Chile Communists: Out of Haiti
The Communist Party of Chile on Friday called for an end to the military occupation of Haiti as soon as possible, and criticized the incoherence of Chile´s right-wing

opposition, which backed at the Senate sending troops to that country.

Jorge Insunza, a member of the Communist Party´s Political Commission, accused the government of President Ricardo Lagos of having committed "a tremendous error by supporting right-wing forces,"

when it interfered in the Haitian crisis in defense of US interests.

He recalled that the international community has committed one billion dollars in assistance to Haiti, "as part of the resolution adopted by the Security Council, which is what has not been fulfilled."

Insunza pointed out that "after the coup d´etat sponsored by the United States, Haiti is in practice under occupation and the national authority of that country has no power at all."

In a communiqué issued on Thursday, the Communist Party blamed the occupation forces, including Chilean troops, of "a flimsy fraud attempt" during vote counting to try to steal the victory from popular candidate René Preval.

Chile was the first country in the region to send troops to Haiti, just a few hours after then Constitutional President Jean Bertrand Aristide was overthrown by the United States in April 2004.