Martin to offer Canadian troops to possible UN stabilization force in Haiti

By STEPHEN THORNE

OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Paul Martin will tell the UN that Canada is
ready to join an international stabilization force in Haiti.

"We'll be there when the conditions are right," Foreign Minister
Bill Graham reported on Sunday after embattled President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide fled the country after two weeks of rising violence. "It's
important to get some forces in there. "I understand from speaking to
(U.S. Secretary of State) Colin Powell this morning that the Americans will
be landing troops today - at the invitation, of course, of the
president."

In a statement, Martin said Canada hopes Aristide's departure "will
halt any further escalation of violence and allow for a new stability to
emerge for the people of Haiti. We urge all parties involved to respect
constitutional order and the rule of law. "Canada will contribute to a
United Nations-authorized multinational force for Haiti. The exact nature
of this contribution will be determined in the coming days following
consultation with partners."

Martin was to make the offer Monday while presenting a UN commission report
on the private sector and development. Government officials said military
planners were hammering out specific options for cabinet to consider this
week. The UN Security Council voted unanimously Sunday to authorize the
immediate deployment of an international military force to Haiti for three
months to restore order.

In Haiti, Yves Petillon, head of the Canadian International Development
Agency's aid program in the country and one of only five Canadians left
working out of the ambassador's residence, said Sunday that only about 60
Canadians had shown up seeking evacuation. "Right now, the situation
is very tense," said Petillon. "Many groups are looting in
downtown Port-au-Prince.
Apparently the evacuation plan is going smoothly. The evacuation is going
on right now."

About 1,000 Canadians are registered with the embassy in Haiti, but
Petillon said there are likely many more living in the country. They were
told of staging points for military-escorted convoys to the airport, but
Petillon said most were heading there on their own.

Most Canadian aid workers have left, said Petillon, the only Canadian CIDA
worker still in the country. He said relatively few Canadians have taken
advantage of the opportunity to leave because many are missionaries or
Haitian-Canadians. "The majority of missionaries in this type of
situation decide to stay," he said. "The same, also, for people
who are Canadian and at the same time Haitian."

A company of soldiers - about 120 - from 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian
Regiment in Gagetown, N.B., were still standing by in Trenton, Ont., along
with members of the Joint Operations Group out of Kingston, Ont.

Three Hercules transport aircraft dispatched on Saturday were operating out
of the neighbouring Dominican Republic, each able to take about 60 people
at a time. Graham said there were about 50 Canadian troops in the region as
of Sunday.

An unidentified embassy official at the airport confirmed at noon on Sunday
that few Canadians had shown up. She said those who came would be taken to
Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic. A Foreign Affairs
spokesman said later that there had been two outbound flights by the
Hercules transports on Sunday, with 28 Canadians on the first plane and 17
on the second. Many routes to the airport had roadblocks and she said the
safety of the trip "depends on where you come from."

Petillon agreed that many routes are not safe, but "with the Canadian
soldiers, it's not a problem to go from the new embassy to the
airport."
Canadian troops were at the airport ensuring the safety of Hercules flights
in and out.

Darren Gibb, a spokesman for Defence Minister David Pratt, said the
Canadian military is offering "flights of opportunity, meaning should
Canadians want to leave, we will help them do that." "We're not
saying right now when they're going in or where they're going, for security
reasons," he added.

There are two teams on the ground in Haiti - a group of planners
co-ordinating the evacuation, and a small unit of JTF-2 special forces
troops protecting the ambassador and embassy staff. The Hercs are also
supplying those two detachments.

Graham said Canadian Forces are clearly stretched, with multiple
deployments, including Bosnia and Afghanistan. But he said Martin, Pratt
and the chief of defence staff, Gen. Ray Henalt, have been considering
military options since last Wednesday. "I'm confident they'll be able
to provide the number of troops necessary to make a real contribution.
They've already got some 50 troops down there at the moment, helping in the
humanitarian process of removing people."

Graham said Aristide made no request to Canada for sanctuary, nor was any
offered. But Canada will be looking to do as much as it can for Haiti, he
said. "We do have a special relationship with Haiti," said
Graham. "Apart from being a francophone country and having our large
diaspora in Montreal, we have a good track record in Haiti. "I think
the prime minister would like to see how we can translate that into making
sure that the transition is smooth and that we can try to get Haiti on the
way to democracy."

Graham said there has not been a flood of Haitian refugees looking to get
into Canada, nor does he expect one. At the same time, Canada is not
deporting Haitian refugee claimants.  "We want to stabilize Haiti as
quickly as possible to prevent people from having to leave the
island."

Petillon said CIDA programs in Haiti are continuing with local workers. The
agency has given more than $1 million to the World Food Program, $300,000
to the International Red Cross and another $300,000 to the Pan-American
Health Organization. Petillon said the agency is considering proposals from
several other locally based humanitarian organizations and expects to
approve some over the coming days.
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