Haiti’s new president urges people to unite

Stevenson Jacobs

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — René Preval, taking power as Haiti’s president for the second time in a decade, urged his divided population to unite for peace, warning, “if we don’t talk, then we will only fight.”

Thousands of Haitians thronged the national palace to see Preval sworn in on May 14. The soft-spoken 63-year-old replaces a U.S.-backed interim government installed after former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled into exile amid a bloody revolt in February 2004.

Preval, a champion of the poor who previously governed Haiti in 1996-2001, urged Haiti’s fractured society to put aside its differences and work together for a stable, democratic future.

“Haitian people, the solution to our problems is in our hands,” Preval said in his inaugural address outside the palace, where a sea of people cheered and waved Haitian flags.

“We need to make peace through dialogue and talking to each other so we can decide where we want to go together,” he said. “If we don’t talk, then we will only fight and there will be no peace.”

Some of the loudest applause came when Preval bid farewell to Haiti’s two former interim leaders, Prime Minister Gerard Latortue and President Boniface Alexandre, both unpopular among many poor Haitians who accused the transitional government of persecuting Aristide supporters.

Preval, a former Aristide ally, will have to overcome big challenges to govern, including a corrupt state bureaucracy, a wrecked economy and rampant crime.

In his first official act as president, he signed an accord integrating Haiti into a Venezuelan oil pact that supplies Caribbean countries with fuel under preferential terms.

In a joint statement with Preval, Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said Haiti would receive 100,000 barrels of oil on May 15 as its first shipment under the Petrocaribe pact.

Preval, who won Feb. 7 elections, has promised to restore security and create jobs. Experts say Haiti will need continued help from the international community, including large amounts of foreign aid.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who represented the U.S. delegation, said the United States had committed $200 million to Haiti this year and could give more.

“The support of our country is long-term in nature,” Bush said before returning to Florida. The governor cited health care, education, training for police and port security as areas where U.S. aid could help Haiti.

Preval took the oath of office inside a sweltering parliamentary chamber crowded with Haitian legislators, U.N. officials and foreign dignitaries representing 40 countries. Among them were Bush, Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean, and American actor Danny Glover.

Outside, several hundred Preval supporters gathered in an adjacent park, hoping to catch a glimpse of their new president. Some waved portraits of Aristide and called for his return, chanting: “Aristide’s blood is our blood!” and “We want him back!”

Preval has said Haiti’s constitution allows the former president to return from exile in South Africa. However, Preval hasn’t said if he would welcome back Aristide — a move the United States has warned would destabilize the country.

Aristide and his supporters accuse the United States of kidnapping him and flying him to Africa amid the revolt — a charge Washington denies.

Hours before the ceremony, prisoners demanding their freedom rioted at the national penitentiary, just a few blocks from the parliament. Gunshots were heard from inside the prison, and inmates massed on the roof and held up two bodies, apparently of prisoners. Haitian police and U.N. troops quickly surrounded the prison, and the disturbance was quelled.

Officials offered no comment on the incident, which was a strong reminder of the challenges Preval must face as he reforms Haiti’s broken justice system.

The U.N. envoy to Haiti, Juan Gabriel Valdes, has urged Preval to take quick action on the prison, where many inmates have languished for years without being charged with a crime.

(Associated Press)