US offers diplomacy, not force to establish order in Haiti

by Christophe de Roquefeuil

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

WASHINGTON, USA (AFP): US officials on Tuesday backed diplomatic efforts to restore civil order in Haiti and said that the United States had no plans to intervene militarily as it did 10 years ago.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters the United States has not considered sending troops to the troubled Caribbean nation, which has been crippled by mounting violence aimed at challenging President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's rule.

"Everyone's hopeful that the situation which tends to ebb and flow down there, will stay below a certain threshold and ... we have no plans to do anything," Rumsfeld said.

Former president Bill Clinton sent 20,000 troops in 1994 to return Aristide to power, three years after he was overthrown in a bloody military coup.

Aristide, a former Roman Catholic priest, served a five-year term and was elected again in 2000.

Calls for his resignation multiplied after his party won 2000 legislative elections opponents said were marred by fraud, and tough government crackdowns on street demonstrations followed.

The US State Department reiterated its support for a diplomatic mediation through the Organization of American States (OAS) and the 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom).

Opposition groups and Aristide "need to focus on reaching a political settlement, maintaining a peaceful dialogue to reach a negotiated solution," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell relayed the message to Raymond Valcin, Haiti's new ambassador to Washington, Boucher said.

Powell has discussed Haiti's crisis with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham and France, according to US officials.

At least 42 people have died in Haiti since Thursday, when a rebel group claimed control of the country's fourth largest city, Gonaives.

After authorities reclaimed three cities that had fallen under rebel hands, Aristide vowed Tuesday to restore order while protecting the population.

Haiti's dismal political record has tainted the 1994 US military operation in the eyes of the US public and politicians.

Washington is looking for radical changes in the way the country is managed, but US official are not calling for the resignation of Aristide, whose government is accused of supporting violent pro-government groups.

"It's clear from the kind of proposals that have been made and the discussions that are being held when we talk about undergoing change in the way Haiti is governed, I think that could indeed involve changes in Aristide's position," a senior State Department official told reporters.

But the United States is not calling for Aristide's resignation, the official said.

A second senior State Department official confirmed the United States' desire for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

"We feel we want to exhaust every diplomatic effort possible before moving to a higher level," said the second official, who asked to remain anonymous.

"Right now, the situation is such in Haiti that if you send armed foreigners to the country, whether they were troops or police, you might run the risk of aid foreigners themselves becoming the target of Haitian violence and frustration," the official added.

Foreign soldiers or policemen could be accused by Haitians of taking sides in the conflict, the official said.

US authorities are worried Haiti's turmoil will lead to a Haitian exodus to the United States.

The United States is monitoring the situation, the official said, but "we have not seen a significant increase in the numbers (of people fleeing the Haiti)."

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