United States Wants New Haitian Government To Succeed, Rice Says
17 February 2006
United Nations says newly elected Haitian president will take office March 29
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States wants the newly elected Haitian government of René Préval to succeed in bringing about a stable, prosperous and democratic Haiti, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
In February 16 testimony before a U.S. congressional committee, Rice said the United States plans to see what further resources it can provide to Haiti because it is in the U.S. national interest that the new Préval administration be successful.
The secretary recounted that the United States already supports U.N. peacekeeping missions to Haiti, and backs a $400 million international aid package to help the Caribbean nation.
Rice was testifying before the House International Relations Committee on the Bush administration’s fiscal year 2007 international affairs budget request. During her testimony, Rice also discussed the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement, and U.S. relations with Venezuela and Colombia.
On Haiti, Rice said the February 7 election won by Préval now provides a "chance for a country that has had too few chances, and I think you will see that we will be looking at what resource needs we have for Haiti, as this new government gets up and running."
In addition to being Haiti’s largest aid donor, Rice said the United States is the leader of what is called the "Core Group for Haiti." The group, consisting of countries and international organizations that are involved with promoting democracy and stability in Haiti, was created April 30, 2004, by a U.N. Security Council resolution. (See related article.)
Rice's testimony coincided with a February 16 statement from the State Department congratulating Préval on winning Haiti's presidential election. The statement said the United States looked forward to working with Préval's new government to help the Haitian people "build a better future for themselves." (See related article.)
Also on February 16, the United Nations issued a statement supporting Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council's declaration that Préval had won the presidential election. The United Nations said that, according to Haiti's electoral calendar, Préval will be sworn in as the new Haitian president on March 29. (The statement is available on the U.N. Web site.)
Rice rejected suggestions by Representative Barbara Lee (Democrat of California) that the United States had tried to undermine democracy in Haiti allegedly by working against former Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide. In the face of widespread public unrest, Aristide resigned his office in February 2004 and went into exile overseas.
Rather than undermining Haiti, Rice said, the administration of President Bill Clinton "went out of its way and worked hard and took great risks" to help Aristide return as Haiti’s president in 1994. But Aristide failed to carry out a list of reform pledges after he returned to power following a coup that had deposed him in 1991, Rice said.
The United States worked with the international community to give the Haitian people "a chance after the Aristide regime had sent thugs into the streets to burn down police stations" and Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince was "in flames," she said.
"So I think the United States over the last several years -- and I would count here not just this [Bush] administration, but the Clinton administration as well -- has had a good record of trying to help the people of Haiti get out of the desperate circumstances in which they live."
More information about U.S. assistance to Haiti is available on the Web site of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Rice’s testimony (PDF, 12 pages) as submitted for the record is available on the committee’s Web site.
For additional information on U.S. policy, see Haiti.
(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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