18175: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Protesters vow to defy Haitian police (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Thu, Jan. 29, 2004

Protesters vow to defy Haitian police
Police say protests will be restricted to a downtown Port-au-Prince square.
Demonstrators counter that they will choose their march sites.
BY AMY BRACKEN AND MICHAEL A.W. OTTEY
mottey@herald.com

PORT-AU-PRINCE -- Opponents of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide vowed to
ignore a Haitian police decree restricting where they can hold a mounting
streak of antigovernment street protests that left another dead Wednesday.

In a communiqué made public Wednesday, the National Police said that in
light of the violent outbreaks during recent demonstrations, public protests
would be limited to a downtown Port-au-Prince square near the U.S. Embassy.

''All groups wanting to express themselves through demonstrations can do so
at the Place d'Italie au Bicentenaire conforming with the specifications of
the . . . National Police,'' spokesman Bruce Myrtil wrote.

The statement came amid a string of antigovernment demonstrations that have
claimed more than 50 lives in recent months in clashes among protesters,
police and armed gangs of Aristide supporters.

FAILED TO CONFORM

Last week, the police tried to stop or divert the marchers in the capital,
claiming that organizers had failed to conform to legal requirements for
holding outdoor gatherings. Haitian law requires organizers to notify police
48 hours in advance. Aristide's opponents vowed they would not abide by the
new restriction.

''We will continue to take to the streets,'' said Herve Saintilus, president
of the Federation of Haitian University Students. ``We will continue to
adhere to the constitution by notifying the police in advance and trying to
march where we choose.''

Micha Gaillard, spokesman for the opposition coalition Democratic
Convergence, called the communiqué an attempt to deny critics of the
president the right to free expression.

''We will not respect the measure, which is neither constitutional nor
moral,'' he said.

There was no immediate reaction from the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM,
which last week called on the Haitian government to ''allow groups and
persons to engage in orderly demonstrations.'' It also said that
``fundamental freedoms are to be enjoyed, including freedom of assembly,
freedom of expression and freedom of the press.''

CARICOM has been trying to help resolve Haiti's burgeoning political crisis,
in which Aristide opponents are accusing him of corruption and human-rights
abuses and demanding his resignation.

As the police communiqué was being circulated within and outside the police
department Wednesday, police used tear gas to disperse two demonstrations,
one for Aristide and one against that burned a coffin in front of the U.S.
Consulate, signifying the president's burial.

A demonstrator was hit by a tear-gas canister and died at Canape Vert
hospital, according to witnesses. Another 10 protesters were hit by rocks,
and several were arrested.

Police Inspector General Michael Lucius said notifications of recent
anti-Aristide demonstrations have been missing required information such as
the organizers' home addresses and phone numbers.

He showed a journalist three flawed notices, two from anti-Aristide
organizers and one from Aristide supporters. Witnesses said that while the
pro-Aristide march went off without any problems, the anti-Aristide protests
were blocked by police.

`OUR BROTHERS'

''It's our country. It's our neighborhoods. It's our brothers who live in
them,'' said Aristide opponent and anthropology student Jean-Louis Anthony.
``We won't be stopped from going there.''

The Canadian government, meanwhile, urged French-speaking nations to become
''active'' partners with CARICOM and the Organization of American States to
help solve Haiti's crisis.

They ''must act fast . . . to encourage the Haitian government to guarantee
security, respect for human rights and elections,'' said Denis Coderre, the
minister responsible for the French-speaking community, Agence France-Presse
reported.

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