Belize may send troops to Haiti

Leaders of the Caribbean Community will meet in an emergency session in Jamaica on Tuesday to discuss the region’s involvement in peacekeeping and other assistance to Haiti following the departure of the country’s president. Jean Bertrand Aristide resigned on Sunday under pressure from rebels, the political opposition, the United States, and France. CARICOM leaders are expected to discuss the possibility of member countries contributing troops to a United Nations sanctioned peacekeeping force. Prime Minister Said Musa will not attend Tuesday’s meeting, but has designated Foreign Minister Godfrey Smith as his representative at the Kingston gathering. Smith told News 5 that should the call for troops go out to CARICOM countries, the Belize Defence Force is capable of sending soldiers to Haiti, as we had done previously when Aristide was reinstated by a U.S. led effort in the 90’s. Aristide and his wife fled Port-au-Prince by civilian jet on Sunday morning. The couple are in the Central African Republic, but it is unclear if they will stay there or accept asylum elsewhere. Both Panama and Costa Rica have offered to take in the twice-deposed president.