[Previous entry: "Mexico leftist takes message to conservative north"] [Next entry: "Rep. Cynthia MacKinney: Katrina's New Underclass"]
02/19/2006:
"American: Haiti leader must 'perform'"
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti --Opponents of Haiti's president-elect could use the country's disputed election result to try and weaken his government "if he doesn't perform," the top American diplomat in Haiti said.Rene Preval was declared the winner Thursday after electoral authorities decided to divide 85,000 blank votes among the candidates to avoid a runoff.
The move gave Preval the 51 percent of the vote he needed for outright victory, drawing angry complaints from his two nearest rivals, neither of who polled close to Preval's numbers in the Feb. 7 vote.
Tim Carney, the acting U.S. ambassador in Haiti, said Preval clearly would have won the election but acknowledged the disputed outcome could hurt his government if he fails in office.
"If he doesn't perform, yes it could weaken him," Carney said during an interview with The Associated Press at his residence. "If he does perform, nobody will remember it."
boston.com
This is a threat. Read "If he doesn't perform"...to our satisfaction. And rest assured, this newest attempt to undermine Haiti will be remembered. The people of Haiti have a prodigious memory.