Will we stand behind our French and Haitian brothers and sisters?

[Honus]

Now that we are the world-wide defenders of democracy, I guess we will soon invade Haiti. Shouldn't we get going on this before France beats us to it?

France Holds Emergency Meeting on Haiti
Tue Feb 17,11:35 AM ET
By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer

PARIS - France's government gathered an emergency team Tuesday to deal with the increasingly dangerous situation in former colony Haiti and was weighing whether peacekeepers could intervene to calm the impoverished island's bloody uprising.

Logistics including a possible U.N. role must be resolved before any French venture in the Caribbean could get under way. But France could in the meantime offer aid and other emergency services from its territories in the region, said Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin.

"What can France do specifically? First, we want to reflect on what could be done urgently. Can we deploy a peacekeeping force? We are in contact with all of our partners in the framework of the United Nations (news - web sites), which has sent a humanitarian mission to Haiti to see what is possible," he told France Inter radio.

He cautioned that deploying peacekeepers "is very difficult" when a nation is in the throes of violence. Still, he said he called an urgent meeting at his ministry Tuesday of a "crisis group" of French officials "to see what immediate contribution we can make."

He noted that France has territories in the region and expertise in the fields of education, health and humanitarian aid.

"We have some very important assets close to Haiti, with our departments in the Antilles and Guiana," he said. "It is all that that we want to make available when the time comes and if the circumstances permit," he said.

The French Defense Ministry said it has 4,000 military personnel at two bases in the area, in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Asked whether an intervention could be quickly organized to stop a worsening of violence, De Villepin replied: "Absolutely. We have the means and many friendly countries are mobilized."

"They are ready to act. We must find ways to do that in liaison with the Haitian parties so that a process of dialogue can resume," he said.

Among France's top concerns is the welfare of about 2,000 French citizens who live in Haiti, mostly the capital, officials in Paris said.

Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has appealed for international help to quell the uprising that has killed more than 50 people and destabilized the Caribbean country. Rebels have taken control of parts of the north and center of Haiti.

De Villepin said "many countries are ready to mobilize in support of Haiti."


"But, of course, that supposes a spurt of effort by Haiti's political class, that President Aristide commits himself to a respect of civil peace. That's his first responsibility."

He called for talks.

"This implies that President Aristide, who over the years has let things degenerate, can find the strength to move toward dialogue, and that all Haitian officials think only of one thing: Haiti and the Haitian people who have suffered for too many years," the French minister said.

Discontent has grown in Haiti since Aristide's party swept flawed legislative elections in 2000. Opposition politicians refuse to participate in new elections unless the president steps down — but Aristide insists he will stay until his term ends in February 2006.

"It's a country in a catastrophic situation, with 90 percent of the population that lives on less than $1 a day, life expectancy that is around 52 years," said De Villepin. "It's a country that today is on the edge of chaos."