[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 19 (Monday, May 16, 1994)]
[Pages 1010-1014]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Remarks Announcing William H. Gray III as Special Adviser on Haiti and
an Exchange With Reporters
May 8, 1994
The President. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I want to speak
for a few moments about the crisis in Haiti, the challenge it poses to
our national interests, and the new steps I am taking to respond.
Three and a half years ago, in free and fair elections, the people
of Haiti chose Jean-Bertrand Aristide as their President. Just 9 months
later, their hopes were dashed when Haiti's military leaders overthrew
democracy by force. Since then, the military has murdered innocent
civilians, crushed political freedom, and plundered Haiti's economy.
From the start of this administration, my goal has been to restore
democracy and President Aristide. Last year, we helped the parties to
negotiate the Governors Island accord, a fair and balanced agreement
which laid out a road map for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. But
late last year, the Haitian military abrogated the agreement, and since
then they have rejected every effort to achieve a political settlement.
At the same time, the repression and bloodshed in Haiti have reached
alarming new proportions. Supporters of President Aristide, and many
other Haitians, are being killed and mutilated. This is why 6 weeks ago
I ordered a review of our policy toward Haiti. As a result of this
review, we are taking several steps to increase pressure on Haiti's
military while addressing the suffering caused by their brutal misrule.
We are stepping up our diplomatic efforts, we are intensifying
sanctions, and we are adapting our migration policy.
Let me describe these steps. First, to bring new vigor to our
diplomacy, I am pleased to announce that Bill Gray, president of the
United Negro College Fund, former House majority whip, and chair of the
House Budget Committee, has accepted my invitation to serve as special
adviser to me and to the Secretary of State on Haiti. Bill is here with
his wife, on his way to the inauguration of President Mandela in South
Africa, and I will ask him to speak in just a few moments. But let me
just say that he is a man of vision and determination, of real strength
and real creativity. And I appreciate his willingness to accept this
difficult and challenging assignment. He will be the point man in our
diplomacy and a central figure in our future policy deliberations.
As part of our diplomatic efforts, we will work with the United
Nations to examine the changes in the proposed U.N. military and police
mission in Haiti. We want to ensure that once Haiti's military leaders
have left, this mission can do its job effectively and safely.
Second, the U.S. is leading the international community in a drive
to impose tougher sanctions on Haiti. On Friday, the U.N. Security
Council unanimously adopted a resolution we had proposed to tighten
sanctions on everything but humanitarian supplies, to prevent Haiti's
military leaders and their civilian allies from leaving the country, to
promote a freeze of their assets worldwide, and to ban nonscheduled
flights in and out of Haiti. U.S. naval vessels will continue to enforce
these sanctions vigorously.
[[Page 1011]]
We are also working with the Dominican Republic to improve sanctions
enforcement along that nation's border with Haiti. To shield the most
vulnerable Haitians from the worst effects of the sanctions, we will
increase both humanitarian aid and the number of U.N. and OAS human
rights monitors in Haiti.
While these stronger sanctions will cause more hardships for
innocent Haitians, we must be clear: The military leaders bear full
responsibility for this action. They can stop the suffering of their
people by giving up power, as they themselves agreed to do, and allowing
the restoration of democracy and the return of President Aristide.
Third, I am announcing certain changes in our migration policy
toward Haiti. Currently, Haitians seeking refugee status, including
those interdicted at sea, are interviewed only in Haiti and not beyond
its shores. Our processing centers, which have been dramatically
expanded in this administration, are doing a good job under bad
circumstances.
In 1993, we processed and approved about 10 times the number of
refugee applicants as in 1992. In recent months, however, I have become
increasingly concerned that Haiti's declining human rights situation may
endanger the safety of those who have valid fears of political
persecution, who flee by boat, and who are then returned to Haiti where
they are met at the docks by Haitian authorities before they can be
referred to in-country processing.
Therefore, I have decided to modify our procedures. We will continue
to interdict all Haitian migrants at sea, but we will determine aboard
ship or in other countries, which ones are bona fide political refugees.
Those who are not will still be returned to Haiti, but those who are
will be provided refuge. We will also approach other countries to seek
their participation in this humanitarian endeavor.
The new procedures will begin once we have the necessary
arrangements in place. This will take some weeks. Until then, the
Haitians must understand that we will continue to return all boat
migrants to Haiti. Even under the new procedures, there will be no
advantage for Haitians with fears of persecution to risk their lives at
sea if and when they can assert their claims more safely at a processing
center in Haiti.
The ultimate solution to this crisis, however, is for the military
leaders to keep their own commitment to leave, so that Haiti's people
can build a peaceful and prosperous future in their own country.
I am committed to making these new international sanctions work. At
the same time, I cannot and should not rule out other options. The
United States has clear interests at stake in ending this crisis. We
have an interest in bolstering the cause of democracy in the Americas.
We have an interest in ensuring the security of our citizens living and
working in Haiti. We have an interest in stopping the gross human rights
violations and abuses of the military and their accomplices. And we
clearly have a humanitarian interest in preventing a massive and
dangerous exodus of Haitians by sea.
The steps I have announced today are designed to relieve suffering,
redouble pressure, and restore democracy. Working with the Haitian
people and the world community, we will try to advance our interests and
give Haiti an opportunity to build a future of freedom and hope. They
voted for it, and they deserve the chance to have it.
Mr. Gray.
[At this point, Mr. Gray accepted the President's appointment and stated
that he would work with commitment and determination to end the
suffering in Haiti.]
Q. Mr. President, what makes you believe that these sanctions, these
new policies on returning Haitian refugees to Haiti will work this time?
Haven't they been tried before and found to be unreliable or to
encourage people to----
The President. Before, when they were tried, the circumstances were
somewhat different. First of all, let me answer the question about why
we would undertake to change the policy, even though there is clearly
some logistical challenge involved in doing so.
I ordered the review of this policy 6 weeks ago when we began first
to get intelligence reports and then clear news reports that there was
increasing violence against citizens of Haiti who did not agree with the
policies
[[Page 1012]]
of the military regime--and indeed, some of them seem to not be
political at all--of people not only being killed but being mutilated.
It seems to me reasonable to assume that some of the people who are
fleeing by boat are in that group of people who also are fearful of
their lives. And the way the boat return has worked so far is that we
take the people back, let them off at the dock at Port-au-Prince. They
are then--by and large, they have been free to go to the in-country
processing. But they are subject to the authority of the Haitian police
at that moment. And I simply think that the risks of that cannot be
justified, given the increased level of political violence in the
country. Therefore, I think we have to change the policy.
Now, why do I think it will work? First, we've studied what happened
before when the policy of inspection of people at sea occurred, and we
have determined that two things ought to be done. First, we ought to
look for a third-country processing center. And second, if we do it at
sea, we ought not to do it on the Coast Guard cutters, which can be
quickly overrun in their capacity, but to do it on bigger ships.
We believe if--given a little time to organize this logistically, we
can handle it. Also, it will be clear that we are not changing our
policy, which is the law of the United States with regard to economic
refugees. People who seek to come to the United States for economic
reasons only, are not eligible for this kind of status.
So we will do these reviews. We think we can do them fairly quickly,
in a matter of a few days, and then return those who should be returned
and take those who should be taken into the United States.
Ron [Ron Fournier, Associated Press].
Q. Are you in danger, sir, of sending signals that could open the
floodgates for Haitian refugees? And how much, if any, did the fast play
into your decisionmaking process?
The President. First, let me answer your first question. I hope that
we will not have a flood of refugees, but we are increasing our naval
resources to deal with them. We are not changing our policy about who
can come and who cannot. That is a matter of American law. We are not
able to do that, nor should we do that.
But I don't believe the policy we have now is sustainable, given the
level of political violence against innocent civilians in Haiti. We have
to try to implement this policy. I believe we can, and I think, as we do
it firmly, the Haitian people will see we are not opening the floodgates
for indiscriminate refugee migration into the United States but that we
are going to try to find those people who have left because they have a
genuine fear.
The review of this policy began before Mr. Robinson's fast, but if
you will go back, and when I was first asked about it I said that I did
not mind his criticism of our policy, it obviously had not worked. I
said that from day one. And I respect his conviction and his courage and
his conscience. And I was gratified by the comments that he said today.
And I'm glad that on this Mother's Day he's going to be having dinner
with his wife tonight.
Q. Mr. President, on sanctions, your former envoy to Haiti warns
that the stricter sanctions will--could also ruin the situation on the
ground in Haiti. It would make it impossible for President Aristide or
for anyone Mr. Gray works with to set up there to bring democracy back.
What kind of confidence do you have that economic sanctions are going to
bring the military leaders out?
The President. Well, I think the economic sanctions will have to be
coupled with a vigorous and aggressive and broad-based diplomatic
effort. And we are exploring all alternatives.
As you know, we have been reluctant to impose the more severe
sanctions, although President Aristide and many of the Friends of Haiti
group, the French, the Canadians, others who have worked with us on this
for a long time, since, have advocated this course. In my view, we must
exhaust all available alternatives as we try to resolve this
diplomatically. And I think it is an appropriate thing to do now.
If we are successful in trying to bring back democracy and to
restore not only President Aristide but the concept, the spirit that was
in the Governors Island accord, that is, a broad-based, functioning
representative government that can relate to the business community as
well as to the ordinary citizens of Haiti, then we will have to get
ourselves in
[[Page 1013]]
gear to try to make sure that that economy comes back as quickly as
possible. We're trying to do that with South Africa and others. I think
we'll be able to do it.
Q. Mr. President, I don't understand why the administration is
saying that it does not expect a large influx of Haitian refugees now.
Are you saying effectively that you expect the results of the new policy
will be the same as the results of the old policy?
The President. No, I'm saying--I think there will be more--some more
people in the sense that we will be reviewing more people
simultaneously. That is, we will be reviewing people not only in the in-
country processing centers, but we'll be interviewing people either on
boats or in a third country. But what I'm saying is that we have not
broadened the criteria of eligibility for coming to the United States.
I want to make this very clear. The problem with the present policy
is--the present policy worked in 1993 up through the abrogation of the
Governors Island accord and for some time thereafter in the sense that
we did not have evidence of widespread indiscriminate killing of
civilians. And we increased by tenfold, by tenfold, the number of people
processed and the number of people approved for refuge in this country
for 1993 over 1992.
But when all this killing started, when it became obvious that the
military leaders had no earthly intention of honoring Governors Island
or anything approaching it or keeping their commitments, but instead
were going to tolerate, organize, and abet increased killing in Haiti,
it is logical to assume that some of those who get on the boats include
not only economic refugees, who are the vast majority of them, but also
some who genuinely fear for their lives. The only way we can get those
people to the in-country processing is to let them off at the dock in
Port-au-Prince where the police have jurisdiction. I do not believe that
is a sustainable policy, either practically or morally, given the level
of indiscriminate violence.
So there may be some more people who get in because we'll be
reviewing even more people. But it would be a great mistake for Haitians
who want to come here for economic reasons to just take to the boats,
because we are not changing the standard by which we admit people.
Gwen [Gwen Ifill, New York Times].
Q. It seems there are two outstanding problems. One is that
Lieutenant General Cedras said this morning he doesn't really have any
intention of stepping aside in order to replace--in order to make room
for President Aristide, and that even your supporters on this policy are
concerned that there is still no equivalency between what happens with
the United States and Cuban immigrants and the United States and Haitian
immigrants. How do you address those two things?
The President. Well, I think we are going to have--we do have an
equivalency in terms of people who get here. But we have an obligation
to try to let the people who genuinely fear for their lives into this
country. We are now going to do that without regard to whether they're
processed in-country or on boats. Therefore, the legal standard is what
it ought to be.
The Cuban situation is unique in the sense that there is an act of
Congress which has certain specifics about the Cuban situation which
changes our relationship with Cuba to some extent. But this will
alleviate the legitimate concern with regard to the Haitians, and I hope
will minimize the likelihood that hundreds of people will die at sea
innocently.
Q. And about Lieutenant General Cedras?
The President. Well, of course, he's going to say that. That's what
he's been saying ever since--that's what he told us when he abrogated
the Governors Island accord. ``I gave my word. I never expect President
Aristide to keep his word. President Aristide called my bluff, kept his
word, and so I'm going to shaft the agreement.'' That's what he said on
September 30th. So he hasn't changed his mind since then. But we may be
able to do better now. And I think the gentleman to my right is a person
of extraordinary ability; maybe he can do some things we haven't done
yet. We're going to give it our best shot.
[At this point, a Cuban-American thanked the President for his new
policy on Haiti.]
The President. Thanks.
One more.
Q. How long are you willing to give sanctions to take the desired
effect?
[[Page 1014]]
The President. I think I have to let Mr. Gray do a little work
before I can answer that question.
Note: The President spoke at 3:15 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to Gen. Raoul Cedras, commander of
the Haitian Army, and Randall Robinson, the executive director of
TransAfrica Forum who fasted to protest U.S. policy in Haiti. A tape was
not available for verification of the content of these remarks.