19201: (Chamberlain) Bush rebuffs Aristide, warns Haitians (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Steve Holland

     WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Wednesday
rebuffed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's appeal for immediate
security assistance to head off a rebel advance and warned Haitians not to
flee to the United States.
     Aristide, trying to fend off a bloody revolt against his presidency by
insurgents, had appealed for international help for his outgunned police.
But Bush was insistent that peacekeepers only be sent once a political
settlement to the crisis was reached.
     The United States has been criticized for doing too little to staunch
the chaos in the poorest nation in the Americas. U.S. officials have
emphasized negotiation and said security forces should be sent only after
violence abates. Critics fear waiting for a peace deal will allow more
chaos.
     "Incident to a political settlement, we will encourage the
international community to provide a security presence," Bush told
reporters.
     He said such a force was being discussed with U.S. allies, but gave no
details. The first item of business, he said, "is to work on a political
solution."
     White House spokesman Scott McClellan, elaborating on Bush's comments,
said the international community would be prepared to police a political
settlement but not go in before one is reached. He suggested the U.S.
contribution would be limited.
     Canada, a key U.S. ally in the crisis, has said it would be "madness"
to send reinforcements now because of the violence, while France has been
noncommittal.
     Hopes for a political settlement soon are in doubt because opposition
politicians rejected a power-sharing deal on Tuesday that Aristide had
already agreed on. "We still hope to be able to achieve a political
settlement between the current government and the rebels," Bush said.
     Speaking in the White House Oval Office, he also said he had
instructed the U.S. Coast Guard to "turn back any refugee" from Haiti who
seeks to land on U.S. shores.
     Aristide had said on Tuesday that "we may have more Haitians leaving
by boat to Florida," apparently trying to touch on U.S. fears of a repeat
of the early 1990s when thousands of Haitians fled political violence and
tried to reach America.
     "We will have a robust presence with an effective strategy. and so we
strongly encourage the Haitian people to stay home as we work to effect a
peaceful solution to this problem," Bush said.
     There appeared to be little sympathy in the U.S. Congress to send in
U.S. troops to keep Aristide from falling.
     "What the United States does not want to do is to simply prop up the
status quo in an anti-democratic government led by Mr. Aristide...What the
United States wants to see in Haiti is all of the political parties
continuing in a profound and serious dialogue," said Rep. Lincoln
Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican.
     Florida Republican Rep. Mark Foley said the countries involved in
trying to arrange a deal were saying behind the scenes that "we will not
send people to that nation if it is under the intention of propping up
Aristide's government."
     Washington believes it still has time to hammer out a peace deal with
the Haiti opposition despite its rejection of a U.S.-backed power-sharing
plan, and despite the pressure rebels are exerting by vowing to attack the
capital Port-Au-Prince, State Department officials said