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opinionAlso in this section:
Leis, Watch out! Posada Carriles is loose! Silié, Rio Group and European Union support Haiti Pilgrim, Biofuels a step forward Jackson, A flawed plan to deal with Panama City congestion Sirias, Inside the mind of a tormented writer
The Greater Caribbean This Week The Rio Group and the European Union support Haiti by Rubén Silié At recent international meetings, a point of consensus has been achieved with respect to Haiti, on different aspects of regional integration, despite the fact that it has undergone difficulties spanning a period of two decades. During the process of transition toward democracy, on the heels of the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship, it suffered several coups d’état, two foreign interventions and has maintained high levels of political conflict. Haiti’s last major political crisis was related to the armed political movements that were opposed to the government led by President Jean Bertrand Aristide. We must not lose sight of the fact that those movements were armed gangs that converged onto the streets to incite the overthrow of the constitutional president. There were confrontations between these gangs and the government and, as a consequence of those altercations, and with the intervention of the international community, those irregular forces were dealt with. However, the state of conflict and political disintegration was such that certain forces were successful in getting President Aristide to leave. In order to address that situation, important sectors of the international community drew closer to the Haitians so as to assist their country in regaining its political stability and strengthening constitutional order. With that support, Haiti was able to create a provisional government led by Gerard Latortoue as Prime Minister, and his responsibility was to organize elections that would facilitate the return to constitutionality and the political administrative restructuring of the nation. In the interim, Haiti received countless offers of assistance to support the development of the Haitian nation, but most of them have not materialized, more than one year after the assumption of power by President Rene Preval, following elections that were observed by the entire international community. The 13th Ministerial Meeting between the Rio Group and the European Union held recently in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, placed particular emphasis on the international community’s interest in Haiti. That commitment is of great significance for a country like Haiti, which is seeking new channels for development. The ministers of both international organizations agreed to make the Haitian situation a priority for international cooperation, as is evident in the press release prepared to distribute the results of the meeting: “The Ministers ratified the commitment assumed in the 2005 Luxemburg Declaration, and expressed their willingness to continue deepening short, medium and long term co-operation with Haiti, indicating that these are shared challenges and priority concerns. They established that peace, the restoration of order and overcoming the decline in security are fundamental in order to facilitate strong state institutions, legal certainty, respect for human rights and the strengthening of the democratic climate created by the efforts of President René Preval. They recognised that Haiti ’s socioeconomic development requires the ongoing support of the international community. Bilateral donors and international organizations must support the priorities identified by the Haitian authorities, disbursing with greater celerity, the contributions pledged for co-operation projects that are geared toward eradicating poverty, improving basic services and increasing civic safety. At the same time, greater technical assistance efforts are necessary in order to increase Haiti ’s capacity to absorb international cooperation flows.” This support takes on greater relevance since underlying the grave political problems outlined above, is an unsustainable economic and social situation that generates indicators of extreme poverty. It is for that reason that we want to consider the commitment recently assumed as an initial step toward having the resources pledged in different forums finally reaching a population that has been clamouring to get on board the train of social development once and for all. It is our desire that the commitment toward Haiti result in the creation of a mechanism that would bring assistance, which would strengthen the local capacity for investment in development, influencing basic aspects such as health, education, nutrition, access to potable water and sanitation services. There are many examples of nations shaken by violence and political instability that have emerged from that state through economic growth and the application of measures that have enabled them to escape the snares of poverty. These factors usually create a vicious cycle, raising the question as to which comes first --- poverty or violence.
Dr. Rubén Silié Valdez is the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States. The opinions expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Comments and reactions can be sent to mail@acs-aec.org
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