The Brazilian government has submitted to the United Nations the name of general José Elito Carvalho de Siqueira to be the new commander of UN mission troops in Haiti. Siqueira will substitute another Brazilian general, Urano Bacellar, who died on Saturday in Port-au-Prince.
José Elito Carvalho de Siqueira, a three-star general, is 58. At the moment, he is the commander of Brazil’s 6th Military Region in Salvador, Bahia.
Brazil has 1,496 soldiers in Haiti. That is the largest force to go abroad since the Second World War. Since June 2004, Brazil has commanded the UN mission in Haiti.
Elections
The Foreign Ministers of the Core Group, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Argentina, the United States and France discussed the situation in Haiti yesterday via telephone and agreed to support the maintenance of the February 7 date for elections, with a new government to take office on March 29.
It is possible that representatives of the Core Group will meet next week with Haitian officials to express their support and willingness to provide material aid for the election (Brazil has already donated US$ 1 million in election equipment to Haiti).
The ministers also rejected attacks on the UN force in Haiti by groups opposed to political stability in that country.
The body of the former MINUSTAH commander, the Brazilian general, Urano Bacellar, is expected to arrive in Brazil today. He will be buried in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, January 11.
Agência Brasil
