09 February 2004
U.S. Joins International Community in Condemning Haitian Violence
State Department deplores loss of life in Haiti
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States has joined the international community in condemning Haiti's recent wave of violence that has resulted in loss of life in the Caribbean nation.
In a February 9 statement, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher called on the government of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to respect the rights of Haiti's citizens and the rule of law. Boucher said the United States deeply deplores the loss of life that occurred during attacks in Gonaives, St. Marc, and other Haitian cities.
Boucher said the United States fully supports the efforts of Caribbean nations and the Organization of American States (OAS), through the OAS' Special Mission in Haiti, to promote a peaceful and democratic solution to Haiti's political crisis -- a solution "that can be supported by all the Haitian people."
"The problems of Haiti will not be solved by violence and retribution," Boucher said. "Only through dialogue, negotiation, and compromise can Haiti resolve its problems."
The United States has previously called on Aristide to engage in dialogue with members of the political opposition in his country to end the Haitian political impasse. Aristide has vowed to finish his second term as president in 2006, despite the opposition's call for his resignation.
Boucher said the Caribbean community of nations, known as Caricom, has made its "services available" to try to help bring about a dialogue between the two sides in Haiti. The United States strongly supports such a dialogue, Boucher said.
Also condemning the violence was the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, who called on all Haitians to peacefully resolve their political differences through constitutional means.
In a statement, Annan said he regretted that clashes between government forces and armed opposition members in Haiti have led to loss of life.
Annan voiced full support for the efforts of Caricom and the OAS to try to work through Haiti's three-year-old political impasse.
Annan said he deplored the violence in Gonaives, where Haiti proclaimed its independence from France in 1804.
A group of Latin American and Caribbean nations also voiced concern about the situation in Haiti. In a statement, these nations, known collectively as the Rio Group, called on Haitians to find a peaceful end to the political turmoil in their country. The Rio Group said it "expresses its concern over the situation in the Republic of Haiti and hopes that stability and peace prevail."
Despite the political crisis in Haiti, the United States has been extending a hand to help the Haitian people through its humanitarian aid program run by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Adolfo Franco, USAID's assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, has pointed out that the United States remains Haiti's largest donor, having contributed $71 million in humanitarian aid to that nation in 2003.
Franco said President Bush has singled out Haiti as a "priority country," resulting in U.S. funding of several million dollars each year to Haiti to help prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.
Even as that humanitarian aid continues, Franco said, the United States has blocked aid to the Haitian government, because of the Bush administration's "serious concerns" about the "authoritarian approach to governance" that Aristide "regrettably appears to have chosen."
(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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