MEDIA REACTION - HAITI, ELECTIONS AFTERMATH

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000310 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA, PM, INL STATE FOR INR/R/MR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO OPRC CI HA SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - HAITI, ELECTIONS AFTERMATH 1.On February 11, conservative, influential newspaper-of-record "El Mercurio" (circ. 116,807) carried an editorial entitled, "Election in Haiti." Block quote follows: ¶2. "The way the election in Haiti has been going is encouraging, but there is still skepticism on the outcome of the UN peacekeeping mission. The first question is if the eventual new president will free himself from Aristide and Fidel Castro's influence, and succeed in attracting international aid to take the next steps needed to stabilize that county once and for all. The second concern is in regards to the new conditions for international aid, which will depend partly on foreign will and primarily on the behavior of the new authorities. "There are signals that the countries that have committed their participation are exhausted. However, the recent elections were handled well, and serve as a strong argument to maintain international cooperation and give the participating countries greater confidence in their committed support." KELLY