13772: post anonymously -- Haiti on Saturday

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Posted from the U.S. from someone in Haiti


well, it is saturday afternoon. things have calmed down considerably today,
but
everyone expects monday to be hot...one rumour, and boy have i heard
rumours!!!! is that Lavalas is going to bus people in from the provinces
for
Monday...we'll see...

1) what's going on? good question. the last week has seen a number of
student
protests and a huge protest last week in Cap...all anti aristide...on
thursday a demonstration in Ti Goave turned violent and the police shot 10
students.  Lavalas claims the convergence infiltrated the group (wearing
school uniforms, no less) and fired at the police....don't believe it.
the next day a protest in PaP of students got nasty....but then it got
worse. a  chimere got into the general hospital and shot to death an
injured student...

what you are seeing now is Aristide calling all the gangs from the poor
areas
to counteract the student strikes...and on television the demonstrators are
telling the students to be very careful to not get involved and to let
Lavalas have the university...not a pretty sight, truth be told.

2) the problem is that the disarmament campaign has been a complete sham
and
everybody knows it. the lavalas crowds were openly threatening people with
guns yesterday as the police watched. the gangs are running the country,
right now.
they outgun the police and everybody else in the country...Metayer in
Gonaives
is still on the Lam because the police can't do anything to him....

3) the whole demonstration on Friday was staged by Lavalas. absolutely
nothing
organic or spontaneous about it. very well planned. well paid.

4) people I know here who would otherwise voice strong opinions are quite
timid to voice an opinion on Corbett....but watch for some
near future with some specific critiques...


where it goes from here? good question. i've heard people tell me Aristide
won't last to the end of December. Others are not so sure because they
don't
see who will replace him....but i do have a sense of dread looming...