By Andrew Smith, Staff Reporter 
Micha Gaillard, spokesperson of Convergence Democratique, a grouping of Haitian opposition parties. - Andrew Smith/Staff Photographer
HAITI:
AS THE political uncertainty and turmoil surrounding Haiti accelerates, Micha Gaillard, opposition spokesman for the Convergence Democratique is charging that President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is now presiding over a "Mafia state," he told The Gleaner.
Gaillard made the charge, having insisted that all institutions such as the legislature and the police are in the hands of the President. Even the customs and the telephone services are used as tools of repression, he said.
"It is an illusion that Jean-Bertrand Aristide can accept free elections because his interests are threatened," the spokesman said.
INTERNATIONAL RESOLUTIONS
He said that although the Organisation of American States (OAS), CARICOM, and other members of the international community are asking the President to respect the international resolutions that he signed to allow free demonstrations by the people and the opposition, Mr. Aristide is refusing to do so.
He says this is happening because the United States and CARICOM have their own domestic problems, and don't really want to put any real effort into resolving the situation. Mr. Gaillard is also making every effort to distance his organisation from the rebels which are taking over cities and towns in north and central Haiti, but chose his words carefully so as not to alienate them.
The rebels, he said, are sometimes portrayed as the 'armed branch' of the opposition, but insists that it was untrue. Mr. Gaillard said he would not condemn the fighters as he has "to be careful since we have no guns or embassy to protect me," he told The Gleaner. "I have to manage my language to manage my life."
