Haiti PM agrees to army role

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuter) - The pro-democracy Prime Minister, Robert Malval, said yesterday he was willing to broaden his government to include military supporters provided he was not pressed to do so, and that the peace accord signed by the ousted President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the military in New York on 3 July was honoured.

He hinted that he would resign if the military continued to block the return of Father Aristide.

Mr Malval's comments came on the day when an Aristide aide in Washington said the United Nations and the United States were putting intense pressure on Mr Malval to expand his government in the hopes of achieving a 'compromise'. The aide feared that if Mr Malval agreed to such an expansion it would make the New York accord meaningless because it would leave the military in charge of key sectors of power in the country.

Mr Malval said he was willing to expand his government but insisted that the army chief, General Raoul Cedras must first resign, as he was supposed to do last Friday under terms of the peace accord.

'We have always said we will not do it under pressure, not when people are using guns to force us into it. Never,' Mr Malval said.