[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 18 (Monday, May 9, 1994)]
[Pages 959-960]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters Prior to Departure for Atlanta, Georgia

May 3, 1994

Haiti

    Q. Mr. President, are you going to send military advisers to Haiti? 
What is our Haiti policy, and are you thinking about military action or 
advisers or trainers, sir?
    The President. Right now, what we're doing is to put in place a 
stiffer sanctions policy, consistent with what President Aristide has 
been asking for some months now. And we want to have a better 
enforcement of the sanctions we have as well as the stiffer sanctions. 
And I don't think it's useful to rule out any option, and I'm not ruling 
out any option.
    But to use a phrase the Vice President made famous in 1992, ``It's 
time for them to go.'' I mean, the military leaders of Haiti have abused 
their authority. They have begun to clearly kill more innocent 
civilians, people not even directly involved in the political life of 
the country.

[[Page 960]]

    I think the United States and the world is outraged by it. And we've 
tried other initiatives, and they have not worked. We have done our best 
to work through this, and the things we have done have not worked. So 
we're now doing this sanctions regime, as recommended by President 
Aristide and others, but we're not ruling out anything.

Note: The exchange began at 10:15 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House.