THE LEDGER-STAR
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 19, 1994 TAG: 9409190210
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
The pact between U.S. peacemakers and Haiti's military leaders raises more questions than it answers.
Q. If the agreement was intended to restore exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, on which date does he come home?
A. Aristide was not named in the agreement and no date for his return was given.
Q. When will the world trade embargo on Haiti be lifted?
A. Immediately.
Q. Will coup leaders, prominent coup supporters and soldiers be allowed to have access to cash they have in frozen accounts overseas?
A. Yes.
Q. How will the arriving American forces be able to disarm the militiamen?
A. That is unclear. Leaflets dropped Saturday urged soldiers and militiamen to lay down their weapons. American soldiers should expect a great deal of cooperation from those without weapons and possible resistance from those with them. One historical note: The armed Tonton Macoute private militia of the Duvalier dictatorship, which controlled much of Haitian life for decades, did not retaliate after a popular uprising toppled Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986.
Q. Where will the soldiers and pro-army Haitian auxiliaries who terrorized their countrymen go? Will U.S. troops prevent them from killing other Haitians?
A. Several auxiliaries questioned Sunday night said they were heading to the countryside to lay low. One resident, who refused to give his name, said he saw policemen sobbing near the Presidential Palace after learning of the agreement.
Q. What is to ensure that Parliament will pass the amnesty law stipulated in the agreement?
A. Very little. Parliament has not had a quorum for months, and the Senate is split. The de facto government that Washington will be working with for the next few weeks was chosen by just a few members of both houses of Parliament. The Clinton administration recognizes the problem, demanding an Oct. 15 deadline for the high command to step down even if Parliament doesn't pass the measure.
Q. Will army chief Raoul Cedras honor the Oct. 15 date to quit?
A. A year ago, he told U.N. and U.S. negotiators he would step down by Oct. 15, 1993, but he never did. This time, however, there are 20,000 American soldiers to make sure he keeps his word.
Q. Will Cedras stay in Haiti? What will happen if he doesn't have to go?
A. Secretary of State Warren Christopher said Cedras most likely will leave because life would be ``uncomfortable'' for the former army commander with the American military presence and the return of Aristide, the man he tried to erase from Haitian history.
Q. What about Michel Francois, the capital police chief who sparked the 1991 coup?
A. Francois has kept a low profile in recent weeks, and his wife and children left the country last week for the Dominican Republic. U.S. officials expect him to join them.
Q. Who is going to be running Haiti until Oct. 15?
A. The military-installed government of Emile Jonassaint, who told Haitians in a nationally televised address Sunday night that his administration would also oversee legislative elections in December.
KEYWORDS: HAITI by CNB