17615: Blanchet: The Bicentennial According to Radio Metropole (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>

Thursday January 1, 2004

The Bicentennial was celebrated in turmoil.
At least ten people were wounded by gunfire.

The 200th Anniversary of Haiti's Independence was
commemorated, this Thursday January 1, 2004, in
an atmosphere of chaos in Port-au-Prince and Gonaïves.
Anti-Aristide demonstrations repressed by the police,
shooting almost everywhere in the capital and the City
of Independence, many wounded by gunfire, such was the
backdrop during this historic day.

At the National Palace, in the presence of thousands of
supporters, President Aristide, after hoisting the flag with his
wife at his side and following a cultural ceremony, renewed
his determination to end his 5-year mandate on February 7
2006. Mr. Aristide, who cannot succeed himself, expressed the
desire of his party, Fanmi Lavalas, to stay in power until 2015.
With this in mind, he presented a 21 point program to be financed
with the $21 billion demanded of France as restitution for the
debt of independence [paid by Haiti to France in the 19th
and 20th century.] He also invited the opposition and Civil Society
to participate in legislative elections this year.

Before that, the only foreign head of state present, Thabo
Mbeki of South Africa, had expressed his concerns regarding
the current crisis and praised the Haitian Revolution, which
showed the Black World the road to freedom on January 1,
1804. For his part, the PM of the Bahamas, Perry Christie,
representing Caricom, expressed his pride in being in Haiti
in spite of migration issues confronting the two countries.
Maxime Waters, congresswoman from California representing
the Black Caucus, stressed her friendship with Haiti.

As the head of state began to speak, thousands of demonstrators
of the opposition -- an event without precedent on January 1 --
took to the streets of Port-au-Prince at the behest of the Democratic
Platform to ask for his resignation. Starting in Petion-Ville, they went
down the Delmas road while voicing their determination to
fight the Lavalas regime. As the demonstrators progressed, the
crowd kept growing and the police decided to react. At the corner
of ruelle Nazon and Delmas road, national palace officers
opened fire on the demonstrators. Moments later, agents of CIMO
[Haiti's equivalent to a swat unit] intervened to block the way of the
demonstrators.

Ruelle Nazon then became a battle field. In response to the
firing and tear gassing by the police, the demonstrators erected
imposing barricades with stones and tires set aflame. The same
scenario was repeated in Lalue, Bois-Verna, and Turgeau. In
these neighborhoods, the GOH's followers were firing in all
directions and engaging in a man hunt. At least 10 people were
wounded, 3 of them by gunfire.

In this atmosphere of chaos, President Aristide made a flash visit
to Gonaïves where he made a brief speech in the presence of more
than a thousand supporters who had come from neighboring areas.
In the City of Independence, no cultural, patriotic or cultural event
was organized. The President's speech was delivered against a
backdrop of sustained firing in the presence of President
Mbeki who was visibly shaken according to Haitian and foreign
reporters present at the scene.

The podium on which President Aristide was to speak had been
smeared the night before with fecal matter.

Journalists report that the presidential cortege came under fire
from elements affiliated with the Anti-Aristide Front [of
Gonaïves] who then fought it out with Haitian officers backed
by the South-African military. Finally, President Aristide was
able to return to the capital by helicopter. Following his
departure, the police arrested many people but was unable
to stop an anti-government demonstration.

During the day, many prisoners escaped from the national
penitentiary in Port-au-Prince. In Gros-Morne, in the Artibonite,
prisoners also escaped following the intervention of anti-
government demonstrators who ransacked a police station.
A demonstration calling for Aristide's ouster also took place
in Jacmel.

The Democratic Platform, which is comprised of students,
Civil Society Organizations and opposition parties, will present
its alternative to Lavalas tomorrow, the National Day honoring
Haiti's Heroes.

For France 2, the Bicentennial Celebration turned into a tragedy.
For other journalists, it was the Bicentennial of shame. For many
observers, the situation is critical and the risk of armed
confrontation is greater than ever.