Break new series of diplomacy between US and Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made an attempt to smooth Haiti's course towards a final vote after disputed first-round elections plunged the country into uncertainty.

Clinton, who visited the country on Sunday and met President Rene Preval and the three main candidates vying to succeed him, made clear the United States would not cut aid to the impoverished nation, despite political tensions, because of its "deep commitment to the Haitian people."

The top US diplomat told reporters that Washington backed the recommendations of international monitors from the Organization of American States (OAS), which has urged the ruling party presidential candidate, Jude Celestin, to exit the race.

But she also appeared to leave the door open to other solutions, saying there have been "legitimate concerns raised by various figures in Haiti, not just President Preval, but others, about what is the best compromise."

One of the ways to help Haiti, she added, was by "making sure their political choices are respected." Celestin has been under mounting US-led pressure to step down because of fraud allegations from disputed November polls.

Asked in a Haitian radio interview Sunday why she had met all three candidates, despite backing the OAS report, Clinton said she did not want to be "accused of not meeting with all three," but insisted the United States "supported the OAS recommendations and we would like to see them move forward."

Clinton, who traveled to Haiti days after a catastrophic quake killed more than 220,000 people in January 2010, also made a brief visit to a cholera clinic to highlight the outbreak that has killed 4,000 since mid-October.

At Port-au-Prince airport upon arrival, Clinton said she had come with a "very simple message" of US support for the country.

"We want to see the reconstruction continued. We want to see the voices and votes of the Haitian people acknowledged," she said, before meeting with UN representative Edmond Mulet at the start of the day-long tour.Later Sunday she told Haiti's Radio Metropole that there "needs to be a government and there needs to be stability in that government... for the international community, to really be able to partner, which is why we hope that there will be a resolution of the election soon."

The international community has pledged almost 10 billion dollars for reconstruction, but donors have held back on delivering most of the funds because of the tenuous political situation.

The tense political standoff was thrown into further confusion two weeks ago by the surprise return of Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, a former strongman driven out by massive protests 25 years ago.