At U.N., Clinton speaks on Haiti

9/25/94 7:02 PM Inches: 16.7 REGULAR AM-Clinton-UN 1stLd-Writethru 09-25 06989/25/94 7:02 PM Inches: 16.7 REGULAR AM-Clinton-UN 1stLd-Writethru 09-25 0698AM-Clinton-UN, 1st Ld-Writethru,06729/25/94 7:02 PM Inches: 16.7 REGULAR AM-Clinton-UN 1stLd-Writethru 09-25 0698AM-Clinton-UN, 1st Ld-Writethru,0672Moves From Politics To World Stage, Defending His Haiti Intervention9/25/94 7:02 PM Inches: 16.7 REGULAR AM-Clinton-UN 1stLd-Writethru 09-25 0698AM-Clinton-UN, 1st Ld-Writethru,0672Moves From Politics To World Stage, Defending His Haiti InterventionEDS: SUBS 16th graf, ''Clinton sought xxx to clarify that Haiti remark made at church; also SUBS 8th graf, ''Clinton's church xxx to fix grammar by making Clinton possessive; Top planned after evening meetings scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. EDT AP Diplomatic Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- President Clinton moved Sunday from Bible-thumping politics in a Harlem church to the United Nations' world stage, extolling his military intervention in Haiti as ''saving our neighborhood'' for democracy. The president, apparently buoyed by the sure foothold U.S. forces had achieved in Haiti, made no mention of the firefight in Cap-Haitien in which U.S. Marines killed 10 Haitian men Saturday night outside a police station. Instead, he sounded the theme he will use in a speech Monday to a special session of the U.N. General Assembly: Democracy is on the rise, and the United States welcomes a helping hand from other nations not just in the Caribbean but in Bosnia and in other world hotspots. Immediately upon switching gears, Clinton received Bosnia President Alija Izetbegovic, whose Muslim-led government feels betrayed. Having accepted a plan to end the 2 1/2-year-old war in Bosnia, it watched in despair Friday as the U.N. Security Council relaxed some sanctions against Yugoslavia, rewarding Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic for promising to end weapons shipments across the border to Bosnian Serbs. On Haiti, the other major foreign policy problem on the president's immediate agenda, the White House press office issued a two-sentence statement, saying ''we regret any loss of life in connection with our mission in Haiti,'' but reaffirming U.S. resolve to respond to hostile action against American forces. ''We will continue to work with Haitian military authorities for a peaceful transition,'' the statement said. Clinton's church appearance capped a weekend of politicking for Democrats in Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri. Even though he has been slipping in the polls, the president seemed in good spirits, recounting for the black congregation how he enjoyed walking the streets of Harlem as a youth from Arkansas ''because I was fascinated by it; I wanted to see the people, I wanted to talk to the people, I wanted to see what they are up against.'' Some Democratic candidates across the country are keeping their distance from Clinton in their campaigns, but he was upbeat in proclaiming the virtues of brotherhood in politics, in boosting the economy and in world affairs. ''If we can just face our challenges and move forward and come together, we're going to do all right,'' he said. Appearing with Clinton were Gov. Mario Cuomo, a Queens Democrat seeking a fourth term, and Rep. Charles Rangel, a Harlem Afro-American. At the United Nations, officials said, Clinton will stress the need to expand democracy and assert that the administration would work closely with the United Nations to promote the security interests of free nations.' Madeleine Albright, the U.S. ambassador, said, ''There is no question that the cooperation between the U.S., U.N. and NATO is one that also is pointing to a direction of how many regional problems can be solved and worked on together.'' With American troops bound to remain in Haiti through the year, the intervention is a lively election-year topic. There are calls in Congress for setting a deadline for the forces to get out. Clinton sought, however, to portray his Haiti policy as a winner in remarks at the Harlem church. ''I think more and more Americans are seeing that what we are doing there is good and supports democracy throughout our hemisphere, which is nothing more than saying our neighborhood,'' he said. Moreover, the president said, the U.S.-brokered agreement in Haiti for the military junta to yield power to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide '''helps to end human rights violations that we find intolerable everywhere but unconscionable on our doorstep and offers them (Haitians) a chance at stability.''