24751: Hermantin(News)Panel says Florida, Haitian-Americans must act now to save Haiti

[sak-pase@bimini.ws]

leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>


Panel says Florida, Haitian-Americans must act now to save Haiti
By CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press
April 11, 2005, 4:16 PM EDT

MIAMI -- As Haiti's interim prime minister looked on, Gov. Jeb Bush unveiled 
a report Monday from a Haiti commission he appointed that urged Florida and 
its large Haitian-American community to take action now to help the 
impoverished, unstable nation.

The 25 recommendations of the Governor's Haiti Advisory Group, Bush said, 
``are embedded in the real world. These are doable recommendations.''

Bush and Gerard Latortue, Haiti's interim prime minister, discussed the 
report at the launch of a new Haiti pro-business group, the Haitian-American 
Chamber of Commerce of Florida. Latortue, who replaced former President 
Jean-Bertrand Aristide in early 2004, said government stability is the first 
step toward economic development.

``We know we have to put order in the house if we want to go forward,'' 
Latortue said. ``We are fighting corruption and we want to have good and 
sound economic policies.''

Yet outside the downtown Miami hotel where Latortue spoke, about three dozen 
protesters chanting ``Latortue must go'' and blowing whistles were a stark 
reminder of the fractious political situation in Haiti. The poorest country 
in the Americas, Haiti is enmeshed in a political crisis highlighted anew 
this weekend when security personnel shot and killed a rebel leader who 
helped force Aristide from power.

The advisory panel, named by Bush in September, focused on what Florida and 
the estimated 400,000 Haitian-Americans and Haitian nationals living in 
Florida can do to help. Its chairwoman, Marie S. Bell, said the state and 
its Haitian community are ``perfectly positioned'' to provide assistance 
ranging from security to job creation to disaster preparedness.

``What we have in common is we all want to see a better Haiti,'' Bell said.

Among the key recommendations:


Florida state and city police should help train Haiti's national police and 
prison officers, possibly including courses at Florida law enforcement 
institutes.


Florida should provide assistance with Haitian elections planned in 
November, possibly including observers to ensure they are fair.


Tourism and commerce should be improved through technical assistance to 
bolster security at Haitian airports and seaports. A marketing campaign 
stressing Haiti's history and natural beauty could entice tourists from 
Florida, possibly including cruise lines again.


Experts on reforestation, possibly linked with a state university, should 
create a pilot program aimed at halting erosion on hillsides prone to 
flooding.


The U.S. government should revisit its official Haiti travel warning, which 
``discourages the flow of both investment and tourism.''


Florida and Haiti should establish both student and professional exchange 
programs.

Latortue painted a rosy picture of a rapidly improving Haiti, which he said 
has no budget deficit, less official corruption and a stabilizing economy in 
advance of the planned elections.

``The conditions are set now for Haiti to go forward,'' he said.

Yet the 7,400-member United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti has 
increasingly confronted ex-soldiers and pro- and anti- Aristide street 
gangs. Some say U.N. forces are unnecessarily shooting people.

More than 400 people have been killed since September in clashes between 
gangs, former soldiers, police and peacekeepers.
Copyright © 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel