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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Haiti Swirling into Iraqi-like Quagmire |
| 2006-09-05 |
| Yahoo's boring title is - Haiti, U.N. to Disarm Gang Members That's what got me. UN to disarm somebody? Now that's news! PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Haiti's government and U.N. peacekeepers will launch a major campaign seeking to persuade hundreds of gangsters to disarm with promises of money, food and job training, but top gang leaders will not be eligible, the U.N. envoy said Monday. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, special U.N. envoy Edmond Mulet said officials will begin airing radio and television ads in coming days to inform the public about the disarmament plan. The move represents the most sweeping effort to persuade well-armed gangsters to lay down their weapons and rejoin society since U.N. troops arrived in the troubled Caribbean nation two years ago to restore order following a February 2004 revolt. "We are ready to receive 1,000 armed people who would willingly give up their weapons and arms," Mulet said. "We have kits to provide for their families, food and economic assistance. The whole package is ready and we're going to bring that in place in the following days." Last month, President Rene Preval warned gangs based in the sprawling slums of Port-au-Prince to disarm or face death. The gangs, some of which are loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, are blamed for a recent surge of kidnappings and shootings that officials say are partly aimed at pressuring Preval to make concessions. Gang members participating in the program will receive ID cards entitling them to money, medical assistance, food for their families and training for manual-labor jobs such as construction workers, garbage collectors and farm workers, Mulet said. Oh. They're going to buy them off, not disarm them. Jobs are not plentiful in this Caribbean nation, which is the Western Hemisphere's poorest. Mulet, a Guatemalan diplomat who took over leadership of the 8,800-soldier U.N. peacekeeping force 8,800? That's more than were in Lebanon! Did I miss the ongoing war in Haiti? three months ago, called the disarmament campaign a "long-term" plan and said it would provide a "big improvement" to Haiti's security if successful. "We believe 500, 600, maybe 700 people are involved in this kind of illegal activities ... so I think if we're able to disarm most of them and include them into society and give them some training and assistance in this transition, that's going to be very positive." Mebbe we need to try that in Baghdad. And Dearborn. The international community is desperate to stabilize Haiti after a decade of failed peacekeeping missions and fruitless efforts to disarm militants. A bid to take weapons off the streets after the 2004 revolt that toppled Aristide yielded mostly dilapidated guns held together by tape — not the high-powered AK-47s and M-16 routinely used by gangs. Mulet acknowledged the challenge but said "we have to try this." "This is not a traditional disarmament that you would see anywhere else in the world where you have a clear leadership or a subversive group or a military insurgency that you can make deals with. This is more like a one-on-one approach. Each (gang member) has different motivations," he said. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
#6 My recipe for Haiti:
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| Posted by: Texas Redneck 2006-09-05 16:01 |
| #5 This is more like a one-on-one approach. Each (gang member) has different |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-09-05 15:32 |
| #4 Well, O.K. I didn't mean to demean the progress in Iraq. How about Vietnam-like quagmire? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-09-05 12:32 |
| #3 Iraq? Why insult Iraq? How many real free elections have there been in Haiti? How many parties that are not just fronts for gunmen are there? Has the Haitian economy grown as fast as the Iraqi? Has the infrastructure of electrical, clean water, and rail grown as fast? Do they have vehicular grid lock in Port-au-Prince these days? How many internet connections are there today? How many newpapers and televisions are there? Etc, etc, etc. |
| Posted by: Elmeretch Spoque3740 2006-09-05 10:34 |
| #2 Arms to Farms crap never works. Smells like USAID at work here. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-09-05 08:58 |
| #1 U.N. plan to reward gangsters. The U.N. is run by a bunch of political gangsters, so this is a way into their minds. Give gangsters the gift of lead. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2006-09-05 08:50 |