Says deteriorating situation could lead to refugee crisis

 By FRANK DAVIES

 WASHINGTON -- Warnings of a deteriorating situation in Haiti and a possible
 refugee crisis prompted a lively debate Tuesday among senators and House
 members, including three from Florida, about how U.S. policy should help shape
 the island nations future.

 Sen. Bob Graham, the Florida Democrat, told a House International Relations
 Committee hearing that on a recent trip to Haiti he saw many boats under
 construction on the north coast.

 ``This could be a warning of things to come,'' said Graham, who complained that
 the history of U.S. involvement in Haiti this century has been a cycle of often
 successful military operations -- like the 1994 intervention to restore a democratic
 government -- followed by ``a lack of emphasis on an effective economic recovery
 plan.''

 But while Graham called for more U.S. aid and involvement, other ``Haiti
 watchers'' such as Rep. Porter Goss, a Sanibel Republican, warned there were
 limits to U.S. influence when some Haitian leaders and factions were not
 committed to peaceful debate and elections.

 HAITI RESPONSIBILITY

 ``The vast majority of responsibility for the state of affairs in Haiti rests with the
 Haitian leaders who have put the pursuit and preservation of power above the
 needs of their own people,'' Goss said.

 Graham, Goss and Sen. Mike DeWine, an Ohio Republican, criticized an attack
 last month by supporters of ex-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on members of
 the Provisional Electoral Council, the body that will organize elections. They
 stressed the need for free and secure voting next year, including two long-delayed
 elections: one for parliamentary and local offices in March and another later in the
 year for president.

 But Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Miramar Democrat, said there was ``nothing magical''
 about two elections and warned that U.S. politicians should not give up on Haiti.

 U.S. DISINTEREST

 Goss criticized the Clinton administration for its ``underwhelming and
 extraordinarily disappointing response'' to President Rene Prevals continuing rule
 by decree in a system that Goss said ``is not even dysfunctional, its
 nonfunctional.''

 Goss also noted that while administration officials have negotiated two repatriation
 agreements with Cuba, there is no such agreement with Haiti on how to manage
 future refugee crises.

 Peter Romero, acting assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs,
 defended U.S. policy as an effort to ``stay the course'' in seeking elections free of
 violence and intimidation, and building a new police force that is not politicized.

 ``With all the deep-seated problems there, the reality is Haiti has experienced the
 longest period of democratic government in its history,'' said Romero.

 The attendance at Tuesdays hearing demonstrated that while Haiti is a concern
 on Capitol Hill, it is not regarded as a crisis. Only five or six members, including
 Hastings and Tampa Democrat Jim Davis, attended most of the session on a
 committee with 49 members.