BBC Worldwide Monitoring
October 7, 2004, Thursday
Haiti: Minustah head announces changes in its composition, requests patience
Radio Metropole, Port-au-Prince, in French 1700 gmt 6 Oct 04
Text of report from the "Midday News" broadcast by Haitian Metropole radio on 6 October

The commander of the Minustah UN Mission for Stabilization in Haiti troops has issued a call for the Haitian people to show patience in the face of the acts of violence that are affecting people in the metropolitan area.

Gen Augusto Heleno Ribero Pereira, who was talking yesterday during a dinner-debate organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Haiti Hamcham , rejects the criticisms made by the Haitian people of his troops. The Minustah commander mentioned that the small number of military components has not been able to reach the target set by the UN Security Council. Commander Pereira explains as follows:

Gen Ribero Pereira - recording Up to now, we have not been able to reach even 40 per cent of the number of troops decided upon for the deployment of the UN peacekeeping force. I currently have 2,100 men while I should have had 6,700 men throughout the country.

This number should be completely and closely integrated with the Civipol International Civil Police . But the Civipol only has 480 men, even though it should have 1,600 men. This is a lack of quality in the balance of forces that we should take into account. We are not just here for two or three months and then to go away and leave the dead and the wounded behind. We are not here to go and boast that we killed, for instance, 40 bandits in Cite Soleil and 30 bandits in Bel-Air, while leaving a country that is not changed. We are in fact here to work to change the situation in the country. That is my opinion.

I can assure everybody that in two or three months' time, we shall have another balance of forces. The troops will be at full strength. I am actually going to receive a battalion from name of country indistinct that is going to work here in Port-au-Prince. We are going to have a company of Military Police from Guatemala and an aero-mobile company from Peru. The balance of forces is going to change.

These operations against the bandits should be prepared intelligently. Otherwise, our operations will not be successful. Otherwise, we shall lead disastrous operations; we shall kill innocent people. It is not fair at all for innocent people to pay for the bandits.

I know that people are very worried about the situation but I just want you to be a little patient, because we are working together to change the situation through the means of dialogue.

We must kill the bandits but it will have to be the bandits only, not everybody.