Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 18, 1994 TAG: 9409200067
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From wire reports
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI LENGTH: Medium
As he left army headquarters after a three-hour meeting with army chief Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras and other top officers, the former U.S. president and campaigner for democracy waved at noisy, pro-army demonstrators. He didn't comment on the talks, and the high-tension standoff continued.
A Haitian source close to the talks characterized them as ``more positive than negative.'' A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said it appeared both sides were working toward a document. He didn't elaborate.
The U.S. delegation held further unscheduled talks with Cedras and other army leaders late Saturday.
Diplomats familiar with Saturday's earlier talks said that Cedras was vague and noncommittal. They said he kept returning to themes considered stale, such as insisting that deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide had himself violated the now-dead accord to restore democracy.
Carter's delegation included Gen. Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
About 300 protesters greeted them at army headquarters.
``Aristide, No! Democracy, Yes!'' chanted the demonstrators. The army ousted Aristide three years ago, after his election.
As the meeting broke up, the crowd sang the Haitian national anthem, which states in part, ``Dying is beautiful for the flag and for the nation.''
President Clinton said in his weekly radio address that he sent the delegation to give Haiti's rulers a final chance to leave power voluntarily or ``be removed by force.''
``Their time is up,'' Clinton said. ``The remaining question is not whether they will leave, but how they will leave.''
A possible meeting was planned for today between Carter and army-designated president Emile Jonassaint.
Two U.S. aircraft carriers carrying thousands of soldiers and hundreds of helicopters entered Haitian waters Saturday, heightening expectations of invasion.
by CNB