6975: A TROUBLED BEGINNING (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: nozier <nozier@tradewind.net>

 Published Thursday, February 8, 2001, in the Miami Herald
EDITORIAL---     Aristide returns to power in Haiti under a cloud.

 Jean-Bertrand Aristide regained the reins of power yesterday with high
hopes
 from most of the populace that, finally, Haiti's long-awaited
revitalization will begin.
 But if Mr. Aristide is to succeed -- and we fervently hope that he does
-- he must
 quickly attend to issues that challenge the legitimacy of his rule.
Therein lies the
 key that can unlock the door to his success.
 The outpouring of support that greeted Mr. Aristide during yesterday's
inaugural
 ceremony was impressive testimony to his popularity, especially among
the
 masses of poor who embraced wholeheartedly the former priest's campaign

 slogan: ``Peace in the belly; peace in the mind.'' Mr. Aristide clearly
has captured
 the spirit of the people.
 His victory places him among only a few Haitian leaders since French
colonial
 rule 200 years ago to be democratically elected. The Haitian people can
take
 pride in that and in the fact that the transfer of power to Mr.
Aristide from
 President René Preval was peacefully conferred.
 But the glow of this victory will fade quickly if Mr. Aristide can't
deliver on his
 promises. He takes office isolated from the international community --
from whom
 he must draw financial and technical support -- and facing a coalition
of political
 opponents determined to form an ``alternative'' government.
 The controversy stems from elections last May in which the opposition
parties
 contend that the ballots for parliamentary seats were miscounted,
resulting in Mr.
 Aristide's Lavalas Family Party gaining more seats that it actually
won. In protest,
 the opposition parties sat out the presidential election. They were
joined in their
 demands for an accurate recalculation of the votes by the international

 community, including the United States. Worse, the United States and
other
 countries have withdrawn hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and
support
 desperately needed for recovery.
 Thus far, meetings between Lavalas and opposition party members have
failed to
 resolve differences. The opposition demands a power-sharing role, while
Mr.
 Aristide sticks to earlier offers that stop at including opposition
members in his
 government and reforming the electoral council.
 To succeed, Mr. Aristide first must find a remedy to the political
impasse. Only
 then will his plea for foreign help find receptive ears.