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27735: Craig (news) A post-election agenda (fwd)






From: Dan Craig


A post-election agenda
Published: February 13 2006 02:00 | Last updated: February 13 2006 02:00
Financial Times
ft.com

The United Nations appears to have scored a success in Haiti, the western hemisphere's poorest and most socially divided nation. Haitians last week defied formidable logistical barriers and fears of violence to vote in a poll that was as clean as could be expected.

The result is still uncertain but there seems a reasonable chance that the contest will eventually produce a clear winner who will enjoy a strong mandate. In any event, the new government should enjoy more legitimacy than the ineffective transitional team imposed following the ousting of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide two years ago.

But for both Haiti and the interÂnational community, elections should be the beginning not the end of the story. If democracy is to be consolidated Haiti needs to rebuild its barely functioning institutions. The UN - which meets this week in New York - needs to renew and then revise its mandate to help prepare for a long-term commitment to help Haiti meet these goals.

An immediate priority will be to help broker consensus among competing political leaders so that the electoral process can be successfully completed.

The new government needs to show some economic results quickly in order to build up confidence. The world can help by ensuring economic aid is disbursed more quickly. Only about half of the more than $1bn (Â600m) in multi-Âlateral assistance agreed 18 months ago has been spent. Quick action to establish visible progress by rebuilding roads and other infrastructure would help generate a sense of forward momentum.

The UN's stabilisation mission of 9,000 soldiers and police should stay in Haiti to provide security for the immediate future. But in the longer term the Haitian state will disintegrate unless it is able to establish a viable system of public security.

Networks of political and criminal gangs have penetrated Haiti's police force, which - according to its leaders - is responsible directly for nearly a third of all crimes committed in the country. The authorities must vet all existing officers and purge units of criminal elements.

Reforms of the courts and legal system are also essential. These will take time but the reform process must be started quickly to build up confidence in the rule of law.

The international community - and especially the US - can also help clamp down on illegal drugs. In recent years Haiti has become a transshipment point for traffickers in cocaine and other illegal drugs. The amounts of money involved mean that traders can easily buy off police officers and other officials.

Historically, Haitian leaders have had so little confidence in the state that they have set up their own private armies. That pattern must be broken if Haiti is to have a viable future.



Find this article at:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f8fa05d2-9c34-11da-8baa-0000779e2340,s01=1.html