30 March 2004
U.S. Expresses Optimism About Situation in Haiti
State Dept. says new Haitian government is "up and running"
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The Bush administration has expressed optimism about the situation in Haiti, saying that after months of armed violence and instability in the Caribbean nation, the atmosphere is apparently "calming down" as the new Haitian government seems to be "getting up and running."
U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters March 29 that overall conditions in Haiti have "stabilized," with food deliveries resumed around the country.
Asked to comment on reports that the 15-nation bloc of Caribbean nations known collectively as Caricom refused at a summit meeting March 25 and 26 to recognize Haiti's interim government, Boucher said that what Caricom actually did was defer until July a decision on whether to formally accept the new Haitian government's legitimacy.
Boucher said the United States has been working with the Caricom nations "to try to encourage cooperation with Haiti, to try to act on their commitments and pledges to help Haiti re-establish itself economically, socially and politically."
The spokesman said "there's a lot of progress that is being made in Haiti by the new government there with the support of the international community, and we would hope that the Caricom nations could be part of that."
Boucher said the United States "would prefer" that the Caribbean nations become more involved in Haiti, because that is what those nations "have said they want to do."
As for whether the United States would cooperate with a U.N. investigation into the circumstances that led to the February 29 departure from Haiti of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Boucher said such an investigation is "hypothetical at this point," adding: "We don't think [such a probe] is necessary."
The United States has been leading a U.N.-authorized interim multinational force in Haiti, which also includes troops from Canada, France and Chile. The U.S. Department of Defense says the mission of the multinational troop contingent is to return the country to stability and prepare the way for a follow-on force from the United Nations.
The United States was also one of a group of donor nations that met March 23 with international financial institutions and other groups to explore what the next steps should be to address Haiti's problems. The U.S. delegation at the meeting was led by Adolfo Franco, assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Participants in the meeting, held in Washington under the auspices of the World Bank, agreed to propose to Haiti's interim government the launch of a joint government/multi-donor assessment. The assessment would evaluate Haiti's economic, social and institutional needs.
(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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