SANTIAGO, Chile - Chile's President Ricardo Lagos (right) talks with Jamaica's Prime Minister P J Patterson in Santiago, Chile, yesterday, after a meeting at La Moneda government palace. Patterson is on a two-day official visit. (Photo: AP)

SANTIAGO, Chile - Chile's president and Jamaica's prime minister said yesterday that all political forces should be allowed to participate in Haitian elections scheduled for later this year, including supporters of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide.

Asked whether this would include Aristide himself, Jamaica's Prime Minister P J Patterson said "all political parties should be allowed to nominate their presidential candidates. This, by definition, includes Lavalas Family" - the political movement of the ousted leader.

Patterson, who arrived in Chile yesterday for a two-day visit, issued a joint statement with President Ricardo Lagos urging "further development of the current efforts to strengthen the security situation (in Haiti), which continues to be a crucial obstacle to hold a credible election process".

Aristide stepped down following a rebellion of former soldiers in February 2004. His supporters claim his resignation was forced by an illegitimate coup, but several groups in Haiti are opposing his return to national politics.

Patterson said the elections scheduled for November and December could help Haiti rejoin Caricom, the Caribbean Community, from which it was suspended after the crisis that forced Aristide's resignation. He said it was important the elections take place in a secure atmosphere, ensuring everybody's right to vote and the participation of international observers.

Some Haitians and foreign observers have expressed concern that Haiti's situation may be still too unstable to hold elections. Several people have been killed in the Caribbean nation in recent months due to gang violence and political unrest despite the presence of 7,400 UN troops.

In the meantime, Patterson was scheduled to hold bi-lateral talks with President Lagos on areas such as trade, tourism, sports, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) initiative and the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Discussions were also expected on UN Security Council Reform and the Organisation of American states.

Patterson will give the keynote address at a conference hosted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and will speak with Chilean entrepreneurs at a business session hosted by JAMPRO in collaboration with the Chilean Embassy.

Prime Minister Patterson is chair of the G77 and China and was given a mandate by the Doha Summit to strengthen South-South cooperation as one means of enhancing the economic and social development of developing countries in a globalising world.

Jamaica established diplomatic relations with Chile in 1963.
Jamaica House said there has been a greater thrust towards strengthening bilateral relations between Jamaica and Chile, through ongoing dialogue between the local authorities in Jamaica and their Chilean counterparts, especially in the areas of tourism and air transportation. The countries last signed a bilateral cooperation agreement for the abolition of visas for tourists in 1994.

Patterson will return to the island tomorrow.

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