a708: Haiti: Opposition leader decries call for talks on taking part in government

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JD Lemieux <lxhaiti@yahoo.com>

1.   Haiti: Opposition leader decries call for talks
on taking part in government

Haiti: Opposition leader decries call for talks on
taking part in government
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 9, 2002



Text of report by Haitian Metropole radio on 7
February

Rene Theodore, the leader of the National
Reconstruction Movement [MRN], considers President
Aristide's appeal to the opposition to hold talks in
order to take part in the new government to be
demagogy. According to Theodore, the opposition would
be ridiculous to agree to take part in that government
in such a situation. He thinks that the president's
statements are directed at the international
community.

[Theodore - recording] Well, it would be for us to
agree to discuss the matters regarding the country as
equals and see how together we could get out of the
crisis. But, up to now, this has not been the case,
and he [Aristide] does not want to do so either.

[Journalist Rotchild Francois Jr] So, as far as you
are concerned, that government's responsibilities
would need to be defined. Should that government be
formed before the resumption of the negotiations or
within the framework of the conclusion of an
agreement?

[Theodore] Within the framework of the conclusion of
an agreement, of course. Listen, we have already had
recent experiences with the Lavalas party in power. We
have seen how the FL [Lavalas Family] was able to
politicize the police and use the police in the
elections to make false reports, [and[ confiscate
ballot boxes, which led to fraudulent results in
favour of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the FL.

We witnessed all those manipulations, so now how will
we be able to trust him and take part in a
pseudo-democratic process with those men in power in
the present situation? No, that is not possible unless
we were completely stupid.

Source: Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French
1145 gmt 7 Feb 02

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.



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