[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[June 10, 1994]
[Page 1064]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1064]]


Remarks Announcing Additional Economic Sanctions Against Haiti
June 10, 1994

    Good afternoon. Today I want to have Bill Gray, our Special Adviser 
on Haiti, announce two new steps that are necessary to intensify the 
pressure on that country's military leaders, a ban on commercial air 
traffic and sanctions on financial transactions.
    As Bill Gray will explain, these steps represent an important new 
stage in our efforts to restore democracy and return President Aristide 
to Haiti. The message is simple: Democracy must be restored; the coup 
must not endure.
    In the past month, we have taken steps to advance the interests of 
the Haitian people and the United States. Our national interests, to 
help democracy thrive in this hemisphere and to protect the lives of 
thousands of Americans who live and work in Haiti, require us to 
strengthen these efforts.
    Under our leadership, comprehensive United Nations trade sanctions 
have gone into force. To enforce these sanctions, we are moving to 
assist the Dominican Republic to seal its shared border with Haiti. The 
Dominican Republic has agreed to welcome a multilateral sanctions 
monitoring team to help the Dominicans seal their border.
    We've deployed U.S. naval patrol boats to the area to stop smugglers 
and have begun detaining ships suspected of violating the sanctions. 
We've also made important strides in dealing with the difficult issue of 
Haitians who leave that country by sea. A facility to interview Haitians 
who have been interdicted will soon open in Jamaica. And one month from 
now, we will open a second interview facility on the Turks and Caicos 
Islands. I want to thank the governments of those countries and the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Refugees for their collaboration in this effort.
    I want to be clear about this issue. I continue to urge all Haitians 
to avoid risking their lives in treacherous boat voyages. Anyone who 
fears persecution should apply for refugee status at our facilities 
within Haiti. Since our administration began, those offices have 
arranged resettlement for some 3,000 Haitian political refugees, far, 
far more than was the case prior to that time. They stand ready to 
review further cases and represent the safest and fastest way for 
Haitians to seek refuge.
    Now I'd like to ask Bill Gray, who stepped into this very difficult 
role and has used great skill to make real progress, to explain these 
new steps which we're announcing today.

Note: The President spoke at 12:22 p.m. in the Briefing Room at the 
White House. The Executive order on financial transactions with Haiti is 
listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.