Sides in Haiti Dispute Consider 3-Point OAS Plan

The Organization of American States on Saturday presented the two contending sides in the Haitian crisis a three-point plan that it hopes will help restore democracy, broken off five months ago by a coup.

The plan urges the two parties to agree on a timetable for the return of ousted leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide, forced into exile by a military coup Sept. 30, OAS mediator Augusto Ramirez Ocampo said.

“This time around we were able to make more progress than in previous occasions,” Ramirez Ocampo said.

Aristide and representatives of the post-coup government designated two delegates, each who, together with two OAS officials, will work all night if necessary to try to solve the conflict, he added.

The six-man team will work on a plan that seeks common ground in three broad areas--the return to constitutional order, the future role of the armed forces and the fate of the trade embargo clamped on Haiti by the OAS soon after the coup to press for Aristide’s return, sources said.

Under “constitutional order,” a timetable for the designation of a new prime minister and the return of Aristide should be included, Ramirez Ocampo told journalists after daylong crisis talks at the OAS’ Washington headquarters.

Aristide, Prime Minister-designate Rene Theodore, Senate Speaker Dejean Belizaire and House Speaker Alexandre Medard put an end to their own meeting after agreeing on the formation of the group.

They left without making any comments and will return this morning to evaluate whatever progress the six-man team may make, Ramirez Ocampo said.

He added that the proposal did not include specific dates for Aristide’s return or the lifting of the embargo. Rather, it is up to the two sides to fill in the blanks.

Saturday’s meeting took place against the backdrop of a noisy protest outside the OAS building by some 500 Haitians demanding Aristide’s return. No incidents were reported.