THE EDITOR, Sir: YOUR STORY appearing in last Wednesday's edition under the headline 'OAS begins probe into Aristide's 'ouster'' is misleading and factually incorrect.
The Permanent Council of the OAS was to meet in Washington that day (a meeting which was originally scheduled for last Friday and then postponed) to consider a request from CARICOM, pursuant to Article 20 of the OAS Charter, for an investigation into the circumstances under which former President Aristide left Haiti. It is premature to report this as a 'probe into Aristide's ouster' since the Permanent Council has not yet considered the request.
A similar request to the United Nations having been ignored, it will be interesting to see what response emanates from the Permanent Council, especially as the OAS General Assembly is scheduled to meet in Quito, Ecuador, in less than two weeks. Decisions of both the Permanent Council and the General Assembly are usually based on consensus, which sometimes requires intense lobbying, prolonged negotiations and modification of initial positions. Given the strong opposition that will certainly be mounted by the United States and Haiti, consensus on CARICOM's request is nigh impossible.
CANADA UNLIKELY TO SUPPORT
Canada, which is known for its dispassionate foreign policy positions, is unlikely to support CARICOM'S request. With general elections now set for June 28, the Canadian Government is not going to be inclined to become embroiled in an OAS controversy. Furthermore, just two weeks ago a spokesman for Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs said that, while Ottawa shares CARICOM's concerns about Haiti, it does not support its call for a probe into Aristide's claim that he was kidnapped.
I have criticised CARICOM for hoisting itself with this petard and depriving itself of a meaningful role in restoring democracy to Haiti. If an investigation into Aristide' departure is a sine qua non then let CARICOM assemble its own panel of investigators to find out what it needs to find out. But for the sake of the Haitian people, do something!
I am, etc.,
BRUCE GOLDING
Kingston
