a168: Alleged Haiti coup leader behind bars in Dominican Republic (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Bob Corbett <bobcorbett@earthlink.net>

Alleged Haiti coup leader behind bars in Dominican Republic

The Associated Press

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (December 28, 2001 09:51
p.m. EST) - A former Haitian police chief accused of planning
a failed Dec. 17 coup in his homeland has been detained in
the Dominican Republic, authorities said Friday.

Guy Philippe arrived in Ecuador a day after the coup attempt.
Haiti asked Ecuador to extradite him, but authorities decided
to send him back to the Dominican Republic, where he slipped
into the country.

Dominican President Hipolito Mejia told a press conference
Friday that Philippe had been detained, but would not say
where or when the Haitian was found. Philippe was now under
house arrest in an undisclosed location.

The Dominican Foreign Ministry has said it is searching for
a country that will accept Philippe, but will not hand him
over to Haiti.

In the attempted coup, at least 23 heavily armed men stormed
Haiti's National Palace. An alleged attacker, wounded in
the raid, said Philippe had attended a meeting in the Dominican
Republic where he said the coup was planned.

Philippe has denied involvement.

The Dominican Republic and Haiti share the Caribbean island
of Hispaniola but do not have an extradition treaty and have
a history of strained relations. The Dominican Republic has
often refused to hand over those suspected of political crimes
in Haiti.
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