ARISTIDE. ousted on February 29

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - The Organisation of American States (OAS) has called for free and fair elections in Haiti as soon as possible, and opened the way for an investigation into the ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Over the initial objections of the United States and Haiti, the OAS General Assembly approved a resolution Tuesday night that would allow an "assessment" of what occurred in Haiti in February when Aristide was ousted.

Foreign Ministers from around the Americas also declared war on the deeply ingrained corruption in the region at the end of a two-day meeting in this Andean capital.

KNIGHT... the resolution represents the best that could be achieved under the circumstances

On Haiti, the ministers offered its new government the support of the inter-American community and committed their nations to undertaking "all the diplomatic initiatives necessary" to promote democracy in that country.

The ministers agreed to channel their efforts through the OAS's Permanent Council in Washington. In a resolution that activates Article 20 of the OAS charter, the foreign ministers urged "the transitional government in Haiti to create conditions conducive to the holding of free, fair and democratic elections in Haiti as soon as possible."

Article 20 states: "In the event of unconstitutional alterations of the constitutional regime that seriously impairs the democratic order in a member state, any member state or the secretary-general may request the immediate convocation of the Permanent Council to undertake a collective assessment of the situation."

In diplomatic language, "assessment" can mean an investigation.

Haiti's new government and US officials were opposed to activating Article 20, but the 15-member Caribbean Community insisted on its inclusion and the debate dragged on for hours Tuesday, delaying the closure of the assembly.

CARICOM refuses to recognise Haiti's new government and has called for an investigation into the circumstances of Aristide's departure.

"As it turned out, the resolution represents the best that could be achieved under the circumstances and does focus on important issues, such as the unconstitutional change of regime. The resolution raises a number of questions," Jamaican Foreign Minister KD Knight said in comments to The Associated Press.

Aristide left on February 29 as rebels advanced on the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. He was flown aboard a US-supplied jet to the Central African Republic, where he accused the United States of having forced him from office - a charge Washington denies.

"If Aristide's ouster was unconstitutional, how can you have a government in place that is constitutional and legal?" US Ambassador John Maisto told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

He added that Tuesday's resolution does not dwell on the past. "Everybody is in full agreement that we have to move forward to help the transition government."

After Aristide's ouster, multinational forces entered the country to re-establish order under the authority of the United Nations Security Council.

Addressing the problem of corruption, the final document, signed by 34 foreign ministers or heads of delegations, recognises "that corruption has a serious impact on public and private institutions, weakens economic growth and impinges upon the needs and fundamental interests of a country's most vulnerable social groups."

In the document, the foreign ministers pledged their nations to deny entrance into their countries to corrupt officials and to the money they have stolen.

They also agreed to cooperate in the recovery of stolen funds "and their restoration to their rightful owners."

In a last minute change to the document, foreign ministers agreed to "cooperate in the extradition" of officials accused of corruption.

But some ministers, including Argentina's Rafael Bielsa, expressed doubt about how effective the measure would be.

Executive Class

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Death to the Mullet!