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Says that while Bill Clinton vowed during the campaign to restore democracy to Haiti, and revived diplomatic efforts in the first week of his presidency on behalf of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Clinton did not make clear his views on whether military commanders should be brought to justice for the murder of thousands of Aristide's followers. Aristide's insistence on accountability as a sticking point; Fate of the trade embargo; Pressure of threat of mass exodus; Details.

The Haitian refugees fleeing their country are not the only victims of U.S. President George Bush Administration's interdiction program. A further casualty is the Administration's policy on human rights in Haiti. From the moment Haitians took to the seas in large numbers, U.S. policy underwent a radical transformation. The administration's shift has significantly reduced the cost to the Haitian Army of committing atrocities. Worse, the administration has begun to defend the army's abysmal human rights record. The administration could not have chosen a worse time to allow the demands of interdiction to color its human rights advocacy.