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01/20/2006:

"Brazil to Keep Command of U.N. Forces in Haiti"

BRASILIA (AP)--A Brazilian army general will assume the command of the U.N. peacekeeping forces in Haiti, replacing the Brazilian general who committed suicide earlier this month, the government said.

"U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with Gen. Jose Elito Carvalho de Siqueira and invited him to take command of the U.N. peacekeeping forces in Haiti," read a statement issued jointly Tuesday night by Brazil's foreign and defense ministries.

"Annan's decision confirms the United Nations recognition of Brazil's contribution to the (peacekeeping) mission," the joint statement said, without detailing when de Siqueira would arrive in Haiti nor how long his command would last.

The 59-year-old de Siqueira will replace Lt. Gen. Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar who on Jan.7 was found dead of a gunshot wound in his hotel room in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince. United Nations and Brazil forensic specialists later concluded he had committed suicide.

De Siqueira, a three-star general who commands the Army's 6th Military Region in the northeastern city of Salvador, will take charge of a 9,000-strong peacekeeping force from more than 40 countries that is meant to help restore democracy two years after a rebellion overthrew President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Brazil's command of U.N.'s peacekeeping forces in Haiti has been a key point in the country's foreign policy, which is heavily focused on giving Brazil a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
nytimes.com