ACCESSION NUMBER:374894
FILE ID:LEF206
DATE:01/17/95
TITLE:U.S. GENERAL HAILS WORLD EFFORT TO HELP HAITI (01/17/95)
TEXT:*95011706.PFL
*LEF206 01/17/95
U.S. GENERAL HAILS WORLD EFFORT TO HELP HAITI
TR95011706 (Safe and secure environment exists)+bc (560)
By Bruce Carey
USIA Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- The spirit of international cooperation is saving the
democratic future of Haiti, says Marine Corps Gen. John Sheehan,
commander-in-chief of the U.S. Atlantic Command.
Sheehan is the overall commander of U.S. forces that preceeded the
multinational force now in Haiti and of U.S. troops that continue to serve
with that force. He told reporters in Port-au-Prince, Buenos Aires,
Tegucigalpa, Amman, and Cotonou in a USIA Worldnet broadcast Jan. 17 that
the mission to restore democracy is succeeding in Haiti because the world
community decided to participate.
"The process of restoring democracy is well on its way," he said. "Violence
1s down. There are no weapons on the street.
"It is a safe and secure environment. Commerce is being conducted. There
is free movement in the streets," the general noted.
The multinational force in Haiti is set to be relieved by March, once the
United Nations declares that a "safe and secure environment" exists for
movement into the country of U.N. forces. The successful effort to create
that environment "speaks legions to this concept of internationalism in
problem solving," said Sheehan. "Now it is up to the international
community to invest in Haiti," he said.
"The international community must respond" to crises such as that in Haiti
and Rwanda," he asserted. "It is going to take a policy of engagement by
the international community" for such future efforts to succeed.
The U.N. force will be about 6,000 strong, including about 2,400 Americans,
and is expected to remain until about March 1996. "U.S. particiation in
multinational forces under U.N. mandates will continue," he predicted.
Sheehan said the best test of the effort in Haiti will be whether President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide's successor makes a peaceful transition into office
after next year's elections. "That is when you really will know that
democracy has taken hold in Haiti," said the general.
"Reconciliation is the key" to continued progress toward rebuilding Haiti.
In the meantime, "it is incumbent on everybody to remain vigilant" against
anti-democratic forces.
"That is why the reconciliation process is so important, because there is a
small segment of that population that still resorts to intimidation and the
use of force," he said.
Any effort to disarm recalcitrant factions during the transition "has to be
based on intelligence, not a house-to-house search" that would violate the
rights of Haitian citizens, Sheehan said, adding that it is the Haitians
themselves who must keep order.
He said international forces are there only to maintain political stability
in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 940. "They are the
first ones to go to resolve this problem. The international police
monitors, the multinational force, and the U.N. force are really there to
encourage the Haitians to solve their own problem," he said.
"The real future is in economic recovery putting the Haitian people back to
work with dignity in a democratic process," said the general. "The
international community will only stay engaged as long as the environment
in Haiti is good enough for them to continue to invest in Haiti."
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