WASHINGTON, DC – A small delegation of Haitian-Americans is scheduled to meet today with top officials from the Obama Administration in order to discuss a wide range of issues regarding Haiti where there is an on-going political impasse.
Finding a fair and satisfactory resolution to the impasse may imply the use of extra constitutional measures that may not be popular within the international community which has persuaded President Rene Preval to place the Haiti Elections on life support pending the finding of the Organization of American States (OAS).
The topic expected to be discussed at the meeting include the merit to totally cancel the Haiti recent elections as proposed by the group of 12 and major civil society groups in the country and other Haitian organizations abroad, and appoint a government council temporarily and whose objective would be to implement measures to prepare credible elections.
Other discussion items may include the slow-pace of the Haiti Reconstruction process, deportation of Haitian nationals in the cholera ravaged Haiti, providing a lifeline to Haiti quake victims currently residing in the United States, the admission of some 55,000 Haitian Nationals who have been approved for U.S Immigrant visa and still stuck in Haiti, and the practice of the United States Coast Guard to summarily repatriate Haitian Nationals intercepted in high seas.
Top officials from several federal agencies like the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, USAID, and the National Security Council (NSC) are expected to provide briefing to the group. We are not certain if we should be optimistic about the outcomes of this gathering or whether we are being called to serve as a rubber stamp for pre-established decisions regarding the homeland, said Jean-Robert Lafortune of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition (HAGC) who has been invited to join the discussions with the Administration. We would have liked that President Bill Clinton be requested to join and share with us his vision and priorities for our homeland, continues Lafortune.
