7096: Aristide and CARICOM (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Max Blanchet <maxblanchet@worldnet.att.net>

President Aristide moving to clean up Haiti

Bridgetown, Barbados, CANA - Worried Caribbean Community and 
Common Market (CARICOM) heads of government have won some 
concessions from embattled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide 
as his country prepares to become a full member of CARICOM. Haiti's 
ability to become the first French-speaking member of the 15-nation 
economic and trade grouping remains under a cloud after several nations 
complained about the conduct of the senate and presidential elections 
last year. A lot of the concern was directed at a provisional council 
supervising the elections, alleged to be biased in favour of Aristide's 
party. During their just-ended 12th inter-sessional summit here 
CARICOM leaders had what one newspaper called "a 90-minute 
grilling" of Aristide. They said afterwards he had given assurances 
about suggested changes upon which Haitian membership of 
CARICOM was based