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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Haitian President Jean- Bertrand Aristide cut short his participation in the United Nations World Food Summit in Italy this week to return to Haiti to take part in negotiations being facilitated by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean community (CARICOM) between the government of Haiti, Fanmi Lavalas, and Convergence, the opposition.
The meetings that began June 10 in Port-au- Prince were proposed and set by the OAS, and were accepted by the Government of Haiti and Fanmi Lavalas.
Upon arriving in Port-au-Prince Tuesday evening from Rome, President Aristide proceeded directly to the Hotel Montana, the established site of the negotiations, and held an unexpected press conference with members of the Government, Fanmi Lavalas and the private sector.
The President urged members of Convergence to sit down directly with members of the Government and Fanmi Lavalas to "talk with each other, Haitian to Haitian." As the President was calling for a peaceful and swift resolution to the political crisis, Convergence members were concluding their meetings with the OAS and leaving the hotel, passing up an opportunity to meet and negotiate with the President.
Again demonstrating his willingness to restart negotiations, President Aristide said "I have returned to Haiti for the resumption of negotiations so we can put an end to the suffering of the Haitian people."
OAS Assistant Secretary-General Luigi Einaudi and Ste. Lucian Foreign Minister Julian Hunte, a representative of CARICOM, are overseeing the negotiations. Upon completing a special mission to Haiti last month, Einaudi expressed confidence that the OAS-mediated negotiations happening this week would lead to an agreement among the three parties. Convergence, however, continues to undermine the negotiation process by making extraneous demands to the government as conditions for resuming talks.
As reported by the Associated Press, Einaudi said he could no longer accept opposition leaders' objections to resuming talks. "We don't agree with preconditions," he said.
"The Government and Fanmi Lavalas have been ready and are here today ready to negotiate," President Aristide said.
The Government of Haiti and Convergence have been involved in a political impasse stemming from the May 21, 2000 elections, and the government and Fanmi Lavalas have made significant concessions to resolve the crisis. Because of the impasse, the United States has led an economic embargo against Haiti and is currently withholding more than $500 million in humanitarian development assistance loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Global Market Solutions is a marketing communications firm that provides services to government and corporate clients worldwide. GMS is also a registered foreign agent for the Government of Haiti.
©2003 Copyright Embassy of the Republic of Haiti
