Haiti

(Quelle: Washington Post) The head of a panel organizing elections in Haiti next year to replace ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide has resigned, warning that other panel members were trying to rig the ballot. Panel chairwoman Roselor Julien, a representative of the Catholic Church, cleared her desk on Tuesday after handing in her resignation the day before, and said the council was not capable of ensuring the 2005 election would be free and fair. 'I resign because I am not ready to condone an electoral farce,' Julien told Reuters.

(Quelle: UN News) More than 160 Moroccan soldiers arrived in Haiti yesterday to join the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH), bringing the operation’s uniformed strength to nearly 4,500 out of an authorized total of almost 8,000 troops and civilian police. 

(Quelle: UN News) Troops from Sri Lanka, Spain and Guatemala have arrived in Haiti to join the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) currently working to maintain security and foster a democratic political transition in the strife-torn Caribbean country.

(Quelle: BBC) The former president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, has called for free and fair elections in his country. Mr Aristide's views were made public by the South African foreign minister on a visit to Brazil. … The BBC's Steve Kingstone in Sao Paulo says some will take that as a strong hint that Mr Aristide plans to return to Haiti. In the short term, he says, it is sure to inflame an already tense situation in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

(Quelle: UN News) United Nations peacekeeping forces, together with Haitian National Police, have cleared the streets of Bel Air, a poor area of the Caribbean country's capital, Port-au-Prince, which has been in upheaval over the past three weeks, a UN spokesman told reporters today.

(Quelle: UN News) Spanish and Moroccan troops serving as part of a joint battalion are headed to Haiti to participate in the United Nations peacekeeping mission there. Meanwhile, Chile and Ecuador will be fielding a composite engineering company at a total force level of over 153 staff as part of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). … The main body of the Sri Lankan battalion, with 750 personnel, will be arriving at the end of this month.

(Quelle: New York Times) Haiti's interim prime minister on Sunday accused the ousted president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, of directing a wave of violence from exile, while 95 Chinese police officers arrived to take part in China's first United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Western Hemisphere. The interim prime minister, Gérard Latortue, also contended that the government of South Africa, where Mr. Aristide is currently staying, was letting him organize Haiti's ongoing violence while in exile, thus violating international law.

(Quelle: UN News) The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, which has been operating at less than half its authorized strength, will receive several hundred new members by the end of October, a UN spokesman said today. A formed unit of 125 police from China is expected to arrive on Sunday, Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. A further 622 Sri Lankan troops are expected from 25 to 29 October and the troops making up a Spanish/Moroccan battalion are also expected at the end of this month.

(Quelle: New York Times) Former soldiers who led a revolt against the former Haitian president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, gathered in the capital on Wednesday, saying reinforcements were coming to help end violence that has killed at least 48 people. The advancing rebels would provide security in Port-au-Prince, a former master sergeant, Joseph Jean-Baptiste, said in a broadcast on Radio Vision 2000. The development threatens to generate conflict with United Nations peacekeepers and armed pro-Aristide militants.

(Quelle: BBC) The US has urged allies of exiled Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide to rein in militants after two weeks of unrest and nearly 50 deaths. A US state department spokesman accused Mr Aristide's supporters of seeking to undermine the interim government formed after his overthrow in February. Trouble began at the end of September at a rally by Aristide opponents in the capital, Port-au-Prince.