12538: AP070902: Gonaives Fire (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: PSlavin@unicefusa.org

Posted on Tue, Jul. 09, 2002

Jailed man's supporters burn Haitian customs house

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- (AP) -- Supporters of a political activist
arrested on arson charges set fire to a provincial customs house Monday,
following through on threats to burn government buildings, an official
said.

The customs house in Gonaives was partially damaged in the fire, Interior
Minister Jocelerme Privert said. The independent Radio Metropole reported
that one protester was fatally shot and a second was wounded in a gunfight
with police.

Protesters took to the streets to support the release of pro-government
activist Amiot Metayer, who was arrested July 2 in Raboteau, a seaside
neighborhood of Gonaives, about 60 miles northwest of Port-au-Prince.

Since then, his supporters have demanded his release, blocking traffic with
burning tire barricades and shooting into the air and at police patrols.
Though Metayer is known for his support of President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, those demonstrating on his behalf are now calling for Aristide's
ouster.

Activist Edner Pierre, spokesman for the self-styled Cannibal Army, told
reporters that grass-roots groups across the nation should ``make a chain
of solidarity to overthrow Aristide.''

In an interview with the independent Radio Vision 2000 last week, Metayer
protested his innocence, reaffirmed his loyalty to Aristide and denied any
connection with the Cannibal Army. Metayer was charged with burning down
the houses of rivals in Jubilee, another Gonaives neighborhood, on May 12.
He is being held in the national penitentiary in Port-au-Prince.

Haiti's government and opposition parties have been embroiled in a
political dispute since the elections in May 2000. Talks on new elections
broke down after an attack on Dec. 17 on the presidential palace, and the
opposition refuses to resume them until perpetrators of the violence are
arrested and Aristide partisans are disarmed.
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