A meeting took place yesterday afternoon between government officials and representatives of the sectors involved in the formation of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP). It should be pointed out that the opposition and the human rights sectors did not attend that meeting.
The foreign minister, who represented the executive branch, informed the participants about the measures that were adopted to facilitate the launch of the electoral process under positive conditions. The Lavalas sector was also represented by Jonas Petit. Petit said that progress is being made at the judicial level and in the Dominique case. Petit thinks enough has been accomplished to form the CEP.
Petit said, ?We think that it is now important to start off with the CEP so that the OAS can start to provide technical assistance. It is the CEP that should tell the international community what it needs in order to move on.?
Pastor Paurice Jean-Baptiste provided a discordant note. The representative of the Protestant churches specified that he was speaking on behalf of the Group of Five (G-5), that is the churches, the employers, the human rights organizations, and on behalf of the group of 184 organizations (G-184) .
Jean-Baptiste said, ?I can say that the conditions that the G-5 and the G-184 have set have not been met. On the contrary, we feel that the situation is deteriorating. But we have not lost hope. We know that we will get there if the government is willing to do what we required of it so that we may progress.?
The Convergence, the other opposition parties, and the human rights sector were not present at the meeting. About the human right sector, Joseph Philippe Antonio said its absence might be due to a scheduling problem, but he did not comment on the contempt of the opposition parties, who are calling for the departure of the Lavalas regime.