U.S. demanded support for Haiti, premier says

Posted on Mon, Apr. 19, 2004




CARICOM


U.S. demanded support for Haiti, premier says

BY MICHAEL SMITH

Associated Press


PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad -- The U.S. State Department sent letters to some Caribbean countries ''essentially demanding'' that they recognize Haiti's interim government before regional leaders met for a summit in March, according to St. Vincent's prime minister.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, speaking at a dinner for insurance executives in Trinidad on Saturday, criticized the State Department for sending the letter and said there is currently an ''absence of political democracy and a limitation on people's freedoms'' in Haiti.

During its summit in March, the 15-nation Caribbean Community withheld support for the new Haitian government and said it would consider the issue at its next meeting in July.

The community, also known as CARICOM, has also called for a U.N. investigation of the circumstances surrounding former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's departure from Haiti. Aristide says he was forced to resign by the United States, which denies the claim.

Haiti's interim government headed by Prime Minister Gerard Latortue will be in place until next year when a general election is held. No one in the interim government will be allowed to participate in the elected government.

''Prior to the St. Kitts summit, a document was sent to some Caribbean governments from the State Department essentially demanding that they recognize the Latortue government unconditionally,'' Gonsalves said.

Gonsalves said St. Vincent was one of the countries that received the letter. He said he did not respond to it and believed it must have been sent by a less-experienced diplomat because of the forceful way it was written. It was unclear whether the letter was signed.

Asked for more details, Gonsalves said no specific threats were made to Caribbean governments. But he believed the letter used the word ``demand.''

Gonsalves expressed doubt that the U.N. Security Council would agree to an investigation into Aristide's departure, saying France and the United States were opposed to it. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. State Department.