a1391: BBC: Haiti: Anti-Aristide graffiti, leaflets reported in Trou Du Nord (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>

Haiti: Anti-Aristide graffiti, leaflets reported in Trou Du Nord
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Mar 20, 2002


Text of recorded report by Trou du Nord Correspondent Jocelyn Saint-Hilaire;
from the "0730 Appointment" Newscast; broadcast by Haitian Signal FM radio
on 19 March
Head of State Jean-Bertrand Aristide visited Fort-Liberte [on 18 March]. He
had to meet and talk to the people. Aristide made this trip on the occasion
of the inauguration of a new cathedral in this area. He took the opportunity
to talk to the people of this city. In Trou du Nord, the locality that
represented the second step of the head of state's tour, the president
elected on 26 November observed graffiti hostile to him on the walls. By the
way - how can we say this - the walls of the Trou du Nord City Hall were
covered with faeces. The residents of this city were demonstrating to
express their discontent with the Lavalas government. Jocelyn Saint-Hilaire,
our correspondent in Trou du Nord, filed the following report:
The people of Trou du Nord have observed that the city is covered with
faeces on the bridge located in front of the city hall where a poster of the
head of state, President Aristide, has been put on top of the pile of
excrement. Leaflets are used as decorative flowers to welcome the president
throughout the streets. We can read on these leaflets: "Down with Aristide,
drug dealer, Conze [reference to a Haitian traitor during the US occupation,
1915-1934], and traitor; down with Lavalas scoundrels; down with the tontons
macoutes; down with the Democratic Convergence; down with US citizen Yvon
Neptune; up with the fight for the total liberation of the masses; and many
other slogans. We have had enough, we can no longer stand the Lavalas Conze
regime. These are what we see in the leaflets dropped throughout the city of
Trou du Nord. Many slogans hostile to Aristide are also observed on the
walls. We can identify the same slogans in the leaflets dropped throughout
the city.
We should point out that the city of Trou du Nord is located about 20 km
from Fort-Liberte, where President Aristide should participate in the
inauguration of the Saint-Joseph Cathedral on Monday, 18 March. As we just
said, on the walls of the new cathedral are written slogans hostile to
Aristide and Neptune and the entire Lavalas regime. Anyway, the ceremony is
supposed to begin at 0900 exactly. At 0830, the head of state is not yet
there. However, the entire presidential security staff is already present on
the sites where the presidential procession will pass.
As early as Sunday, 17 March, several delegations had already arrived in the
metropolitan city [of the Department of the Northeast]. However, the small
plane that was carrying US ambassador Brian Dean Curran had difficulties to
land on the informal runway built before the national (?port) where a space
was worked out so that small six-and eight-seat planes could land. Anyway,
the pilot made several attempts to land with the US ambassador on this
informal runway in front of the (?port) of Fort-Liberte. However, he could
not. He had to fly the delegation to Cap-Haitien from where the ambassador
went to Fort-Liberte by the road. Anyway, we are on the scene. We are
following the events for you.
Source: Signal FM Radio, Port-au-Prince, in Creole 1230 gmt 19 Mar 02
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.