14 December 2004
More U.N. Troops Arrive in Haiti to Improve Security
Peacekeeping mission will deploy 8,000 troops and police
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The United Nations says its peacekeeping mission in Haiti will deploy more than 8,000 troops and police in the country by the beginning of 2005, which will demonstrate to the Haitian population the mission's "determination to disarm rogue groups and establish security."
In a December 10 statement, the U.N. senior envoy to Haiti, Juan Valdez, said the problem of security in the Caribbean nation could best be achieved by "making a huge effort to isolate those using violence and disarming them."
By the end of November, the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known by the acronym of MINUSTAH, already had more than two-thirds of its authorized strength in Haiti of 6,700 soldiers and 1,622 civil police.
Valdez said security is the number-one priority for both Haitians and MINUSTAH, and that security is the crucial element for "all those who are here to assist the people of Haiti."
MINUSTAH was established in April following unrest in the country that led to the resignation of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In November, the U.N. Security Council renewed the peacekeeping force for another six months, after Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported a deteriorating security situation and an upsurge of violence. Part of MINUSTAH's mandate is to promote a series of elections in Haiti leading to new presidential elections in the country on February 7, 2006.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says that because of persistent violence in Haiti, the task of creating a secure environment "has to be the first priority" of the country's interim government. In a radio interview December 1 in the Haitian capital city of Port-au-Prince, Powell said he told Haitian leaders and U.N. officials MINUSTAH has "to become more forceful in providing presence on the streets" and "in going after those who are responsible for the violence." Criminal groups in Haiti have to be disarmed, said Powell.
In the interview, Powell urged Haitians to "keep the faith" while their country goes through a difficult rebuilding process. "People are here to help you," Powell said, but "you must do your part -- you must reject violence, you must push back on those who would try to intimidate you, you must support the forces of democracy and freedom, you must not go back to the past, you must look to the future. As you look to the future, you will have a good friend standing alongside you in the United States of America."
(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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