a1454: BBC: Convergence rejuects Prez's comments (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>


Haitian opposition rejects president's comments on 22 March
rally
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Mar 25, 2002



[Announcer] The [opposition alliance] Democratic
Convergence condemns the president's [Jean-Bertrand
Aristide] statement regarding their gathering that took
place on Friday 22 March in Pont-Morin. Opposition leaders
made it clear to the head of state that Haiti is far from
being a stable country politically. The Convergence leaders
said that they were shocked when the head of state declared
that only 200 people attended the meeting. [Democratic
Convergence spokesman] Paul Denis speaks as follows:

[Denis] The fact that the demonstration was able to take
place without the government's scoundrels spoiling it does
not mean that we have entered a period of stability. On the
contrary, one should ask why do political leaders and
organizations that want to meet to share ideas with the
majority of the population have to work under the tight
vigilance of all the security bodies in the metropolitan
area.

That can only mean that things are not going well. That can
only mean that we are not yet in a period of stability, and
that we should work hard to get there. And the fact that
the de facto president, just as he arrived in the country,
once he got off the aeroplane, judged it necessary to give
a false number of the people who participated in that
gathering shows once again that Aristide is someone who
does not respect public opinion or the citizenry. That
Convergence gathering was a public thing. According to the
press, there was strong participation on the part of the
people. It would have been better for Aristide to tell the
truth instead of trying to deceive the public once again.
That is not fair. It is indecency...

Yes, everybody should respect the rules of the game. And
that is what we have been asking the [governing] Lavalas
people to do for a long time. We want them to respect the
rules of the democratic game. So, statements are made, but
we want actions. Normally, Aristide uses verbal slogans but
in reality we realize that the Lavalas regime refuses to
accept an opposition that has a chance to be able to
participate in an honest and credible contest.

Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1145 gmt
25 Mar 02

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.



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