| – Chargé d’AffairesBy Gary EleazarU.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires,Cheap Jerseys, Karen Williams, yesterday told local media operatives that America’s focus in Haiti is on humanitarian work and what that government, “needs from us and is asking from us.”In terms of balancing the humanitarian efforts in Haiti with the historical tensions between the two countries, Williams pointed out that some of it will be the responsibility of the Haitian government in terms of what they request the US to do.U.S. Chargé d' Affaires Karen Williams “We have been very clear that we have been in a support role to the UN on security, so most of our forces are there on direct relief efforts. The soldiers on the ground are there passing out supplies.”Williams added that the US forces are capable if the UN or the government of Haiti ask of them to do more,Cheap Jerseys Paypal, “but the primary role is on the relief side.”She said that the US will do as much as it can, but conceded that there would be persons who will not be too happy about it because they would not like to see the US playing a major role in Haiti but,Cheap Jerseys China, “the most important thing is to help people.”The Chargé d’Affaires also pointed out that the Co-ordinating Committee currently in Montreal, Canada, is primarily focusing on who will be responsible for doing what in the short and long term as it relates to the relief efforts for the earthquake-ravaged nation.She pointed out that the Western Hemisphere Conference for US Heads of Missions also ended up focusing on Haiti after news of the disaster spread.She said that the forum shifted to matters related to relief and future action in co-ordinating efforts.Williams also made it clear that there is a Government functioning in Haiti, even though its capabilities are stretched,Wholesale World Cup Jerseys, “but they are co-ordinating relief efforts with the UN and other agencies”.She said that each morning the Haitian Prime Minister meets with the UN, the US and other principal relief entities to prioritise assistance and to make decisions for that day and how to move forward.“The Government of Haiti does have working daily co-ordination authority.”Meanwhile, on the issue of CARICOM, she said that the United States Embassy in Guyana has received no specific requests from the Secretariat, but would assist in any way it can.The role that any country plays as it relates to the relief efforts will be dependent on Haiti, according to Williams, who was at the time responding to the level of clout that CARICOM would have in any decision-making that would take place.She reminded media operatives that the co-ordinating committee meeting that is being hosted by Canada has former Jamaican Prime Minister Percival James Patterson representing CARICOM.Jamaica has been designated as the central co-ordinating point for all relief assistance coming out of CARICOM to Haiti. Jamaica has deployed medical personnel and security forces to Haiti as a first response, and is the sub-regional focal point in the area that includes Haiti,Cheap Jerseys For Sale, The Bahamas and the nearby Associate Members under the system established by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) the regional response mechanism to natural disasters.A medical facility was quickly established by the Jamaican team, while arrangements have also been made to transport some of the injured to Jamaica for hospitalisation.Leftist Latin American governments that have criticised the presence of U.S. troops in Haiti namely,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, are not taking part in the co-ordinating conference in Canada but their foreign ministers met in Caracas to discuss their own assistance programme. |
