather, we want to create a transition government that will organize
free elections to avoid a catastrophe that could provoke conflicts in
areas such as security, immigration and the environment for both our
countries."  The opposition has accused Haiti's government of rigging
May local and  parliamentary elections to give Aristide's party 80
percent of the contested seats.    All opposition parties boycotted
November 26 presidential elections, which Aristide won with 92 percent
of the vote over six little-known candidates.   The meeting in the town
of Barahona, near the countries' border on the island of Hispaniola,
came a day after the grass-roots Popular Organization Pro-Lavalas
threatened to kill about a dozen people considered for the alternative
government. "We are giving these people three days to rectify their
positions and after that,  we will eliminate them physically," the
organization's leader, Paul Raymond, told  reporters in Port-au-Prince.
 Among those on the hit list are former President Leslie Manigat, former
Prime          Minister Robert Malval, Roman Catholic Bishop Francois
Gaillot of Cap-Haitien        and Lilianne Pierre-Paul, co-owner of
Radio Kiskeya.   "These are the people who have traditionally dealt in
death threats," Manigat said Wednesday in Barahona. "If we were in a
serious country, a serious government  would have already sanctioned
these people."
 Paul did not discuss the death threats, but said he and other
opposition members
 feel threatened. "To be in the opposition is a heroic act right now,"
Paul said.
 The Dominican Republic and Haiti have a long history of discord. The
governments had a tense standoff last year when the Dominican Republic
refused Haiti's request to deport seven Haitian police officers accused
of plotting  a coup. The officers were allowed to seek refuge in
Ecuador.