Konbit Pou Ayiti

- IDB Hosts Investors' Conference in Port-au-Prince

- VOTE FOR HAITI Recycling Project in World Challenge

- President Clinton Speaks about Haiti at the Americas Conference

- $258 Million in Projects for Haiti Pledged at Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting

- MINUSTAH Condemns Attack on Judge

- Peacekeepers Investigating Alleged use of Excessive Force by Troops in Haiti

- Haiti Ripe for Tourism Boom?

- U.S. Cancels $12.6 million Bilateral Debt for Haiti

- Dominican Republic Asked to Hand Over Haitian Gang Leader

- UN Secretary General Says Future Progress is Fragile Proposition

- Student Protest Police Occupation of University

- Brazil and US Ratify Plans for Industrial Plants in Haiti

- Caribbean Business Leaders Say State Dept Advisory Revision Not Enough

- French Foreign Minister Koucher Says MINUSTAH Should Stay Until After Elections

- Haitian Parliament Moves Towards Amending the Constitution

- Interview with Edwidge Danticat, Awarded the MacArthur Genius Grant

- Wyclef to Sell Timberland T-Shirts with a % of Profits to his Yele Haiti Foundation

Declaring Haiti "open for business," Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis welcomed hundreds of potential investors on Thursday to a conference meant to kick-start an economy stunted by decades of political turmoil. The organizer, the Inter-American Development Bank, hopes the star power of former U.S. President Bill Clinton can lure new business to the poorest country in the Americas, where 70 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. Local officials said the meeting was the largest investment conference ever held in Haiti and had attracted U.S. apparel heavyweights like Gap and Levi Strauss and a host of Latin American textile firms. International banks including Canada's Scotiabank and U.S. giant Citi had representatives on hand to discuss loans.

 

 

"Haiti is open for business," Pierre-Louis told a crowded convention hall in French and English. "At the government, we are doing our share. Now we turn to you and ask you to do yours," she said, adding, "Time is of the essence." Clinton, named U.S. special envoy to Haiti in May, was in the hall and was scheduled to speak later on Thursday. "I think you'll see a lot of quite impressive new investment coming out of this," he told reporters. Pierre-Louis cited improved security in Haiti, roiled for decades by military dictatorship and political and gang violence. About 9,000 officers have been trained for the Haitian National Police force, created when the dreaded army was disbanded in the mid-1990s, to work alongside a U.N. peacekeeping force of about 9,150 soldiers and police.

 

The conference was largely focused on agriculture and textiles and began on the day Haiti's new minimum wages kicked in. Approved by the legislature last month, the minimum for textile workers rises from 70 gourdes, about US$1.75, to 125 gourdes, or US$3.10, per day. For most other workers, the minimum rises from 70 to 200 gourdes, or about US$5.00 a day. Georges Sassine, president of Haiti's Industrial Association, said there was "tremendous" interest in low-cost Haiti from Latin American garment companies. He toured northern areas with a dozen business people this week. "They are looking at setting up textile mills and factories," he said. Haiti's garment industry, which employed some 130,000 people in the 1980s but shriveled to only a few thousand in recent years, has been reinvigorated by the passage in Washington last year of the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE II) Act. It allows textiles to enter the United States duty-free in unlimited quantities if they are cut and sewn in Haiti regardless of where the fabric originated. Sassine said the sector has added 11,000 jobs in a year.  (Reuters, 10/1)

 

Now, the factory that turns trash into that form of energy known as -- briquettes -- has made Port-au-Prince, Haiti among 12 finalists in the World Challenge 09 competition, sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World News. The competition began Monday and runs through Nov. 13. If Haiti wins the most votes, then the project, "Love 'N Haiti'' -- which focuses on Decheteries De Carrefour Feuilles' factory in Port-au-Prince -- will win a grant toward its efforts at producing the recycled paper charcoal. Last month, during a speech with South Florida's Haitian community, Clinton pulled out an example of the briquette and held it up to the audience as an example of how a deforested Haiti can find alternative sources of energy other than trees.

 

Clinton, who has made helping Haiti find alternative sources of energy a top priority, will speak about his Haitian initiatives Tuesday afternoon at the Americas Conference at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. The event is sponsored by The Miami Herald, the World Bank and Florida International University. Clinton travels to Haiti on Thursday with 150 private investors. To help Haiti emerge as the winner, City of Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones has joined forces with South Florida's Haitian community and five U.S. cities -- Boston, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles -- to launch a voting campaign to help Haiti win the competition on behalf of the environmentally friendly project. "We support our sister city, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti for this competition,'' Spence-Jones said. "They are definitely working towards creating a better environment and this grant can make it a reality.'' Individuals can vote for Haiti by logging on to www.theworldchallenge.co.uk. . (Miami Herald, 9/28)

 

An unprecedented trade mission to Haiti later this week will produce significant investments and desperately needed jobs for the country, former President Bill Clinton announced Tuesday at the Americas Conference. "A number of commitments have already been made,'' Clinton, the U.N. special envoy for Haiti, told several hundred Latin American and Caribbean business and community leaders attending the 13th annual Americas Conference. "It's not appropriate for me to announce them. The people who are going should do the announcing.'' Clinton used an appearance at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables to give what he called his "progress report'' on Haiti since U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked him to devote a year to helping a storm-ravaged Haiti rebuild and attract investments. 

 

But he also used his visit to reiterate his support for temporary protected status, which will allow undocumented Haitians to temporarily stay and work in the United States. Clinton also said that his wife, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, shares his opinion. "Not a week goes by that I don't push for this,'' Bill Clinton said. "All I can say is that it's not a State Department decision or it would have been done. Hillary strongly supports this.'' Though Clinton's announcement does not bring Haitians closer to winning the protected status, it did offer some comfort to several Haitian community leaders who attended Clinton's afternoon address. "I applaud it. He's in favor of it. We need to hear that more often but we wish his words would reach Washington,'' said Aude Sicard, one of dozens of Haitians in the audience. (Miami Herald, 9/30)

 

The Clinton Global Intiative is announcing $258 million worth of aid projects for this impoverished country. The projects were announced Thursday at the initiative's annual conference in New York. Bill Clinton is also U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti. The 21 projects announced include a three-year, $2 million pledge by actor Matt Damon's Water.org to get water and sanitation to 50,000 people. Habitat for Humanity and the U.S. Agency for International Development pledged $4.5 million to repair 1,500 family homes in two cities wrecked by last year's hurricanes. Last year the initiative secured $170 million in pledges for 31 projects in Haiti. A Clinton spokesman says three-quarters of the $31 million pledged for this year has been delivered. (AP, 9/24)

 

In his role as U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti, Former President Bill Clinton is leading an investment mission to the Americas' poorest nation. He's already mobilized significant help, including: The Soros Fund committed an initial $25 million for projects in such areas as garment manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, tourism, energy and housing. India social entrepreneur Desh Deshpande will share technical assistance to expand school meal programs. His ventures help feed 1 million students day in India. Rolando Gonzalez of the Dominican Republic plans to install five windmills to generate 8 megawatts of energy. The Green Family Foundation of Miami is pledging $280,000 to help fight poverty through its Millennium Village Project Haiti. Ireland's Jacob Fruitfield Food Group pledged $1.5 million for entrepreneurial projects and $250,000 for disaster training for women. Actor Matt Damon and Water.org pledged $2 million to bring safe water and sanitation to at least 50,000 Haitians. (Sun-Sentinel, 9/28)

 

Fonkoze, BRAC, BRAC USA, Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante, CGAP, CHF partners in rural development and Linked Foundation have joined forces to commit $50 million towards a two-year effort to implement a proven, replicable, cost-effective approach to improving health and reducing extreme poverty in Central Haiti. President Clinton's appointment as United Nations special envoy to Haiti and the fifth annual Clinton Global Initiative draw attention to the extreme and persistent poverty in Haiti and the need for innovative solutions. Fonkoze and Zanmi Lasante, two leading Haitian NGOs with decades of experience in the target area, together with BRAC, the largest NGO in the Global South, and other organizations are using their complementary strengths to improve health, eliminate extreme poverty, and develop youth leaders in this hemisphere's poorest country. "The needs are so great," said Fazle Hasan Abed Founder and Chairperson of BRAC. "We will work in partnership to address each facet of extreme poverty and to break its grip."

 

Targeting 575,000 people in Haiti's Central Plateau, the major components of this commitment involve building:

* safety nets with transitions to sustainable enterprise for the most vulnerable;

* comprehensive health services;

* food security and agricultural training and employment;

* improved water access and sanitation; and

* youth leadership development and training.

"Bringing together our combined successes and expertise in a comprehensive economic, health, and leadership development approach is the precise, direct strategy needed at this crucial time," said Anne Hastings, Director of Fonkoze. "We all seek to build a sustainable future for Haiti and her people." (9/25)

 

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has condemned "in the strongest terms" an armed attack that left a judge nursing serious wounds last week.
MINUSTAH said that the attack on Maitre Jean Carves last Thursday was an attempt to undermine justice in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) country, describing it as an "unacceptable interference" with the authority of justice. "He is not the first magistrate victim of an armed attack," said Danielle Saada, chief of the justice section of MINUSTAH. "The crime must be denounced and punished. The mission will provide its full support to the National Police so that the perpetrators are apprehended and brought to justice, the same justice they are trying to silence," she added. (CMC via Jamaica Observer, 9/30)

 

A U.N. spokeswoman says peacekeepers are investigating the alleged use of excessive force by troops stationed in Haiti. Sophie Boutaud de la Combe says the final report will be issued soon. She said Friday that she had no further details. The Terra news service in Brazil reported that a Haitian community leader identified only as Franki alleged that troops on patrol recently invaded his house, took him to an undisclosed place in Port-au-Prince and tortured him. The 9,000-soldier U.N. force has been in Haiti since former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in a 2004 rebellion. Its mandate is expected to be renewed for another year by the Security Council before Oct. 15. (AP, 9/28)

 

Some vacationers Jet Ski, lounge on beach chairs and gorge at the buffet. Others hunt souvenirs in the nearby market or soar across the sky on a zip line linking lush mountains. Right here, in Haiti. Miami's Royal Caribbean Cruises has extended the palm-lined beach, put in a roller coaster and constructed an 800-foot pier -- a nearly $55 million investment that is fueling hope that this troubled nation can finally achieve the elusive goal of becoming a tourist getaway once more. "We see a lot of possibilities,'' said Jean Bernard Simonnet, 54, who heads the north chapter of the Haiti Tourism Association. ``We have a lot of things we can offer tourists.'' Eco-tourism, archaeological exploration and voyeuristic visits to Vodou rituals -- all are being touted by Haiti's struggling boutique tourism industry as Royal Caribbean plans to bring the world's largest cruise ship here, sparking the need to increase excursions. Even the U.S. Agency for International Development is weighing in, granting an initial $15 million in financing that will, among other things, promote tourism in northern Haiti by training Haitians as tour guides and hospitality workers. "This broad interest and hope is a good environment to be in. You want people to be optimistic,'' said Ray Waldron, acting chief of party for USAID's Haiti Market Chain Enhancement, or MarChe. "There is tremendous opportunity, tremendous potential.''

 

But returning Haiti to its tourism heyday faces huge obstacles, from a lack of hotel rooms and decrepit roads to a parliament that puts other priorities ahead of tourism. The tourism push comes as the United States and other nations downgrade travel warnings to Haiti, the country's southern coast enjoys a resurgence of domestic tourism and Port-au-Prince's international airport undergoes a $1 million modernization. It also comes as former President Bill Clinton, now United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, targets tourism as a key area for private investment. Clinton plans to visit Labadee with Royal Caribbean executives when he travels to Haiti on Thursday with 150 investors. Clinton will discuss his Haiti initiatives at the 13th Annual Americas Conference on Tuesday at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. "There has been an effort to at least raise the consciousness of the Haitian people of the need for getting back onto the international tourism map,'' Tourism Minister Patrick Delatour said.

 

Leading that effort so far is Royal Caribbean. The cruise line has extended its lease on the 260-acre northern peninsula until 2050 and remains committed to the expansion. Of Haiti's 800,000 visitors last year, 500,000 were ferried in by Royal Caribbean. The cruise line charged each a $6 government tax, adding $3 million to government's coffers. The fee will be increased to $10 after the pier is completed over the next few weeks with the additional funds being used for improvements and operations, Weis said. "The potential for tourism in northern Haiti is incredible now that we have a pier,'' Weis said. "We feel this development will put Haiti on the map by making Labadee one of the best destinations in the Caribbean.''  (Miami Herald, 9/25)

 

While most travelers are waiting for the day when they will finally be able to visit Cuba (legally, that is), the Miami Herald recently focused on another Caribbean country that may soon be ripe for a tourism boom: Haiti. According to a Herald article this weekend, Royal Caribbean Cruises not only counts that island nation as one of its main Caribbean ports, but also has plans to invest a reported $55 million in helping to build up the island’s infrastructure and adding features like an extended private beach to its resort in Labadie. Meanwhile, the paper reports that the U.S. Agency for International Development is also helping out, granting an initial $15 million in financing that will, among other things, promote tourism in northern Haiti by training Haitians as tour guides and hospitality workers. And former President Bill Clinton, now United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, has targeted tourism as a key factor in Haiti’s revival, and has plans to travel to Haiti later this week to meet with an estimated 150 private investors, including officials from Royal Caribbean. According to the Herald, this tourism push comes “as the United States and other nations downgrade travel warnings to Haiti, the country’s southern coast enjoys a resurgence of domestic tourism and Port-au-Prince’s international airport undergoes a $1 million modernization.” And the Herald isn’t alone with its focus on Haiti. Conde Nast Traveler recently featured the country – “the Caribbean nation that tourism forgot” — in a piece in its September issue that also makes the case for its return as a vacation destination. (NYT, 9/28)

 

The United States will erase $12.6 million, the last of Haiti's remaining bilateral debt, pursuant to a new agreement signed this month by U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Merten and Haitian Minister of the Economy and Finance Daniel Dorsainvil. The debt was forgiven under the terms of the Paris Club, which acted following Haiti's completion of the Heavily-Indebted Poor Country Initiative, or HIPC. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank launched HIPC in 1996, and Haiti successfully completed the requirements for debt relief in July 2009 by carrying out needed economic reforms. "I wish to congratulate Minister Dorsainvil and the entire Haitian government for their efforts in favor of fiscal responsibility," said Ambassador Merten. Haiti's successful implementation of economic and financial reforms was a critically important factor leading to these international commitments to provide debt relief for Haiti. This summer, Haiti met the requirements to complete the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, qualifying Haiti for over $1 billion of debt relief from multilateral and bilateral creditors.

 

The agreement implements the U.S. portion of a multilateral accord that the Paris Club group of official creditors negotiated with Haiti on July 8, 2009, to cancel approximately $62.7 million in official debt. Haiti's Paris Club creditors, including the United States intend to provide $152 million in additional debt cancellation beyond the requirements of the HIPC Initiative. As a result, Haiti's entire debt to Paris Club members – estimated at $214 million – will be fully canceled. This debt forgiveness, combined with other multilateral debt forgiveness measures, will help Haiti bring its external public debt down and invest more in the social needs of the country.  The successful completion of the April 14th Donors Conference in Washington, D.C. resulted in $353 million dollars in new pledges for Haiti, according to the Inter-American Development Bank. At that conference, the United States announced its intention to provide $302 million in assistance to Haiti in 2009; $287 million in non-emergency assistance and $15 million in emergency food aid.  "Let me again stress the need for the government of Haiti and its partners to continue their good efforts to advance economic growth and development in the country, including by supporting the country's Plan for Reconstruction and Economic Recovery," said U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Susan Rice. The U.S., said Ambassador Rice, will work with Haiti and its international partners to provide a better life for the people of Haiti. (VOA Editorial, 9/28)

 

France’s and Haiti’s simultaneous request for the Dominican Government to hand over Haitian gang leader Amaral Duclona, called a dangerous criminal linked to kidnappings and murders of citizens of both nations, has unleashed strong pressure on the local authorities. Duclona’s alleged crimes include the murder of France’s honorary consul in Cape Haitien and the kidnapping and killing of an United Nations (Minustah) peacekeeper. Port au Prince has stepped up its pressures to get Duclona, arrested September 8 in La Romana, after which the Justice Ministry affirmed it will ask the Supreme Court to extradite him to France. "We’re very clearly that the first in time is first in law," said Justice Ministry Extraditions Department director Gisela Cueto. (Dominican Today, 9/29)

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says Haiti is moving toward a future of peaceful development following decades of conflict, but that progress remains fragile. 

Mr. Ban issued a report Thursday to the Security Council, noting the challenges facing the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. The U.N. chief said it is up to Haiti's leaders to continue efforts to identify solutions.  

He said the sustained commitment of Haiti's politicians and people, along with the U.N. and the international community, are key to stability there.

Mr. Ban also recommended the Security Council extend the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti (known as MINUSTAH) until October of next year. He called for the peacekeepers to be reorganized to better monitor the country's border areas and coastline.

On Thursday, a delegation led by the Organization of American States began a mission in Haiti to explore how inter-American groups can work with Haitian authorities to support improvements in the country.

The mission's leader, OAS Assistant Secretary-General Albert Ramdin, says the visit aims to raise awareness of the inter-American institutions' activities in Haiti. Representatives met with President Rene Preval on Thursday.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission was sent to Haiti in 2004 following the ouster of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Earlier this year, Mr. Ban named former U.S. President Bill Clinton as his special envoy to Haiti.

Officials say Mr. Clinton plans to attend a Security Council session on Haiti next week. (VOA News, 9/4)

 

On Sep. 17, 2009, thousands of students, joined by teachers and members of progressive and revolutionary organizations, once again took to the streets of Port-au-Prince to denounce the occupation of the State University of Haiti (UEH) by the Haitian National Police (PNH). The demonstration ended with arrests, tear-gas, and police violence. On Aug. 28, riot police stormed the School of Medicine and Pharmacology (FMP) which was occupied by medical students. The police then placed the FMP and the School of Ethnology (FE) under a lock-down, where vehicle and even most pedestrian traffic in and around school grounds was severely restricted. Students charge the police occupation is a gross violation of the University's sovereignty, which is protected by law. The quarantine was requested by the UEH administration which includes President Jean Henry Vernet, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Wilson Laleau, and Vice-President of Research Fritz Deshommes. The students are now demanding their resignations along with removal of the FMP's deans, Dr. Gladys Prosper, Dr. Dodeley Sévere and Fritz Delafuente.

 

In early September, medical students launched a hunger strike to demand the resignations and other UEH reforms. Riot police intervened on Sep. 9 and arrested 22 students (see Haiti Liberté, 9/16/2009). Since April, the students at different UEH schools have demonstrated against dilapidated facilities, reduced faculty, and cuts in their curriculum. At some schools, students also demonstrated to raise the national daily minimum wage to 200 gourdes ($5.05) from 70 gourdes ($1.75); the Haitian Parliament this summer raised it to 125 gourdes ($3.10). Last Thursday's demonstration began at 10 a.m. at the School for Teachers (École Normale Supérieure) on Rue Monseigneur Guilloux. With a banner reading "Long Live an Independent University," the protesters marched down Rue Saint-Honoré and Rue Capois through Lalue to reach Rue Riviere in Bourdon, where the UEH Administration (or Rectorat) is based. But the police had barricaded the entrance to the administration offices. After trying several times to enter the Rectorat, the protesters finally retreated the way they had come. They marched down Lalue, turned onto Rue Capois and entered the capital's central square, the Champs de Mars.

 

There, the police attacked. The Corps for Intervention to Maintain Order (CIMO) drove their truck into the peaceful crowd, dispersing demonstrators with clubs and tear gas. The police made three arrests: Jean Louis Wendjy, a student at the School of Ethnology; Civil Dieuseul, also known as Ti Marxiste (Little Marxist), a progressive activist, and a young member of the Marché Salomon neighborhood committee, Stanley Roche. The next day, Sep. 18, the students gave a press conference to denounce the Police violence against the demonstration. They also demanded the unconditional release of those arrested at the end of the demonstration. On Sep. 16, students, professors and members of the board of directors of the School of Humanities met in a general assembly to decide on how to respond to the UEH crisis. They passed a resolution drafted by Professor Jean Anil Louis Juste calling for the resignation of the UEH administration. Of the 113 participants at the meeting, 108 in favor of the resolution, four abstained, and one voted against. The resolution also proposed establishing an interim committee to manage the UEH admissions for the upcoming academic year. (Haiti Liberte, 9/23-29)

 

Brazil and the United States ratified their plan on Thursday to establish industrial plants in Haiti. This would enable the duty-free export of products to both countries and thus support Haiti's reconstruction. During a meeting in the Foreign Ministry's Itamaraty Palace, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and US Commerce representative Ronald Kirk agreed to advance the implementation of the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity (HOPE) programme created by the United States. Amorim told Xinhua in a press conference that the fundamental motivation of this initiative was humanitarian, "to aid Haiti's economic development through sustainable production activity." This mechanism would allow Brazilian companies in Haiti to export products to the United States without paying customs fees, and vice versa. The agreement would benefit Haiti as well as Brazilian and US companies, Amorim added. On Thursday morning, President of the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI) Armando Monteiro Neto said Brazilian textile companies were interested in establishing themselves in Haiti under the framework of the HOPE programme. The Brazilian industries also requested adjustments to the HOPE programme, such as giving Brazil the status of "beneficiary." (Xinhua, 9/17)

 

More than a month after the U.S. State Department downgraded its travel advisory to Haiti, business leaders in the Caribbean nation say the revision opens the door slightly to foreign investment, tourism, and other business opportunities. But they also say that the State Department did not go far enough -- and that the advisory language should be softened further. "We agree that it's a good thing, but we still have a lot of problems with it,'' said Rene; Max Auguste, president of the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce in Haiti. "The problem is visitors and technicians still won't come to the country.'' The change comes a month after the United Nations' new special envoy to Haiti, former President Bill Clinton, lobbied for a revision to the travel statement, which no longer advises U.S. citizens to avoid "nonessential travel'' to Haiti. Earlier this year, Haitian Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis told The Miami Herald that she raised the issue with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying that the advisory impedes investment. Clinton promised to review the issue.

 

Other countries also have amended their advisories, but leaving language similar to the State Department's. On Friday, Britain joined Canada and Spain in making the change. The State Department revision marks what could be a small yet significant victory for the Caribbean country. Haitian business leaders and others have long viewed the advisory as a traffic signal of sorts: It can green-light foreign investment and tourism as easily as it can block it. U.N. officials have lauded the drop in crime and violence, which included gang-related kidnappings. Perhaps the biggest sign of improved security: A revived nightlife in Port-au-Prince and its suburbs. Despite considerable security gains, a recently released report by the U.N. says the progress remains fragile. The U.N. asked for its peacekeeping mandate, which expires Oct. 15, to be extended for one year. (Miami Herald, 9/12)

 

France's foreign minister urged the U.N. to maintain peacekeeping troops in Haiti at least through next year's planned presidential elections, while acknowledging improved security in the impoverished, politically chaotic country. The 9,000-member U.N. force has been in Haiti since former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in 2004. Its mandate is expected to be renewed for another year by the Security Council before Oct. 15. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, a longtime advocate of foreign interventions on behalf of human rights, said that "security is not enough" and that U.N. troops should remain until Haiti holds free and open elections to replace President Rene Preval. "After (the elections) we will see. It depends on their actions, (if) they are going to take their own affairs in hand," Kouchner told The Associated Press. Preval was elected to a five-year term in 2006 after months of delays in holding elections under the U.S.-backed interim government that formed after Aristide's departure. He has faced few challenges to his presidency since, but lost his then-prime minister to a parliamentary vote following food riots that saw angry protesters attempt to break down the gates of the national palace.

 

Voting to replace him is expected late next year, but no date has been set. Preval has embarked on a constitutional reform project to expand presidential powers, but has said that he will not run in 2010. Kouchner, a co-founder of Doctors Without Borders who worked with the group in Haiti nearly four decades ago, is on a two-day visit to the Caribbean nation with Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim. Brazil provides the bulk and leadership of the U.N. peacekeeping force here. The pair met with Preval shortly after arriving Friday morning. They are also scheduled to meet with current Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis, as well as the head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission, and visit a bridge rebuilt after hurricanes and tropical storms last year killed some 800 people and caused $1 billion in damage. On Friday afternoon the dignitaries visited a branch of the Haitian AIDS clinic GHESKIO to inaugurate a $147,000 (100,000 euro) French-Brazilian breast-milk storage facility that will provide donated milk for babies whose mothers who are HIV positive or too malnourished to breast-feed. In a brief press conference at the facility Kouchner told reporters that French President Nicolas Sarkozy intends to visit Haiti at some point but that plans have not yet been finalized. (AP, 9/18)

 

With the help of 12 newly installed senators whom most Haitians consider illegitimate, Haiti's Parliament voted on Sep.14 to accept the principle of amending the 1987 Constitution when it reconvenes on the second Monday of January 2010. President René Préval has proposed amending 96 of the Constitution's 298  articles and eliminating 28 others. Normally, Monday's session would be the last of Haiti's 48th Legislature  before a four month recess. After November elections, the 49th Legislature  would convene in January. But the Parliamentarians cut a deal with Préval last week - which is unconstitutional - to extend the terms of the 48th Legislature until the  second Monday of May 2010. The four month extension will give Préval a parliament dominated by his own party, Lespwa (Hope) during the beginning of his last year in office. Presidential elections are scheduled to take place in November 2010, and a new president should take power on Feb. 7, 2011.

 

In the Sep. 14 vote, senators and deputies voted in their separate chambers. Twenty-two of the 30 senators were present, and 21 voted for making changes to the Constitution. Of the 99 deputies, 81 were present, with 71 voting in favor, eight against, and two abstaining. The proposed amendments center around six main points: allowing Haitians to hold dual nationality; creating a new Constitutional court; recalibrating elections and elected officials' mandates; changing the mandate of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP); changing procedures for organizing elections; and changing procedures for appointing the prime minister.

 

Perhaps the thorniest question will be the Haitian Army's fate. Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide dissolved the force in 1995, but the Constitution still recognizes it. After 22 months of deliberation, a seven-member presidential commission headed by Lavalas activist and former Aristide security chief Patrick Elie delivered a report on Aug. 6 which recommended "the setting up of one or several new armed forces, on a military basis, to complete the Public Force, in the spirit of the Constitution," the formation of a National Security Council which would assist the President and Prime Minister in "guaranteeing the integrity of the national territory, of life, of property and of the quality of existence of the nation's residents,"and the creation of an "intelligence service" with a focus on criminal and strategic matters "to help inform defense and public security policy."

 

While most Haitians might welcome changes to Haiti's ambiguous and contradictory 1987 Constitution, they are leery of the President and Parliament doing the overhaul. Over 97% of Haitian voters boycotted the partial Senate elections held in two rounds on April 19 and June 21, 2009 because the Lavalas Family, Haiti's largest party, was excluded on specious technicalities. Despite protests from the population and other senators, the Préval government proceeded with the inauguration of the 12 "winners" (all from Lespwa) of the universally-scorned "selections" on Sep. 4. Even more irregularly, a quorum for their validation was only achieved by including the inaugurees in the inauguration session, which was presided over by one of the non-validated, Laurent Féquiere Mathurin. Several Senators who had expressed their opposition to the compromised Senators being seated boycotted the session, including Hector Anacacis, Rudy Hériveaux, Edmonde Supplice Beauzile, and Andris Riché. (Haiti Liberte, 9/16-22)