PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the Government of Haiti endorsed the Initial Draft Accord proposed by the Organization of the American States (OAS) to the Haitian political parties, seeking an end to the political crisis that has halted the flow of international humanitarian and development assistance to Haiti.

In a letter dated July 9, 2002 to OAS Assistant Secretary General Luigi Einaudi and St. Lucian Foreign Affairs Minister Julian Hunte, representing the Caribbean Community, President Aristide pledged to honor the Government's commitments to the Initial Draft Accord and fully implement all of the measures contained within.

"As President, I wish to reiterate and reconfirm to you the full support of the Government of Haiti for the agreement of all political parties to the Initial Draft Accord as the best way forward toward a resolution of the political and economic crisis, which the people of Haiti have long needed and demanded," reads President Aristide's cover letter to the Government's endorsement of the Initial Draft Accord.

By endorsing the OAS Initial Draft Accord along with the majority party, Fanmi Lavalas, the Government of Haiti has once again demonstrated its willingness to end the crippling political impasse, which stemmed from the May 21, 2000 elections in Haiti. In a decisive move forward, the Government agreed to continue its compliance with the provisions of OAS Resolutions 806, 1831 and 1841, and pledged to carry out further "confidence-building measures" beyond those contained in the Initial Draft Accord.

Under the Accord, the Government of Haiti will hold national elections in the second quarter of 2003 to replace members of Parliament who were elected on May 21, 2000. These members have agreed to sacrifice two years of their terms to end the crisis. Local officials would also be elected at this time.

In addition to the election provision, the Initial Draft Accord addresses issues surrounding the December 17, 2001 attack on the National Palace in Port-au-Prince and the subsequent violence. The Government pledged to continue to "combat impunity and place the highest priority on strengthening judicial institutions" by implementing the Recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the Events of December 17, 2001. In its endorsement of the Initial Draft Accord, the Government of Haiti agrees to pay reparations to any agencies, institutions, organizations and individuals that suffered damages in connection with the attack on the National Palace on December 17, 2001. Further, the Government pledges to cooperate fully with the OAS Special Mission and other international institutions, agreeing to carry out all of the Recommendations on human rights and the press set forth in the OAS report.

"The Government has done and continues to do, everything possible to facilitate the agreement of all political parties to the terms of the Initial Draft Accord presented by the (OAS)," President Aristide wrote. "The people of Haiti demand and urgently need an end to the political and economic crisis, and their well-being requires all Haitians to rise above politics and parties and reach an agreement with one another on the way to move forward together. The Initial Draft Accord provides this way forward."

In his letter, President Aristide called upon the Secretary General of the OAS to continue to move the process forward and to urge the international financial institutions to resume normal economic cooperation with the Government of Haiti. The United States is currently leading an economic embargo against Haiti and is withholding more than $500 million in humanitarian development assistance loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

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