7092: Haiti's Aristide woos Caricom leaders (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: nozier <nozier@tradewind.net>

Saturday, 17 February, 2001, 00:24 GMT
Haiti's Aristide woos Caricom leaders
  From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

The Haitian president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, has attended a summit of
Caribbean leaders to discuss full Haitian membership of the regional
trade bloc, Caricom.
Mr Aristide, who took office earlier this month,said he briefed his
counterparts on efforts  towards resolving a dispute with the opposition
which has refused to recognise his mandate. The opposition boycotted
presidential voting in November and has called into question the
election of a number of senators last year.Reports from Haiti say the
senators, who are all members of Mr Aristide's Lavalas Family party,
have offered to stand down temporarily while a solution is found.
Correspondents say full Haitian membership of Caricom would be a
welcome boost for Mr Aristide, who has been    threatened with
international isolation until the electoral crisis is resolved.