12609: Article: Gunmen Break Into Haiti Prison (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dan Craig <dgcraig@att.net>

Gunmen Break Into Haiti Prison
August 3, 2002
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 5:23 a.m. ET



PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Gangs were wreaking havoc in
the Haiti's second largest city Saturday after gunmen broke
through the wall of a prison, freeing a former presidential
supporter and a host of criminals, in another sign of the
chaos surounding a disintegrating Haiti.

Police fled the city after Friday's jailbreak, leaving more
than 150 freed criminals to roam the streets throughout the
afternoon and night. The courthouse and city hall were set
on fire, officials said.

The government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said
police were preparing to regain control of Gonaives, about
62 miles northwest of the Port-au-Prince.

"For the moment, the situation is uncontrollable,"
Jacques Maurice, an Aristide spokesman, said. "We are
reinforcing the police to re-establish order, but we want
to avoid hurting the civilian population."

As automatic gunfire rang out, people ran to lock
themselves in their homes and shopkeepers barred their
doors, independent Radio Galaxie reported.

It was another indication of the growing chaos that is
enveloping the hemisphere's poorest nation, mired in a
two-year political impasse over fraudulent elections that
has blocked international aid.

"Disorder has taken possession of the country," said
human rights advocate Jean-Claude Bajeux, a former culture
minister under Aristide.

The gunmen used a stolen tractor to ram their way through
the prison wall, said Clifford Larose, director of Haiti's
prison system. One prisoner was shot and killed inside the
jail, he said. It was unclear who killed him.

Larose said 159 of the 221 inmates got away.

According to Maurice, the aim of the attack was to free Amiot Metayer,
later seen parading through the town with his supporters,
who call themselves the Cannibal Army, a militant communal
group.

Metayer had long been a supporter of Aristide -- and
according to the Organization of American States
participated in past attacks on Aristide opponents. But
Metayer has turned against the president after he was
jailed July 2 on charges of burning down houses of a rival
gang.

In an open letter to Aristide this week, Metayer bitterly
reproached the president, alleging he had him arrested.
"This isn't why I fought so hard," wrote Metayer, who has
proclaimed his innocence.

His supporters have been demanding his release, blocking
traffic with flaming tire barricades and setting fire to
the Customs House in Gonaives on July 8.

According to an OAS report, Metayer participated in an
attack on the residence of opposition politician Luc
Mesadieu in Gonaives on Dec. 17, 2001 -- a day when
Aristide supporters all over Haiti attacked opposition
offices and homes.

Mesadieu's assistant, Ramy Daran, was doused with gasoline
and burned to death. Mesadieu said he saw Metayer giving
the order to kill Daran.

At least 10 people died in that day's violence, which
Aristide claims was sparked by an attempt to overthrow the
government and assassinate him. But the OAS agrees with
opposition claims the Dec. 17 coup was staged. The
opposition says it was a pretext to clamp down on
dissidents.

Ironically, among the prisoners who broke free Friday were
former soldiers convicted in the 1994 killings of suspected
pro-Aristide civilians in Gonaives' seaside shantytown of
Raboteau. The soldiers who committed the killings said they
were hunting for Metayer.

Escaped convicts included former army Capt. Cenafis Castera
and street activist Jean Tatoune, who were serving life
sentences. At least 15 civilians were slain in Raboteau,
after a military coup ousted Aristide. He was restored by
an American invasion months later.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Haiti-Jailbreak.html?ex=1029375265&ei=1&en=fab8285a307414c6
Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company