[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 26 (Monday, July 5, 1993)]
[Page 1219]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement by the Press Secretary on the Haiti Reconstruction and 
Reconciliation Fund

 July 1, 1993

    On June 25, 1993, the President signed Presidential Determination 
No. 93-28 on the Haiti Reconstruction and Reconciliation Fund. The 
determination, signed after careful consultation with the relevant 
committees of the Congress, waives legal restrictions on providing 
assistance to Haiti in order to provide up to about $37.5 million from 
prior year Haiti foreign military financing and development assistance 
funds and from prior year Bolivia and Peru economic support and foreign 
military funds.
    President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who requested outside assistance, 
including for military professionalization, in a letter to the U.N. and 
OAS Secretaries-General, has indicated his agreement with these broad 
objectives.
    This assistance package is designed to support negotiations to 
restore democracy to Haiti and the implementation of a phased political 
solution. Disbursement will be carefully timed to support the 
negotiations and respond to concrete progress toward restoring 
democracy. The Department of State is notifying the relevant committees 
of its intention to carry out the reprogrammings this Presidential 
determination authorizes and will consult further with the Congress on 
the military assistance component of this assistance package.
    Our current aid program in Haiti of $52 million consists solely of 
humanitarian assistance, feeding and health activities, funneled through 
nongovernmental organizations. The new assistance package would provide 
continued support for the U.N./OAS International Civilian Mission ($10 
million), which monitors human rights in Haiti; economic support and 
stabilization once the democratic government of President Aristide is 
restored (up to about $12.7 million); the beginning of an administration 
of justice program to strengthen democratic institutions such as the 
Justice Ministry ($3 million), and including the creation and training 
of a new civilian police force ($4 million) as well as a modest, 
nonlethal military professionalization program to reduce its size and 
train it to address the needs of Haiti's society and missions set forth 
in Haiti's Constitution, particularly civic action, engineering, 
disaster relief, and coastal patrol (about $2.1 million).