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May 3, 2001
 President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Initiative Leads to the First
Step Out of the Political Crisis
Today's meeting at the National
Palace, held in response to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's
invitation to all political parties, private sector, the
political/social professionals, and civil society, to
sit together to find a way to end the political crisis,
was successful both in participation, the manner in which
the conference was conducted and the concrete points that
were reached through a process of consensus. The impasse
is primarily centered around the controversy over the
method of calculation used in the May 21, 2000 legislative
elections. President Aristide has repeatedly said that
he is the president of all Haitians and that all sectors
are necessary to reach a consensus and it is in this vein
that he has also stated that the opposition is a necessary
element in a true democracy.
The Democratic Convergence,
which bills itself as "the opposition" was not present
at today's meeting. Last week other political parties
were outspoken when they made statements that they are
also opposition parties and warned that they should
not be dismissed nor ignored in efforts to genuinely
seek a resolution to this impasse.
Today's meeting, which
was attended by approximately 80 persons, representing
approximately 60 different entities, was seen by its
attendees as a first step out of the current impasse.
The meeting was conducted in an atmosphere of mutual
respect and there was consensus that the objectives
of all are to live together in a peaceful society that
is politically stable and engaged in economic development.
The spirit of cooperation and collaboration weighed
in heavily in considering the outcomes of the historic
conference.
The five main points
which emerged from the meeting are 1) The participants
unanimously deplore the absence of the Democratic Convergence
from this meeting and, who are, part of the solution;
2) The meeting called attention for the need to address
not only the electoral question but also the structural
problems of the country which encompass the economy,
the society and the institutions; 3) The meeting suggested
that the proposal*
put forth by the Center for Free Enterprise and Democracy
(CLED) on March 7, 2001 be a starting point
for discussing ways to exit the crisis; 4) Those present
who represent various sectors of the society echo the
cries of all in the country that the political crisis
has lasted much too long and must end without delay;
and, 5) The President commits to take an active part
in the negotiations in order to end the crisis...
The President offered
to contact the Democratic Convergence within the next
few days and agreed to meet with them at the National
Palace or at any other location in order "to sit at
the table and get the dialogue going."
*The CLED proposal includes
suggestions that issues which need to be focused on
are the May 21, 2000 parliamentary elections, and on
reaching a consensus on the formation of a new electoral
council.
This press release is
partially based on a release from the Bureau of Communication
and of Press for the Presidency.
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Haiti@inxil.com
· James
R. Morrell, executive director