By Nora Boustany
 

President Clinton has extracted written assurances from Haitian President-elect Jean-Bertrand Aristide that Haiti will implement democratic reforms and improve
protection of human rights. The promises come as the Caribbean nation is emerging as a major irritant in relations between Democrats and Republicans, and pressure
grows to dust off unfinished business during Clinton's last days in office.

The promised changes include an agreement to hold runoff elections for disputed Senate seats and to push for a rapid solution to the problems associated with the
senatorial segment of the May 21 legislative elections, according to a response to Clinton that the White House made public yesterday. Aristide also agreed to the
creation of a "credible new provisional electoral council . . . in consultation with opposition figures."

While numerous envoys from the United States and the Organization of American States were looking for openings to redress some of the grievances stemming from
the legislative elections, which the opposition said were rigged, Aristide was in search of legitimacy after the Nov. 26 presidential vote. Despite claims of a 60 percent
turnout last month, senior officials at the OAS said it was no more than 10 percent. There was no serious opposition candidate.

OAS assistant secretary Luigi R. Einaudi warned in a statement to the OAS permanent council that time had "become a critical element and a critical enemy."

A Dec. 1 letter from Clinton to Aristide emphasized the importance of restoring democracy in Haiti and reminded the Haitian president of the U.S. role in 1994,
when U.S. troops invaded and restored Aristide to power. It seems to have yielded results that had eluded a number of emissaries in recent months. In the letter,
Clinton asked Aristide to welcome special envoy Anthony Lake, who traveled to Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, last week. Republican and regional critics
criticized the letter as too deferential.

In his response to Clinton's letter, Aristide promised several domestic and foreign policy reforms. He vowed to include members of the opposition in his government;
to protect human rights; to professionalize the police force and judiciary; and to form closer ties with international financial institutions. He also pledged to cooperate
with the United States in its campaign against drug trafficking, including allowing the Coast Guard to patrol Haitian waters and tightening laws against money
laundering. Einaudi, who may be called upon to help put together the plan of action proposed by Aristide, described it as "an important positive chapter in the game."

During the maneuvering over the budget in the fall, Clinton signed a law stipulating that no U.S. assistance could go to the Haitian government until the U.S. secretary
of state certified that the parliamentary elections were free and fair, and until drug policy director Barry R. McCaffrey certified that Haiti was free of ties to drug
dealers, said Caleb McCarry, a staffer on the House Foreign Relations Committee chaired by Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman (R-N.Y.). McCarry said the election was
manipulated by Aristide and his partisans. The United States, Canada and the European Union refused to send observers to the November election after Haiti
declined to reexamine questionable results from the May elections.

Earlier this month, three influential Republicans demanded that the United States make it clear that Aristide would not be welcome at the summit of the hemisphere's
democratically elected leaders to be held in Canada in April. Calling Aristide's return to the presidency a "sham," Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, Gilman, and Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, issued a joint statement last week saying,
"Narco-traffickers, criminals and other anti-democratic elements who surround Jean-Bertrand Aristide should feel the full weight of U.S. law enforcement."

The statement called for an end to "all direct support for the Haitian government, as provided under current U.S. law" and a "comprehensive, bottom-up review of
U.S. policy toward Haiti," which they called long overdue.

The OAS's Einaudi, who has shuttled between Port-au-Prince and Washington in recent months, cautioned that the subject of Haiti is "poison" between Democrats
and Republicans, partly because of the 1994 invasion restoring Aristide to power, which the Republicans strongly opposed. He also referred to a vitriolic letter on
Haiti written by Helms that ran in the Miami Herald during the presidential campaign.

In an interview, Einaudi noted that "with President George W. Bush coming to office, this is one of the areas where people are going to look for real differences. You
have got extreme bitterness between Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats hung the Reagan policy and now the Republicans claim the Democrats were
covering up for abuses by Aristide."

Reacting to the list of commitments issued yesterday, Gilman said:

"The promises being made by Jean-Bertrand Aristide are important. The proof, however, will be in the implementation of these promises. Unfortunately, Mr.
Aristide's record in this regard has not been very encouraging. The conduct of our nation's future policy on Haiti, including evaluating any progress in Haiti, will be
decided by President-elect George W. Bush's administration."

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