BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Community’s relations with a post-Aristide Haiti will be the central issue at a meeting today in New York between top officials of the United Nations and the Caricom secretariat, but regional officials confirmed that the Community’s call for an international probe into the circumstance of Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s departure from Haiti will not be on the agenda.

In fact, Caricom’s secretary-general, Edwin Carrington, said that the region had not made an “official request” to the world body for the probe.

The Community was still considering “modalities and strategies” for implementing its demand for an international investigation and said that the procedures to be adopted will be disclosed at “the appropriate moment”.

Carrington refused to be drawn on comments attributed to Reginald Dumas, Kofi Annan’s special advisor on Haiti, expressing surprise at Caricom’s delay in lodging its request for the probe, sparking a tiff with the Trinidad and Tobago foreign minister, Kwolson Gift.

Gift said he was doubtful of Dumas’ “justification for his observation” since the investigation called for by Caricom was not within his “purview”.

Dumas, a Trinidadian, said he was surprised by Gift’s reported comment.

“However, the minister’s remarks only strengthen my commitment to Caricom,” Dumas said.

Today’s meeting would normally have been a regular Caricom/UN session to review matters of mutual interest, but has been extended to include officials from the Organisation of American States (OAS) and focus on possible joint activities in post-Aristide Haiti. Participating in the meeting will be the UN’s under-secretary general for peace-keeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehenao; Caricom secretary-general, Edwin Carrington; and assistant secretary-general of the OAS, Luis Einaudi.

Caricom has refused to recognise Haiti’s interim regime, led by Gerard Latortue, and essentially branded Aristide’s ostensible resignation of February 29 as a coup d’etat.

Aristide has said that he was forced out of Haiti by the United States, but the Americans say they provided him with safe passage and transportation in the face of advancing rebels.

The 15-member Caricom has said that the dispute should be investigated by an independent international body, possibly the UN, but US Secretary of State Colin Powell says that such a probe would serve no useful purpose.

Last week, Powell told Latortue during a visit to Haiti that he would help to get the current administration’s recognition by Caricom and Haiti’s reintegration into the 15-member bloc which it joined in 1999.

Latortue at one stage declared a freeze on relations with Caricom and the removal of Haiti’s ambassador in Jamaica to protest the Community’s posture over Aristide’s overthrow and Jamaica’s decision to provide temporary asylum to the ousted president.

Latortue had claimed that Caricom served no useful purpose and had hurt Haiti, but later backed off, blaming garbled translation of his original comments in Creole and French into English. He had made the same remarks in English.