17264: Holmstead: AP Lies (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: John Holmstead <cyberkismet@yahoo.com>

FROM: John Holmstead


The first article with a photo by Daniel Morel says
"OVER A THOUSAND" anti-Aristide demonstrators. Nortoon
later files just "HUNDREDS". They can't even lie all
that well afterall.


Thu Nov 13, 6:44 PM ET
>From AP

A Haitian anti-riot policeman tries to keep back
supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as they
attempted to intimidate an anti-government
demonstration which drew over a thousand in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Thursday, November 13, 2003.
Students and supporters from unions, political parties
and other organizations marched through the streets of
the capital chanting slogans like 'Down with
Aristide!' before the small group of Aristide
supporters confronted them and prevented them from
marching in front of the National Palace, causing some
students get angry and accuse the police of being
partisan.



World - AP Latin America
Haiti's Opposition Demands Aristide Quit
Thu Nov 13, 9:28 PM ET


By MICHAEL NORTON, Associated Press Writer

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Hundreds of government
opponents protested in Haiti's capital Thursday,
calling for the resignation of President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide because of deepening poverty and insecurity
in the Caribbean country.



The crowd of university students and opposition
activists marched to the National Palace, where some
50 Aristide supporters confronted them, yelling, "If
Aristide isn't there, who will replace him?"


Police stood between the two groups, ordering them to
separate. Some students later threw rocks at
government supporters before police broke up the
demonstration, firing rifle shots into the air.


It was the latest in a series of demonstrations called
to complain about Haiti's stagnant economy and what
protesters say is the government's failure to ensure
safety and stability.


On Wednesday, government opponents set fire to a
pro-government radio station, Radio Pyramide, in the
west coast town of St. Marc, witnesses said. No one
was injured, but the fire gutted the station.


The attack came hours after the state
Telecommunications Council closed Radio Tete-a-Tete, a
station in the town that had given voice to the
opposition. The closure was because the station didn't
have proper legal authorization to broadcast, not for
political reasons, government official Daniel
Jean-Charles said.


Clashes during anti-government demonstrations in the
past two months have killed at least 12 people and
wounded scores. Heavily armed police broke up a
demonstration Tuesday in the west coast town of
Gonaives.


Joseph Maurice, a 26-year-old protester, likened the
situation in the Caribbean country to Bolivia, where
last month violent protests led President Gonzalo
Sanchez de Lozada to step down.


"In Bolivia the people forced the president to resign
— why not in Haiti?" Maurice said.


Aristide's supporters have vowed to thwart opposition
protests during upcoming celebrations marking the
200th anniversary of Haiti's independence.


"We're behind Aristide all the way for him to finish
his five-year term," in 2006, said Marc-Andre
Alexandre, a 21-year-old at Thursday's pro-government
demonstration.


On Tuesday, Haiti is to mark the 200th anniversary of
its decisive military defeat of the French outside the
northern city of Cap-Haitien. Seeking to keep the
celebrations peaceful, the government has banned
protests in the city until Wednesday.


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