7604: Re: 7566: Events in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: haiti@ixks.com
>
>From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>
>
>(from Caribbean Insight newsletter)
>
>
>(30 Mar 01)
>
>
>Supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide staged violent
>demonstrations in a number of provincial towns over the past week  

hmmm...  I was in Haiti on the dates given in this article, and witnessed 3
demonstrations by Aristide supporters.  The first one was downtown near the
US Embassy, where several young people, dressed in yellow t-shirts and
carrying Haitian flags, marched down the streets singing and drumming.  I
followed them a ways and that's all they did. The second was after I was
warned by a US INS official not to go near the Consulate because there was a
huge gang down there.  Of course I hopped up and got down there asap.  It
was the same thing -- young people dressed up, singing and marching.  The
third time was when I was on my way to the airport and that group was
standing at several intersections, in the same t-shirts, carrying flags.  I
asked around about the "violence" but nobody I talked to had seen these
groups doing anything violent.  I did hear there had been some rock throwing
but that it had stopped.  What I heard from several different people was
that at least one of the peaceful demonstrators had been shot dead by
members of the opposition.