WASHINGTON, March 23 (UPI) -- Florida Gov. Jeb Bush made an impassioned plea for U.S. assistance and continued engagement in Haiti in a Tuesday Washington Post op-ed article.
Bush said current U.S. policy toward Haiti "is aligned with the democratic belief that no individual is above the law, and creates the hope that integrity, honesty and rule of law can and will exist in Haiti's future government."
He cautioned, however, the government of interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue and interim President Boniface Alexandre needs "support from its friends around the world, as well as its sons and daughters in exile."
More than 300,000 Florida residents, according to the latest figures, have emigrated from Haiti to the United States.
Bush, in the article, called for renewed focus on the development of Haiti's democratic and economic infrastructures. "There must," he wrote, "be a focus on developing the democratic functions required to create a successful civil society."
The governor also praised legislation authored by U.S. Rep. E. Clay Shaw, R-Fla. -- The Haiti Economic Recovery Opportunity Act of 2003. Bush said that legislation would "create the cycle of investment and job growth that will be vital to (Haiti's) future."
