Ja: OAS will look at Aristide's departure

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - The Organisation of American States (OAS) has called for free and fair elections in Haiti as soon as possible, and opened the way for an investigation into the ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Over the initial objections of the United States and Haiti, the OAS General Assembly approved a resolution Tuesday night that would allow an "assessment" of what occurred in Haiti in February when Aristide was ousted.

Foreign Ministers from around the Americas also declared war on the deeply ingrained corruption in the region at the end of a two-day meeting in this Andean capital.

On Haiti, the ministers offered its new government the support of the inter-American community and committed their nations to undertaking "all the diplomatic initiatives necessary" to promote democracy in that country.

The ministers agreed to channel their efforts through the OAS's Permanent Council in Washington. In a resolution that activates Article 20 of the OAS charter, the foreign ministers urged "the transitional government in Haiti to create conditions conducive to the holding of free, fair and democratic elections in Haiti as soon as possible."