13697: (Chamberlain) Haitian student protesters storm university (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Michael Deibert

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Shouting "Down with Aristide,"
thousands of students stormed and occupied the rectory of the State
University of Haiti and marched on the National Palace on Friday,
escalating protests against alleged government interference in education.
     A student march on Wednesday surrounded parliament to protest against
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Education Minister Myrtho Celestin
Saurel's July decision to delay student elections and fire the university
vice chancellor.
     Celestin Saurel has since named an interim vice chancellor to prepare
for a new university election this month.
     After seizing the university building, the crowd, joined by market
women and high school students, went to the National Palace in downtown
Port-au-Prince where they climbed the front gates shouting "Down with
criminals!" and "We don't want Lavalas!" -- a reference to Aristide's
Lavalas Family party.
     "The government enacted the situation which brought about the action
you see today," said agronomy student Jean David, as fellow students waved
Haitian flags and pictures of Argentine-born revolutionary Che Guevara.
     "While Aristide and Lavalas want to control everything, our country is
dying."
     Already the poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has been battered
by economic woes since Aristide began his second term in February 2001.
Inflation has risen 16 percent and the gourde currency has lost 40 percent
of its value in the last year.
     A pyramid investment scheme collapsed last summer and wiped out the
life savings of tens of thousands and a recent rumor that the cash-strapped
government was planning to convert bank accounts held in U.S. dollars to
Haitian currency at a low rate resulted in depositors withdrawing $20
million in three days.
     Another anti-government protest is set for Sunday in the northern city
of Cap-Haitien.
     Timed to coincide with a historic defeat of colonial French forces in
the city in 1803, the march is expected to attract thousands of opposition
politicians, students, journalists and rights activists dissatisfied with
what they characterize as Aristide's corrupt and violent tenure.
     Restored to power by U.S. troops nearly a decade ago, Aristide was
overwhelmingly elected to a second term as president in November 2000, but
has since been locked in a dispute over May 2000 legislative elections,
which his opponents contend were biased to favor Aristide's party.
     The deadlock has stalled over $500 million in international aid.