Question mark over Haiti : Caricom leaders remain sceptical of Latortue

Latortue did not turn up in the St Kitts and Nevis capital and neither has he repudiated the scathing remarks he made about the Caribbean Community - the price demanded by some leaders for them to listen to his case that he has the right to the chair formerly occupied by ousted president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Last night, regional sources argued that it would not have been "politically incorrect" for Caricom leaders to have even entertained Latortue in an informal meeting ahead of a resolution of the issue of recognition of a post-Aristide regime in Port-au-Prince.

Latortue was installed as interim prime minister after Aristide's ostensible resignation and departure from Haiti on February 29 in the midst of civil unrest and an armed rebellion.

But Aristide has insisted that he was the subject of a coup d'etat and political kidnapping orchestrated by the United States with the support of France.

Caricom called for an international investigation into Aristide's claim and Jamaica, whose prime minister, P J Patterson, led the region's effort to settle the crisis in Haiti, has since mid- March been providing Aristide with temporary asylum while he prepares to settle outside the region.

Latortue, in retaliation, announced he was withdrawing Haiti's ambassador from Jamaica and freezing relations with Caricom, which he claimed had hurt his country. But last week he signalled to Caricom officials he wanted to attend the Basseterre summit of the 15-member Community which Haiti joined five years ago.

While Caricom leaders remained sceptical about accepting Latortue, their position hardened after his appearance, in the Haitian town of Gonaives, to share a platform with rebel leaders whom he hailed as liberators. Some of the rebels were convicted death squad leaders and coup plotters.

Neither Caricom secretary-general, Edwin Carrington, nor out-going chairman Patterson would confirm what appeared to be an emerging position among leaders: to keep the Haiti chair vacant until new "free and fair elections" are held in Haiti. Latortue has spoken of elections being held within two years.

To take such a position would be to fly in the face of the wishes of the United States which, conference sources say, has been applying pressure on the region to recognise the Latortue government.

But to judge from the applause received by Patterson from his colleagues around the conference table when he spoke at the opening session, Caricom leaders believe that they are critical to any solution to the Haitian crisis and that Latortue will, at some point, have to engage the Community on its terms.

"We may be small in size. We make no claim to military power. But our influence in the hemisphere cannot be underestimated," Patterson said. "We do not believe that there will be a lasting and permanent solution in Haiti unless Caricom is involved and allowed to play a meaningful role. Nothing can be accomplished without our collective support."

Caricom had tabled an initiative for solving the Haiti crisis that would have required Aristide to share power with his opponents in the formal Opposition. The plan was endorsed by the United States, France and Canada until they claimed it to be unworkable and joined the Opposition's call for Aristide's resignation.

Patterson said Caricom had every reason to be proud of its initiative.

"The Caricom plan presented a logical blueprint for achieving lasting democracy in Haiti, and despite our best efforts, that plan was torpedoed," the Jamaican leader said. "While it may not have been implemented to its full term, we can take comfort in the fact that as a community, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the tenets of democracy and good governance in our societies."

While the Haiti issue was at the top of the regional agenda yesterday, it was not the only matter that concerned the leaders.

They, for instance, paid substantial attention to the preparations for the Cricket World Cup 2007, and the status of readiness for the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) as well as negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

According to Caricom Secretariat sources, this was done to demonstrate the leaders' "anxiety" to avoid their Inter-Sessional Meeting here being crowded out by discussions on the political crisis situation in Haiti.

The Cricket World Cup will be the biggest sporting event ever hosted by the region, whose West Indies team plays as a single unit. Countries will have to build new stadia to host matches as well as coordinate immigration and Customs arrangements to ensure easy movement for the thousands of visitors expected for the tournament.

Yesterday's discussion came at a low point for regional cricket with consecutive defeats by England in the first two matches in the current four-Test series against England. In the first match in Jamaica, which England won heavily, the West Indies were bowled out in their second innings for a mere 47 runs.

"Despite what happened at Sabina Park Oval, that most of us would prefer to forget, we cannot, at this meeting, fail to address our preparedness for the Cricket World Cup," Patterson joked, to an outburst of laughter from his colleagues.

As the leaders discussed preparations for the Cricket World Cup in an ante room, Reginald Dumas, a former Trinidad and Tobago diplomat and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's special envoy on Haiti, sat patiently, waiting to brief them on his just-concluded 10-day fact-finding mission to Haiti.

Dumas' briefing was said to be relevant to the Caricom leaders' strategy to remain engaged on Haiti and their earlier decision to have a UN-led investigation into the circumstances of Aristide's departure from Haiti.

He is due to present a report to Anan on Tuesday on his Haiti mission and later travel to Washington for a briefing session with the Organisation of American States.

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