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West Urged to Write Off Haiti's $1bn Debt
Western governments have been urged to write off Haiti's
international debts of nearly $1 billion (£620 million) after
its prime minister said rebuilding the country could take a
decade.
By Nick Allen in Port-au-Prince
January 26, 2010, The Telegraph/UK
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7074099/West-urged-to-write-off-Haitis-1bn-debt.html
Jean-Max Bellerive told an emergency meeting of ministers in
Montreal, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
that the "colossal" effort would take "at least five to 10
years".
He said: "The people of Haiti will need more and more and
more in order to complete the reconstruction. What we're
looking for is a long-term commitment. Haiti needs the
massive support of its partners in the international
community in the medium and long term."
Responding to criticism that the Haitian government had been
almost invisible during relief efforts he said it was working
in "precarious conditions".
"We are fully conscious that the prime responsibility for our
future lies in the hands of the Haitian government and the
Haitian people."
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: "It was not an
exaggeration to say that at least 10 years of hard work
awaits the world in Haiti."
Officials from a dozen countries, the United Nations, the
European Union and the International Monetary Fund attended
the talks to discuss the aid effort and make initial
rebuilding plans.
They looked at whether to relocate the capital Port-au-Prince
away from its present site. Around 235,000 survivors have
already fled the blighted city.
The Montreal talks were expected to lay the groundwork for a
full-fledged donors conference in the coming weeks at which
pledges of money for reconstruction will be made.
Diplomats raised the possibility of a rebuilding project
similar to the Marshall Plan, the US-led postwar
reconstruction of Europe, which would take many years.
Nearly two weeks after the worst recorded disaster in the
Americas there was still confusion over the death toll. One
Haitian minister said 90,000 bodies had been collected,
another said 150,000. One third of the buildings in Port-au-
Prince are destroyed and at least one million people are
homeless.
Haiti was already the poorest country in the Western
hemisphere and groups including Oxfam and The World Council
of Churches called on ministers to immediately cancel its
full $890 million (£550 million) international debt.
They also asked for delivery on the IMF's previous pledge to
turn a $100 million (£62 million) interest-free loan to into
a grant.
Oxfam International executive director Jeremy Hobbs said:
"Expecting Haiti to repay billions of dollars as the country
struggles to overcome one of the worst natural disasters in
recent memory would be both cruel and unnecessary." Britain
has already cancelled all debts owed to it by Haiti and
called on all remaining creditors to do the same.
With the planting season just two weeks away Oxfam also
called for support for Haiti's farmers to prevent a man-made
food crisis. There were also calls for cash grants which
would be used to pay earthquake survivors to clear up the
rubble.
There has already been widespread criticism of the relief
effort in Haitiwhich came under further attack from Italy's
civil protection chief, Guido Bertolaso. Mr Bertolaso was
acclaimed for his handling of the aftermath of last April's
earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy.
In an extraordinary outburst in Port-au-Prince he called the
US-led effort in Haiti a "pathetic" failure, saying it was
too reliant on military personnel. The US has sent 20,000
troops and anchored a hospital ship offshore.
He said: "I think it has truly been a pathetic situation. It
could have been run a lot better, "The Americans are
extraordinary but when you are facing a situation in chaos
they tend to confuse military intervention with emergency
aid, which cannot be entrusted to the armed forces.
"It's a truly powerful show of force but it's completely out
of touch with reality." Mr Bertolaso, who holds the rank of a
government minister, also accused individual countries and
aid agencies of conducting a "vanity show".
He said: "Unfortunately there's this need to make a 'bella
figura' before the TV cameras rather than focus on what's
under the debris." The Italian Government immediately
distanced itself with a clearly embarrassed Franco Frattini,
the foreign minister, saying: "The Italian government does
not share these statements." Meanwhile, the UN and children's
charities criticised plans by the US, Belgium, France,
Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, to fast-track
adoptionprocedures for taking orphans out of Haiti.
"We are very concerned that there are increasing reports that
children are being picked up and trafficked out of the
country," said UNICEF spokesman Kent Page, although he had no
details of specific cases.
There was also disagreement over a plan by European countries
to send 350 police officers to help with aid distribution as
looting continued in Port-au-Prince.
Six countries - France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands,
Portugal and Romania - agreed to send officers but Britain
opposed the idea, saying the US had enough troops there
already.
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010
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