*EPF103 03/01/2004
Powell Says Multinational Force in Haiti Aims to Restore Stability
(Says Aristide departure allows for new transitional government) (970)

By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says a U.S.-led multinational military force sent to Haiti is designed to restore stability in that embattled Caribbean nation, following the February 29 resignation of Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the establishment of a new interim Haitian government.

Interviewed March 1 on several early morning U.S. television programs, Powell said he expected the initial force of U.S. Marines to be joined by troops from France, Canada, and several Latin American nations. That force was endorsed by passage of a United Nations Security Council Resolution on February 29.

Powell said the mission of the troops is to "stabilize the situation" in Haiti and "help the new Haitian leaders put in place a functioning government, which is what we did not have under President Aristide." Powell said the force would be "in the hundreds, maybe a little more than a thousand or so, but it is not a large force."

The secretary said he did not think there would be a great deal of fighting in Haiti in the aftermath of Aristide's departure. But he warned that U.S. and multinational troops have to be prepared for such an occurrence.

Those troops, Powell said, "need to bring a sense of security back to the [Haitian] society, as we have [necessarily] done in times past, unfortunately."

Powell rebutted critics of U.S. policy on Haiti who accused the Bush administration of waiting until the situation in the country had spiraled out of control. The secretary said that it would have been wrong to step in earlier on the side of Aristide's government.

"All those who say we should have gone in earlier were advocating a position that we should go in on the side of a president who really was running a flawed government, a flawed presidency," said Powell, speaking on the CNN program "American Morning."

The United States was not prepared to go into Haiti and support "an individual who may have been elected democratically but was not governing effectively or democratically," said Powell.

The secretary said that the United States and the international community tried to find a political solution to the Haitian crisis, but "couldn't find that answer. So we felt by the end of last week that the only real answer was if President Aristide would take a hard look at the situation and decide to step down, which is what he did. And we said that under those circumstances we would come in, and we came in immediately."

On the NBC television network's "Today Show," Powell said Aristide was unable to put in place a political system that would "satisfy the needs of the Haitian people."

"And it became very clear to all of us and to the Canadians and the French that he [Aristide] had pretty much used up whatever political authority and credibility he had," said Powell.

The secretary said Aristide did the "appropriate ... wise ... and patriotic thing" by resigning from office.

The day earlier, President Bush said Aristide had left his country and that the constitution of Haiti was working, with the swearing-in of an interim Haitian president.

Bush said he ordered the deployment of U.S. Marines into Haiti, as the leading element of an interim international force, to help bring order and stability to that nation. "I have done so in working with the international community," said Bush. "This government believes it essential that Haiti have a hopeful future. This is the beginning of a new chapter in the country's history."

Also on February 29, another U.S. official, John Negroponte, said the international community has reached a broad consensus on the need to help the Haitian people establish a stable and democratic society in their country.

Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that with a new interim government in Haiti after Aristide's resignation, "Haiti has turned a new page in its history."

Negroponte said passage late February 29 of a new U.N. Security Council resolution (number 1529) authorizes the immediate deployment of a multinational interim force, for a period of not more than three months, to contribute to creating a secure and stable environment in Haiti.

The official added that the resolution also provides for the probability of a "follow-on" U.N. peacekeeping force later in the year.

"To my way of thinking, there's no question that we are much better off today than we were several days ago with regard to the situation in Haiti," Negroponte said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a statement February 29 that in conformity with Haiti's constitution, Supreme Court President Boniface Alexandre was sworn in as Haitian head of state until presidential elections are held.

The United States calls on all Haitians "to respect this peaceful and constitutional succession and to refrain from any actions that will undermine national reconciliation," Boucher said. "We urge all Haitians to cooperate with the international community as it supports measures to build a more just society and to help defeat the scourge of poverty and disease."

The Organization of American States (OAS) issued its own statement February 29 offering support to Haiti's new government.

OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria called on Haitians "to work together to restore public order and to strengthen the institutions of state."

Gaviria said that "a resolution of the centuries-old socio-economic problems faced by Haiti can only be achieved by means of a democratic framework of dialogue, negotiation, and a modus vivendi in which the interests and
human rights of all Haitians will be taken into account."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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