a1932: Highlights of Radio Nationale news 1400 gmt 2 May 02 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>

Haiti: Highlights of Radio Nationale news 1400 gmt 2 May 02

May 3, 2002 12:52am


05/02/2002

Figures in brackets indicate length of time of each item

1. Headlines. (4 min)

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2. President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the first lady
yesterday distributed houses to 80 people in Village
Mont-Fleury in the commune of Tabarre. The beneficiaries
received keys to the houses given to them. Aristide said on
the occasion that there are several such houses in Parc
Vincent and Zoranje and that there will be others. He
explained that the government has spent a large amount of
money on agriculture. Aristide announced projects for the
construction of houses in several other regions of the
country, particularly in La Saline and Cite Soleil.
Aristide asked commercial banks and coops to cooperate with
him in his efforts to build low-cost housing. A contract
for the construction of 289 houses in Village Mont-Fleury
was signed on 16 December 1999. (11 min)

3. Yesterday was Labour Day in Haiti. On this occasion a
food and crafts fair was held on the Champ de Mars. Several
government officials including Prime Minister Yvon Neptune,
Agriculture Minister Sebastien Hilaire, Delegate Marie
Antoinette Gauthier, Secretary of State for Literacy Maryse
Guiteau, and many others participated in this fair.
Guiteau, who spoke on the occasion, said that in order to
put an end to poverty in the country, we must first put an
end to illiteracy. Agriculture Minister Sebastien Hilaire
spoke of the encouragement given by the government to
producers through the display of their products at the
fair. Prime Minister Neptune said it is time for those who
know how to read and write to make more progress in
agriculture. "Progress is being made in agriculture as in
all other fields," according to the prime minister, who
spoke of the necessity for all Haitians to know how to read
and write, which will allow them to make more progress in
agriculture. (14 min)

4. Ads. (2 min)

5. President Aristide on 1 May distributed new cars to
several examining judges including Judge Claudy Gassant,
who was not present for the ceremony. "Not all the cars are
here, but I am going to give some of them symbolically,"
the president said. He explained that if judges do not have
transportation to get information, they will have problems
doing their jobs. He stressed that a vehicle is available
for Judge Gassant even if he is not in the country and that
he is not the one who specifies which cases judges will
work on. He says this is the responsibility of the dean of
the civil court. (3 min)

6. A delegation of US experts arrived in Haiti this week to
help Haiti fight drug trafficking. Aristide said that the
government would continue to fight drug trafficking: "A
democracy is not supposed to let drugs turn it into a
narco-democracy," he added. Former Mayor Brown of Texas
said that drug-producing countries, the countries that
consume drugs, and those involved in the transit of drugs
should cooperate in the fight against this plague. Aristide
asserted that Haitian youths should consider drugs a deadly
disease. (6 min)

7. Haitian National Police, PNH, officials yesterday met
with the US drug enforcement experts. A police official
explains that the Haitian Government did not pay these
experts and that they are here in order to make an
assessment of the situation. This is part of a new dynamic
the government considers setting up in order to fight drug
trafficking. He adds that the police need training and
equipment because they already have the willingness to
fight drug trafficking. (4 min)

8. The judicial police director general says a commission
has been formed in order to determine how much cocaine was
seized from Adolphe Chancy. The police official explains
that the office of the Inspector General of the PNH is
investigating the matter given that it is rumoured that the
quantity of drugs that was seized was more than what has
been declared. (3 min)

9. Jean-Gerard Dubreuil, secretary of state for public
security, denies having put pressure on Judge Kesner Noel
to arrest Prosper Avril. Noel has gone into exile in the
United States. Dubreuil explains that the purpose of his
meeting with the judge was to provide judges with
logistical resources. (2 min)

10. Departmental Delegate Gauthier praises the literacy
programme launched by the president of the republic and
says she thinks that the government has not yet done
one-fourth of what it intends to do. (6 min)

11. Deputy Sergo Metellus asked people's organizations to
be careful when demonstrating because breaking car
windshields and the windows of private individuals is
unacceptable. He also urges them to avoid infiltration by
others. (2 min)

12. The National People's Party, PPN, demonstrated
yesterday against the government. PPN leader Ben Dupuy, who
criticizes the current Haitian industrial park for bringing
nothing to the people, expressed his worries about the free
trade zone that is going to be established between Haiti
and the Dominican Republic. He advocates "true agrarian
reform." (3 min)

13. The Association of Former Grant-Holders from the French
Government announces that it will hold a special general
assembly on 4 May at Table Ronde Restaurant on the Champ de
Mars. (1 min)

14. News summary. (2 min)

Source: Radio Nationale, Port-au-Prince, in Creole 1400 gmt
2 May 02

/© BBC Monitoring

Copyright 2002.  All Rights Reserved.


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