9954: Haiti-Journalist Killed (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By MICHAEL NORTON

   PETIT-GOAVE, Dec 11 (AP) -- A funeral for a slain journalist turned
violent when police fired tear gas and clubbed mourners who began throwing
rocks when they were told to take another route to the cemetery.
   Thousands were on their way to the cemetery Tuesday to bury Bringol
Lindor when officers blocked their way. Some mourners began throwing rocks
and shouting slogans against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Police
responded by firing tear gas and used batons to disperse the crowd.
   It was unclear whether there were any serious injuries but many were
taken to the hospital. About 50 people out of 4,000 made it the burial.
   Authorities have issued arrest warrants in Lindor's slaying for six
people believed to belong to a pro-Aristide grassroots group, Petit-Goave
Police Chief Alix Alexandre said. Three others, including the town's
pro-Aristide deputy mayor, were wanted for questioning.
   Aristide has condemned Lindor's killing.
   Lindor, 31 and the news director of Radio Echo 2000, was riding in a car
Dec. 3 when a mob dragged him out, stoned him and hacked him to death with
machetes.
   Lindor had received telephone death threats after interviewing
opposition politicians on his talk show, station owner Arbrun Alezi said.
   Stores and schools were closed Tuesday after officials declared a day of
mourning in Petit-Goave, 38 miles west of the capital. Independent radio
stations in Port-au-Prince also canceled newscasts.
   In June, Aristide called for "zero tolerance," ordering police to clamp
down on crime. The opposition charges that some took Aristide's words as a
call for vigilante justice and a license to attack opponents.
   Culture Minister Guy Paul denied Lindor was killed because he was a
journalist.