Brussels, 28/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The first consultation meeting between the Haitian authorities and the European Union, in Brussels on Tuesday under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement for violation of democratic principles, the rule of law and human rights during the 21 May legislative elections (see EUROPE of 18 August, p.2 and 26 July, p.6), augurs ill for the pursuit of development cooperation between the EU and this ACP State. However, no decision has yet been taken at this stage. According to the Union, this meeting allowed for frank dialogue between the two parties, but the arguments put forward by the Haitian authorities did not convince it to definitively rule out suspending cooperation with that country.
Responding to the invitation made to them on 4 August, to come the explain themselves, Haitian Foreign Minister Fritz Longchamp and Haiti's ambassador to Brussels, Violette Azor-Charles, accompanied by a delegation of the group of ACP States (the Chair of the Committee of Ambassadors, Armand Guy Zonguere Soukambi, the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic, Ms. Clara Quinones, the Ambassador of Santa Lucia, Erwin Laurent, and the Secretary General of the ACP group, Jean-Robert Goulongana), stressed that: a) despite a few logistical problems, all observers had considered that the elections had been conducted under acceptable conditions, that the population had voted en mass and that no incident of particular gravity had occurred; b) the OAS observation mission had, initially, congratulated the people for the way the elections had gone, and had only placed into question the counting of the votes after publication of the initial results; c) the means of counting used was the same as those applied in the 1990 general elections, welcomed by the international community as the first free, honest and democratic elections in Haiti's history, and for other undisputed elections; d) this procedure had been chosen with the help of foreign experts well before the elections of 21 May; e) criticisms leveled only concern eight to ten senators elected in the first round out of 7,500 posts of power.
Whence, the Haitian authorities asked the Union to help them improve their ability to organise elections instead of penalising their country, in compliance with the guidelines the OAS Permanent Council opted for. The ACP representatives spoke along the same lines, stressing that sanctions would penalise the poor populations not only of Haiti but in the region as a whole.
Speaking on behalf of the European Union, the Chair of the Committee of Permanent Representatives deplored the fact that remarks made by the Union in its 12 July Declaration should not have been taken into account, and reiterated the EU's concerns as to the legitimacy of the democratic process, deploring the lack of will on the part of the government to find a compromise solution through dialogue with all the parties concerned. Aware of the seriousness of the country's socio-economic situation and the importance of not penalising the Haitian population, the EU reserved the right to examine appropriate measures to take if no solution was found. Meanwhile, it will continue to monitor developments in the country's democratic process closely. The organisation of the next presidential elections and the credibility of the Provisional Electoral Council (PEC) will also, here, be defining.
EUROPE recalls that the Union had reasoned its complaints by a flagrant and defining error in the way the votes of the candidates for the senatorial election were counted, the categorical refusal of the PEC and Haitian authorities to recognise this error which seemed easy to correct, the threats that led to the Chairman of the PEC fleeing Haiti, the rejection of any attempt at mediation by Caricom - elements which, according to the EU, discredited the sixth round of legislative elections.