Latin America ministers want U.N. mission in Haiti extended

Buenos Aires_(dpa) _ Ministers from seven Latin American countries and representatives from the United Nations and Organization of American States (OAS) met on Monday in Buenos Aires to discuss the planned elections in Haiti and called for a reinforcement of U.N. peacekeeping troops.
In a crisis meeting the foreign and defence ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile Uruguay, Guatemala and Ecuador proposed an extension of the U.N. mission, currently 10,000 strong, in Haiti.

The conference in Buenos Aires, also attended by OAS head Jose Miguel Insulza and U.N. representative Juan Gabriel Valdez, also called for more funds for the reconstruction of the ruined Caribbean island. To date a billion dollars has been made available.

After elections were repeatedly put off last year because of violent unrest and organizational problems, Haiti's transitional government set February 7 as the date for the first round of presidential and legislative elections. A second round was set for one week later.

Hundreds of Haitians rallied Monday in Port-au-Prince at the U.N. mission, accusing the troops of having failed in controlling armed gangs blamed for kidnappings and killings.

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