16625: Chamberlain: Haiti-US-OAS (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By MICHAEL NORTON

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept. 3 (AP) -- The U.S. Embassy and the Organization of
American States on Wednesday criticized Haiti's police force, alleging it
used excessive force to break up an opposition rally.
   Thousands of opposition and civil society members gathered Saturday in
the city of Cap-Haitien, on the country's northern coast, when police fired
tear gas to disperse the crowd. Dozens received minor injuries.
   Some were hurt after falling to escape the tear gas. Others were hit
with rocks, said Frandley Denis Julien, head of the Citizen's Initiative
civil society group that organized the rally.
   One man was hospitalized after being shot, although it was unclear who
shot him. Five police officers were also injured by rocks.
   "The nature of the intervention, including the level of force employed
by the Haitian National Police, didn't correspond to ... the situation,"
the Washington-based OAS said on Wednesday.
   Police told rally organizers because of a staff shortage they could not
guarantee public safety, so they asked organizers to cancel the rally. But
organizers went ahead with the demonstration.
   "Judging it was a dangerous situation, they exercised all necessary
force," said Daphne Orlando, a police spokeswoman, denying allegations that
officers had also used live ammunition.
   But the U.S. Embassy said "it deplores the decision of the Haitian
government to repress a peaceful political demonstration in Cap-Haitien."
   "The U.S. government expresses its concern that this act undermines the
efforts of the OAS to help Haiti resolve its current political crisis," the
embassy said.
   President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's government and the opposition have
been deadlocked since Aristide's party swept flawed May 2000 elections.
   Since then, Haiti has plunged deeper into poverty and unrest, as
international lenders suspended millions of aid dollars pending democratic
reforms and greater stability.